Welcome to Franklin Court at 1099 14th St. NW, where the Washington Design Center will have its own entrance on L Street. Move-in is slated for March, 2014:

While a handful of showrooms are leaning toward space in Georgetown, the majority of those I spoke with today indicated they are going to 14th Street. Cassidy Turley, the real estate broker working on behalf of the showrooms, issued a letter of intent to the building management Friday night, unanimously approved by the WDC steering committee that’s been leading the new property search since the Museum of the Bible purchased the current building last July.

The letter outlines what showrooms will receive in return for signing a long-term lease; showrooms have been asked to indicate their intent as to whether or not they want to move by next Tuesday, and then sign leases by the end of June.

“It’s a new beginning—I think it’s a wonderful shot in the arm,” said Ann Lambeth, co-owner of J. Lambeth & Co. and a member of the steering committee. With the new CityCenterDC going up a few blocks away, and the thriving 14th Street design district just a stroll in the other direction, she said, “We’re the apex of that L. This really is the new design district. It’s the happening part of town.”

That’s welcome news for everyone at the Southwest location, which hides behind a jungle of government-agency buildings.

The sad green awning hasn’t been replaced in at least 20 years for lack of money; and those flag poles haven’t seen flags on them in years for the same reason.

“Federal Center Southwest was always out of context,” said steering committee member Kevin Fusting, co-owner of Galleria Carpets. Franklin Court “is a beautiful space, it’s a glamorous building, and you’re downtown! It’s exciting!”

Eleanor McKay, co-owner of Niermann Weeks, whose president, Justin Binnix, is on the steering committee, echoed that sentiment: “I’m so excited to be going into a building in a decent neighborhood,” she said.

The neighborhood, in return, is excited to have them as an addition to the mix of business, arts and culture that already populate the city’s core. The advent of CityCenterDC, with its huge mix of condos, restaurants and retail will “for the first time in decades really make downtown a retail destination,” said Rick Reinhard, deputy executive director of the Downtown DC Business Improvement District. Between that and the 14th-Street design corridor, he added, the Washington Design Center at Franklin Court “really links them very well.”

To that end, he said, “We have volunteered our services to assit with marketing the design center.”

The letter of intent specifies that the new design center space will occupy the building’s entire second, third and fourth floors, and additional space on the first floor will also become available. Just as at the current WDC, showrooms will have glass storefronts, and they will also have access to the building’s Plaza level for product display and events, just as they do in the current WDC lobby.

But unlike the current cramped and windowless WDC, showrooms will be able to use Franklin Court’s huge atrium, lower lobby and—wait for it—rooftop terrace!—for events at no additional charge. And the second-floor spaces, Lambeth told me, have floor-to-ceiling windows.

Visitors to the new design center will continue to mingle with federal employees who are headed to other parts of the building’s 11 stories, but the letter of intent makes it clear that even if a showroom leaves one of the floors designated for the WDC, that space will only be offered to “like tenants” in the design trade, but NOT to “large retailers of home furnishings” who would compete with the trade-only business model.

Although showrooms will remain largely to-the-trade, meaning you have to be a designer or architect to purchase directly from them, Lambeth told me that the new location will be a big positive because it will give new visibility and access to everyone. “There are tremendous possibilities for being more accessible and open and available,” she said, “so people are more aware of what’s going on.”

But as I mentioned earlier, not everyone is on board. The Georgetown Business Improvement District is still fighting to get at least five WDC showrooms (plus some New York companies who would be new to DC) to move to 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, on the corner of K Street.

Holly Hunt is leaning in that direction, and Poliform|sagartstudio also indicated they would go there if they had to decide right away (their current lease is not up for several years). A call to Baker’s WDC showroom number went to a voice mail at the Georgetown retail store, so I’m guessing they’re going to stay put in that single location.

Indeed, for all the high-end fashion, beauty, and home-design chains, M Street could easily be called DC’s Rodeo Drive or Michigan Avenue, so it would make sense for any luxury showroom to move nearby.

Ultimately, according to some documents that were shown to me, the steering committee decided Georgetown wouldn’t work for the majority of showrooms because (among other things):

a) there aren’t enough rentable square feet to fit everyone;

b) the property doesn’t have any freight elevators;

c) nearby parking lots tend to fill up early in the day; and

d) many showrooms want to stay together for purposes of synergy and for the convenience of designers who want one-stop shopping.

So for those of you who want to plan your design-shopping itineraries for next year, here’s my survey of where showrooms expect to be going. (Keep in mind that no one has signed any leases, so this list could change. I will update this post most likely at the end of June, which is when the brokers are asking showrooms to have signed leases in.)

14th Street: 

AmericanEye (furniture)

Brown Jordan at AmericanEye (outdoor furniture)

Art Gallery at the Washington Design Center. (Owner Joe Hakimi will also open a location near Georgetown Cupcake in Georgetown, thus covering all his bases)

Century Furniture

Duralee (fabric, wallpaper)

Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman (furniture)

J. Lambeth & Co. (includes the Fabricut showroom)

Galleria Carpets & Rugs

Hines & Co. (furniture, fabric, wallpaper)

Kravet/Lee Jofa/Brunschwig & Fils (fabric, wallpaper, furniture)

Michael-Cleary (furniture, fabric, wallpaper)

Niermann Weeks (furniture, fabric, wallpaper)

Osborne & Little (fabric)

Pindler & Pindler (fabric)

The Rist Corporation (includes the Zoffany fabric showroom, carries wallpaper as well)

Robert Allen (fabric, wallpaper)

Scalamandre (fabric, wallpaper)

Stark Carpet—they expect “to be with the crowd,” but have not committed 100-percent

GEORGETOWN 

Holly Hunt—leaning that way (furniture, fabric, wallpaper)

Poliform|sagartstudio—looking at various locations  (furniture, closet systems, kitchens)

UNDECIDED

Arc|Com Fabrics

Charles Ray & Associates, Inc. —not going to 14th Street OR Georgetown, but looking to keep a presence in DC (furniture, fabric)

Cowtan & Tout (fabric, wallpaper)

Donghia (furniture, fabric, wallpaper)

Farrow & Ball (paint, wallpaper)

Holland & Sherry (fabric)

J. Asher Carpet Couture

Patterson, Flynn & Martin (rugs, carpets)

Schumacher (fabric, wallpaper)

The only ones I couldn’t reach were Henredon and an individual to speak on behalf of Baker, so I will update this post when I hear back.

Many people praised the persistent efforts of steering committee members Lisa Kravet, Ann Lambeth and Kevin Fusting to keep showroom reps informed and on track. Having worked at the design center, I understand what a gargantuan task that probably was. I’m just pleased that we’re getting close to a point where we’ll have an answer to the contant questions that have been pouring in ever since it went public that the building at 300 D St. SW will one day house a Bible museum.

So, NO — designers won’t have to go to New York or Chicago to do their shopping. And they will soon be able to take their high-end clients to a bustling city neighborhood where the dining options extend beyond Potbelly’s and Starbucks—great news all around.

Apartment Zero is still alive and well, though Douglas and Christopher work out of their Arlington home and have switched mainly to offering interior design services. But they have gone back to their product roots for a gorgeous exhibit that has been on display at Arlington’s Artisphere since March called The Next Wave.

All photography copyright Morgan Howarth, www.morganhowarth.com

The exhibit explores industrial design for the 21st century, and it’s surprisingly colorful and warm—not the cold, robotic stuff predicted by Orwell and his acolytes. The pieces here will delight and surprise you, but not for much longer. It ends on Sunday, May 19, so I’m urging you to hop on the Orange Line to Rosslyn and go see it!

Here are some reasons why:

You probably can’t read the writing above, but I love Douglas’ eloquence here. You can really tell his passion for great industrial design:

“Industrial design is the creation and development of concepts that optimize the function, value and appearance of products for our mutual benefit. It’s everything we touch and use on a daily basis. … It’s the coffee pot whose aroma gets us going in the morning, the stove that cooks our food, and the bed that puts us to sleep. Good design shapes the way we live by making our lives a little easier, our tasks more enjoyable and our interactions more fulfilling.”

The exhibit explores everything from better suitcases and soda cans to an elegant public nook for using one’s cell phone. You will find yourself reading every tag.

There’s a small gift-shop area here, too, where you can purchase some of the products that are on exhibit and take home your own souvenir of The Next Wave. Don’t miss it before it leaves!

The story isn’t online yet, but I hope you get a chance to flip through it if you have a hard copy. In the meantime, I’m going to share all the gorgeous images that didn’t make it into the final printed piece!

The first trend I talk about is the notion that walls are coming down, literally, between bedroom and bath. Many homeowners who are doing this say they were inspired by a hotel stay, such as this amazing room at the W Hotel in Montreal:

This bathroom in a Foggy Bottom row house by Kube Architecture belongs to a progressive couple who don’t mind the lack of privacy—even with glass inserts in the floors that allow a visitor to look straight… up:

Photograph by Greg Powers

Another trend is that homeowners are opting to get rid of the bathtub in favor of bigger showers—Anthony Wilder tells me that he does this all the time, convincing his clients that tubs aren’t worth the space they take up. Here are two great examples where Wilder successfully banished them:

Photograph by Morgan Howarth

Photograph by Morgan Howarth

In cases where homeowners must have their tubs, they are choosing to make them the central focus of the room, such as Chantilly designer Marisa Moore, who highlighted the tub in her own bathroom renovation:

Photograph by Jennifer Arnett

Here’s another beauty, designed by Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath.

Photograph by Bob Narod

And here’s a bath where shower and tub share equal billing, thanks to Dee David‘s clever wrapping of tile across both spaces (and the large-format tile illustrates yet another trend in bath design!):

Photograph courtesy of Dee David

I also did a story in this issue about decorating small bathrooms where wide swaths of space were not in the cards. I surveyed several designers who talked about how they worked their way through such challenges.

Tricia Huntley had a couple tricks up her sleeve. In one impossibly tiny space, she dressed it all in dark tile, so the eye wouldn’t stop any any barriers. A framless glass shower enclosure further eases visual flow. And the dark tones signify depth, “like looking into a dark lake,” she says.

Photograph by Kevin Allen

Tricia also had the vanity custom made with a curved front, so it wouldn’t take up so much floor space. And she put a bowl sink on top, to make room for necessities on the counter.

In another bath, Tricia used tile to differentiate the toilet and bath spaces, where in bigger bathrooms a wall would normally offer some separation between the two. She also wanted to visually highlight the vanity area, as this bath is also used as a powder room when guests are over:

Photograph by Kevin Allen

Designer Camille Saum had the same issue in her small DC condo — her master bath is also the powder room, as the condo only has space for one bathroom. To visually enlarge the room, she wrapped everything in marble:

Photograph by Lydia Cutter

And in a clever act of double duty, the ledge holds silver bud vases and other curiosities when guests are there, and Camille’s bath necessities when they are not.

Washingtonian offers further inspiration with an exhaustive list of top bath remodelers in the area, so if you are in the market for a change, this issue is the one to keep!

WELL, if you need to fill up on forever stamps, here’s a great new design that was just introduced with pictures of vintage seed packets—courtesy of one of our own local landscape photographers, George Brown.

Aren’t these just gorgeous? The packets date back to the 1910s and ’20s. George, whom I worked with when I was at Washington Spaces magazine, did such a good job that the postal service has already commissioned him to shoot something else for another stamp.

That “something else” is still top secret, however. But since I was so mesmerized by these flowers, George was kind enough to send me some images of another recent commission: The cherry blossoms at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial on the Tidal Basin, which was landscaped by the renowned Oehme van Sweden Landscape Architecture.

The light on the Tidal Basin is best at sunrise, so predictably, George was one of a throng of photographers out early on the day he was shooting for OVSLA. But while the rest of them were squeezing on to the toe path and shooting toward the water, he was blissfully shooting the other way, the whole memorial practically to himself.

George also got two drop-dead shots with the Washington Monument in them, one just as the sun was coming up, and another as it seems to burst up on the horizon — wow.

And with that, I wish you all a bright and sunny spring weekend—and don’t forget to buy some stamps that feature our local talent!

Everything is made to order, and Barry uses local blacksmiths to craft every piece. Here’s a look:

Designer Joe Ireland commissioned these iron beds and upholstered the headboard — it gives a really great edge to the quilt/country look!

A closeup of part of the headboards. The choice of metal lamps is perfect here.

Two years ago, designer Nancy Colbert used this coffee table in her DC Design House room. Photo by Gordon Beall. 

I love this great room by Fairfax designer Ellen Brotman, using several Salvations tables.

David Mitchell designed this etagere for Salvations—and now uses it in his own dining room.

Designer Sue Burgess has custom drapery rods throughout her Chevy Chase home that were made at Salvations. Photo by Gordon Beall

Designer Margery Wedderburn used this coffee table in her room at one of the Washington Design Center’s annual show houses. Photo by Lydia Cutter.

I’ll end here with two vignettes from the Lee Industries showroom in High Point, where Barry is as I write this, with her new collections for 2013.

The Eastham coffee table

The Cross coffee table, designed by David Mitchell

To see more images, head on over to Salvations’ Facebook, Houzz and Pinterest pages—enjoy!

Here is a taste of what you will see there. I asked the designers what objects in their rooms that they loved the most, and the answers were often surprising. I hope you will go see it in person, especially the preview on Saturday from 1 to 5—the $50 admission goes 100 percent to Children’s National Medical Center. You can buy tickets right here (and scroll way down when you get to this page, because at first glance it looks like just a site map).

(All the NICE photos are by Angie Seckinger/ some detail shots are mine)

When you first enter, you see Camille Saum’s living room to the left. “I start with color, and then I move to the bones of the room,” she says. “I wanted a soft, functional room that is really soothing and appealing to the average person.” This average person approves.

The “Camille” wing chairs on the left are from Camille’s new custom furniture line. Chandelier by Niermann Weeks.

Camille’s favorite pieces are the pink sculptures on either side of the fireplace, by Brian Kirk, who teaches secondary art with Loudoun County Public Schools and is the fine arts department chair at Stone Bridge High School. He also teaches sculpture for VCU’s graduate art program in Northern Va. and metal sculpture at the Art League in Alexandria (whew!).

Camille was also thrilled by her new associate designer Whitney Hansen’s design for the painted ceiling, using colors from Farrow & Ball.

Across the hall is the museum-like dining room by Nestor Santa-Cruz. His favorite detail is “that it doesn’t look like I’m in DC. People think of Washington in a very traditional way, and that’s not what I’m about. [The dining room] has the look as if the owners collected it over time.”

Antique chandy from Marston Luce Antiques; rug by Matt Cameron; PK-54 dining table designed by Poul Kaerholm; Scandinavian sofa from Annette Rachlin

Through a hallway off the dining room is Iantha Carley’s glorious morning room, which is misnamed, because I would want to use it all day long.

Jute wallcovering by Phillip Jeffries. Chandy by Fine Art Lamps. Coffee table by Spectrum Litd; carpet by Stark; drapery fabric by Vervain

Her favorite piece is the mid-century chair, which she grew up with. “We would always slide through the back,” she says. Here’s a closeup:

She recovered the chair with fabric by Kravet.

On the other side of the room is something I’m seeing more and more—huge pieces of art that come down from the wall and over the molding. I love the effect.

The vintage-looking console by Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and the mod lamps from David Bell Antiques are perfect here with the art from Merritt Gallery.

It’s easy to slip from Iantha’s morning room into evening, with Andrea Houck’s hallway and bar just outside. I think I could easily spend all my time in this wing off the kitchen.

Chandy by Nuevo through Ferguson Enterprises; Mirror by AmericanEye; bench by Michael James Furniture; rug by Galleria Carpets & Rugs

Andrea’s favorite element is something you don’t focus on right away, but you definitely notice it when it’s not there: the LED lighting behind the glass shelves, which lights up the space and “it makes the crystal sparkle,” she says.

Around the corner is David Mitchell’s handsome library, which he’s brightened up with all manner of green, my favorite color:

Photographs by Lynn Geesaman; rug by Galleria Carpets & Rugs; coffee of David Mitchell’s own design through Salvations Architectural Furnishings; library table from Restoration Hardware; sofa by R. Jones through the Hines & Co. showroom at the Washington Design Center; small vintage Christian Liagre club chairs through David Mitchell Interior Design.

David’s favorite piece is the lamp that’s made from a vintage fish-catching basket. And it’s already been sold! Here’s a closeup:

In the nearby family room Victoria Neale created a calming, seren space to hang out while dinner’s in the oven.

Victoria’s favorite piece is actually the firewood box. “One of the things that makes me happiest as I look across the room is the wood basket,” she says. “If you took that away, if you had a bench there, it wouldn’t be the same thing.”

Here’s what she’s talking about:

Basket by Holly Hunt; Art by Douglas Freeman through Niermann Weeks

Downstairs, Lorna Gross’ lounge is fantastic, with the bold, high-gloss Drawing Room Blue by Farrow & Ball (all paint and some wallpaper throughout the house was donated by the company, as it does every year for the DC Design House).

Curved sectional by Century; Woven-back wing chair by McGuire through Baker; Drapery fabric by Lee Jofa; area rug by Stark; chandy by Julie Neill through J. Lambeth & Co.; coffee table through AmericanEye

Lorna tried out some new design elements, which she loved—a nailhead-and-tape trim on the accent wall, and patterned grass cloth wallpaper inside the shelving.

Lounge chair through AmericanEye, hand-printed wallcovering by Stroheim through J. Lambeth & Co.; tape trim by Calvin Klein through Kravet.

Adjacent to this space is the lower-level dining room by Scott Cooke, who combined informal elements such as the hand-painted rug with formal antiques:

Tabletop by Niermann Weeks; stone table base through J. Lambeth & Co. Candelier by Niermann Weeks; antiques through Hollis & Knight. Custom sisal rug hand-painted by Billet Collins Studio

“The way some of the sisal shows through [under the paint], it’s almost like denim,” Scott says. Add to that the texture of the stone table base, and “it brings it down a touch, and makes it more casual.”

Upstairs, on the master-suite floor, you are immediately enveloped by Clair Schwab’s gracious design:

Antique Chinese import table through Abaca Imports; Lamps through Wisteria; garden stool through Random Harvest; prints by by W. King Ambler; wallpaper by Kravet

Step into the master bedroom, and oh my goodness—Richmond designer Susan Jamieson should come up the road more often!

Custom iron bed by Mike Reid Weeks; Headboard and footboard by Pierre Frey; cube ottomans by Baker; Grand Nest chandy through Kerson Antiques in New York on 1st Dibs; rug by Patterson Flynn & Martin; flokati accent rug by Serena & Lily

The most expensive thing in this very expensive room is something you don’t see: the $30,000 mattress by Savoir Beds. Wow. I wonder what it’s like to sleep on a $30,000 mattress.

I’ve got to skip over some rooms here, as I’m running out of time, but you can find MANY more images and coverage over at The Washington Post, right here. And, Susan Jamieson was on today’s online chat with Post writer Jura Koncius, here.

I’ll end with two more spaces by designers whom I really admire. The first is Michael Hampton, who did the sitting room next to the master:

Cocktail tables by Dessin Fournir through Hines & Co.; daybed by Lee Industries through AmericanEye; chandy through Michael Hampton Design; carpet by Patternson, Flynn & Martin

Michael’s favorite element—and mine too!—are these pole lamps by Circa Lighting. I think they totally make the room:

Bookcases by Kerry Joyce through Hines & Co. Michael had his paper hanger cut the wood-themed Nobilis wallpaper into squares and hang it in alternating patterns to make the room more modern. If left to look like regular, vertical planks, he says, the effect would have been more traditional and “cottage-y.”

On the third floor, Jeff Akseizer and Jamie Brown of Akseizer Design Group did the media room, which includes a 180-gallon fish tank and multiple flat screens for TV, games—even social media.

Lighting by Boyd; custom cabinetry by ADG Millwork; aquarium by ReefeScape; media wall by Absolute Custom Solutions; accent table by Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman; artwork in stairwell by Lisa Tureson

Jeff’s favorite element here—and again, mine too—is the vintage Paul McCobb chair, paired with a modern acrylic desk:

Jeff and Jamie asked the young patients at Children’s to create black and white prints to hang around the room; you can see one of them over the desk. How cool! Wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries

For more, go to see the house at 2507 Foxhall Road, preferably on Saturday for the special preview to raise money for Children’s, from 1-5 p.m. Tickets, here, are $50—and don’t forget to scroll way down the page for them!

“From the outside, the design house can seem almost superficial, but it’s not a superficial event at all,” says Randie Reilly, who’s on the design house’s executive committee, and whose daughter, Celia, received spinal surgery there when she was a teen. “Children’s has been fantastic. If it had been a different hospital, it would have been a different experience.”

Kathy Barker, left, is president of Childrens’ Health Center board; and Reilly.

Kathy Barker’s daughter had less traumatic surgery years ago, but still remembers the amazing staff and how they put her 6-year-old at ease. She was there for hernia surgery, but Jordan was concerned about other things: she asked surgeon Kurt Newman (now the President and CEO at Children’s) if she could get her ears pierced while she was under. “Of course!” he said. And with that, a happy Jordan got to choose the flavor of gas that would put her under (Kathy can’t remember what she chose, but I would have gone for bubble gum).

And this is the great thing about the doctors there: A supremely talented surgeon such as Newman can converse easily with a 6-year-old, yet switch to a laser-focus (as he did) and lead a team in saving the 13-year-old sniper victim Iran Brown back in 2002—one of the only people to survive John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo’s monthlong rampage.

One thing I found out that I hadn’t realized: It doesn’t matter who you are or whether you can afford it—Children’s will take all comers. That’s why they need your help. And what a beautiful way to donate, by going to the DC Design House. Enjoy.

The series starts off Thursday, April 11, at the Kalorama Triangle home of Andrea Evers, who with her mother runs Evers & Co. real estate. She gave me a sneak peek of her home, which she recently decorated with the help of my friend, designer Liz Levin.

Andrea Evers, with husband Brian Aitken, will host the first of Transformer’s Collector’s View series.

According to the program: “Highlighting themes of repetition and replication, which speaks to a suburban aesthetic and American expansiveness, as well as more narrative works full of life, humor and sex, their collection features Western pop-art pieces and many works by noted DC-area artists—a few who have moved away and several who who still call DC home.”

Andrea and Brian bought their house in 2002, and Brian “just decided one day, ‘I’m going to start buying art,’” she says. His New York artist friend, Lane Twitchell, may have given him the bug. They have a number of Twitchells, including this one:

Twitchell is known for his intricate paper cutouts.

It wasn’t long before Andrea caught the bug, too. She goes for the whimsical, the sexy—and the cartoonish. Here is her first purchase, which she says has moved all over the house, but it now resides in the dining room:

By Ian Whitmore through G Fine Art Gallery in Northeast DC.

Another cartoonish collection by Luis Silva, an art professor at American University.

Andrea has gone so far as to create her own art. Here, she’s taken the decapitated remains of her dog’s toys and arranged them on the kitchen wall adjacent to Silva’s work:

Andrea’s and her husband’s tastes don’t always mesh, but it creates a really cool variety as you wander from room to room. “I tend to like things that seem that there’s a narrative, but you can’t really figure out what it is,” Andrea says. “Somehow it all comes together, but we really don’t have a plan.”

Speaking of mysterious narratives:

A self portrait by Nicholas and Sheila Pye

Since she and Brian have been collecting, they have gone to DC galleries such as G Fine Art, Transformer, the Curator’s Office and Heiner Contemporary. They also attend lectures at the Hirshhorn, and do lots of research on artists who catch their eye.

“If we end up buying something that interests us, we’ll do a ton of reading” on that artist, Andrea says. “I carry a little pad of paper with me when I got out to see shows. It’s more than a hobby—it’s becoming a passion.”

In the process, she’s become close friends with several of the artists she collects, such as Luis Silva, whose cartoon-art is in her kitchen, and Linn Meyers, whose spectacular organic abstract is in her front hall:

Photo courtesy of Transformer

Check out the intricate detail of this work:

Photo courtesy of Transformer

She’s also become friends with several curators around the city, and it sounds to me as though she and Brian learn just as much about art at dinner parties as they do in the galleries. “That’s the other great thing about DC—it’s such a small town. It’s so accessible,” she says.

On Thursday, Meyers will be at Evers’ home, along with artists Maggie Michael and Jason Horowitz, and they’ll be holding “an informal conversation” about the artist/collector relationship.

Here’s a peek at works by Michael and Horowtiz, which hang in the living room where the talk will take place.

Unless noted otherwise, these images come courtesy of photographer Angie Seckinger, who shot the home for Liz Levin’s portfolio:

Michael’s work is on the left.

A detail of Michael’s work, courtesy of Transformer. Interestingly, Luis Silva was her teacher at AU. How cool to have the works of both teacher and student in your home.

The lips were photographed by Jason Horowitz (and you can see a glimpse of Meyers’ work in the front hall beyond).

It might seem like I’m giving everything away from Andrea’s house before you go, but what you see here is a tiny fraction of the art that populates every room in the house, down to the naked pictures in the powder room. (How’s that for a teaser?)

Angie’s photos will give you an idea of how beautiful the interiors are, beyond just the art (although the art makes it).

Drop-dead kitchen.

The guest room. (Hmmm, how can I start angling for an invitation here??)

I’ll close with my personal favorite—a painting by the noted artist Mel Bochner. I wonder if they make prints of this one, which I would love to put in my office:

The rest of the Transformer series—there are five “views” through May—will visit homes of:

Jean and Gary Cohen, April 21. Their Hugh-Newell-Jacobsen-designed house features Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Bochner, Gene Davis, Sol LeWitt, Robert Rauschenberg and Keith Haring, among others.

Deborah Kalkstein (owner of Contemporaria in Georgetown) and Carols Bachrach, May 5. Their collection is filled with the works of artists from Deborah’s native Peru; Mexican and Spanish artists; and French sculptor Jacques LeNantec.

Aaron M Levine & Associates, May 16. This law office is an extension of Barbara and Aaron Levine’s significant personal collection. It includes Warhol, Lawrence Weiner, Hubbard/Birchler, James Casabere, Frank Thiel, Sam Gilliam, August Sander, Anthony McCall and Carlos Garaicoa.

Ann Luskey, May 19. Ann (who was my classmate at Potomac School way back when—small world), lives in the much-publicized Net Zero house designed by Meditch Murphey Architects. Her contemporary collection focuses on themes of nature and environmental conservation—a passion and cause that sends her all over the world to support. She collected many of the works from artists she’s met on her travels as an ocean conservationist. The collection also includes stars such as Warhol, Haring, LeWitt, Spencer Tunick, Stephan Balkenhol, Tony Oursler and Joel Shapiro.

For more information on times, dates, places, and to purchase the $50 tickets, click here to go to Transformer’s Collector’s View page.

As Andrea says, “to be able to come in these houses and see that art—it’s like going to a little museum.” Indeed.

Sally, of course is a customer of Leontine for her own bed, where some of the samples are laid.

The 600-thread-count sheets will run you about $500 for a fitted and flat sheet, plus some more, depending on how elaborate the monograms are. Leontine is best known for its monograms. You can choose one from them, or have a custom one made.

Sally totally swears by these sheets. She says they will last you forever. I might be willing to make that investment, considering that our own sheets from Bed Bath & Beyond are ripped and threadbare!

Here’s a look at all their offerings:

All the products are handmade at a Kentucky studio. The ladies who stitch the monograms personally sign cards when they package and send them to you.

This cashmere throw is sooo delicious!

Here’s a closeup of one of the monograms, so you can see how intricate the stitching is:

The square placemats take the place of a charger. It’s shown here with Sally’s grandmother’s china.

Accessories, of course.

The nightgown is made of the same material as the sheets, indescribably soft.

Jenny Allen, left is the lovely lady from Atlanta who sells Leontine. Jennifer Stephens, right, is also up from Atlanta selling stationery from her own company, Maison de Papier.

So anyone who has appropriately monogrammed sheets and linens must also have the proper stationery, right? Jennifer Stephens is there to take care of that need with Maison de Papier. I adore all her fanciful designs, especially on gift tags, calling cards and note pads.

Sally’s office is just downstairs from her condo, so I went down to peek in before leaving. She and her ladies clearly have a lot of fun together:

L-R: Lucy Samperton, Sally and Heather Safferstone.

Here’s another thing I love: Each designer has her own inspiration board over her desk, so you can see where her current obsessions are. I think I need one of these! Especially these framed boards from Ballard Designs:

I hope you’ll make it out to Sally’s for the last day of the sample sale. Here is the information:

WHERE: 3401 38th St. NW, No. 621, 202.237.9872

WHEN: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Jenny Allen: 404.869.3435; jenny@leontinelinens.com

Jennifer Stephens: 404.352.2377, maisonpapier.com

The first thing that caught my eye was this instantly iconic emerald sofa; and how prescient of R&B, since surely they developed it before Pantone announced emerald as this year’s IT color:

Murphy Sofa

In fact, this collection is full of big colors—vivid oranges, greens, yellows, orange and blue. Witness:

Clarke Sofa

Cooper Bench

Mason Dresser

Mason Dresser

One thing I really like about R&B is that it isn’t one of these chains that buys from vendors that have everything made cheaply in China. More than 90 percent of the furniture is made by U.S. furniture makers. Several years ago, I went to one of them in West Virginia, and you wouldn’t believe the dedication of these people. Many of them sign their pieces. Here are some other cool ones I spotted:

I could SO sink into this Hazel swivel chair in our TV room. I especially love the detailing of the wood base.

I would adore this Clamp lamp on my desk. How sculptural, organic and modern.

The lamp would also look great next to this Jansen bench.

R&B also just introduced a line of housewares for kitchen and tabletop, including ceramic pieces from the great Eva Zeisel:

Cutting boards designed by Ed Wohl:

And these colorful bowls called Pigeon Toe:

Aren’t these professional photos great? I’m going to move on now to my poorer-quality photos from my tour through the huge store on 14th Street, yet I hope you can still see how cool these settings are:

The Eva Zeisel wares sit on top of this sleek dining table, surrounded handsomely by modern white chairs.

Check out the steel base on this table, and the gorgeous spindles that extend down below the seats on the chairs.

I adore this upholstery against the dark wood frames, like men’s suiting.

These chairs have entered my dreams.

The knitted quality of this rug is so handsome, especially its gray tones against the dark wood floor.

Small-apartment dwellers, take notice! The back of this sofa folds down to become a double bed.

This bedroom is my own Mom fantasy, considering my sons’ real-life rooms are so… not like this.

The next time you’re in the 14th Street design district, stop in and sample the new stuff, so fresh and clean, yet warm at the same time. Happy Spring!

I learned so much writing this story—I think I interviewed close to two dozen people trying to figure out the best angle. The bottom line: There are more and more architects and builders who are specializing in green design and construction, just as building codes are starting to require more environmentally friendly features in new construction.

The article has some gorgeous photos in it, but because real estate is tight in a magazine, they obviously couldn’t fit them all in. So I wanted to post more images of these lovely, super-green homes.

The opening page shows a gorgeous green remodel in Bethesda by Gardner Mohr Architects. The Liuzzos, who own the house, also showed immensely good taste by hiring Jennifer Gilmer to do their kitchen. Gilmer, by the way, lives nearby and hired Amy Gardner to renovate her own house.

Here are additional images of the home, shot by the talented Jim Tetro:

Sustainable elements in this kitchen include bamboo flooring and countertops made from recycled paper.

The translucent screen here is the interior of what you see from the rear lawn, looking up to the second floor. A great way to let the light in while maintaing privacy. This material also has a really good R-value of insulation.

The next image you see in the story is this dreamy beach house, designed by Jim Rill in a way that the walls have a foam core, filled with concrete, and are very good at standing up to high winds—a big consideration in places like Bethany Beach, Del.

Photos courtesy of Rill Architects

This is why you come to the beach, for the outdoor showers!

Paul and Heather Haaga commissioned Rill to build this house next to one they’ve owned for a long time, to accommodate their children and grandchildren. Because they anticipate being here forever, they didn’t skimp on beautiful Arts & Crafts detailing throughout, in addition to the green building features, including a geo-thermal heating and cooling system—obviating the need for outdoor HVAC machines, which are much more inefficient, and rust quickly in the humid, salty air.

Check out the inside:

You almost don’t need any art in this house, because the architectural details are so dramatic.

Here’s a view from the other side, with all those windows, and a cheerful kitchen on the other side of the hearth.

I wouldn’t mind having this space as my home office!

The third house in the article belongs to Dr. Don Wright and his wife, Dr. Kathryn Palmer, in the Palisades section of Northwest DC. They had purchased the house a long time ago, but it was old, and so inefficient that there were rooms upstairs they never used, because they were too hot in the summer and too cold int he winter. A new, totally green renovation by Chryssa Wolfe and Jake Hanlon of Hanlon Design Build fixed all that.

The professional photos are by Jason Weil.

Here’s an up-close of the beautiful deck (and the red metal trellis):

The indoors are also beautiful, and my own pictures don’t do it justice. As you can imagine from the outside, it has an Asian feel:

Here’s the entry. Dr. Wright let my son take a whack at the gong!

The window-lined loggia. In the winter, you can see through the trees to the Potomac River.

The cozy family room. Interestingly enough, they already owned this curved sofa, which works perfectly in the new space. The coffee table is by the Phillips Collection.

The bedroom. Glorious!

Their dog also has a beautiful space to curl up in.

One of the builders I quoted in the story, Jim Tabor of Tabor Design Build, uses his own house to demonstrate to clients how easy it is to go green. The photos didn’t make it in, so here they are, courtesy of Jim Tabor:

The exterior looks utterly normal, but look closely at the addition on the far right — it has a reflective roof that doesn’t absorb so much of the sun’s heat, which makes it easy on the geo-thermal cooling system.

The side addition has larger-than-normal eaves, which shade the high sun in the winter, but lets in the low sun’s warming rays in the summer.

Porch envy!

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of the magazine and read more — this is one of those stories where I really enjoyed speaking to people on all sides of green building, from homeowners to builders and architects, from real estate agents to experts on building codes.

Meanwhile, I’m putting the finishing touches on my package on bath design trends of the May issue of Washingtonian. Stay tuned!