Modern Design Meets the Center-Hall Colonial in Washington D.C.

An Italian couple in Washington D.C. brought a 1980s brick Colonial and a collection of European modernist furniture to an architecture firm for a family-home makeover. The firm streamlined the exterior and interior by removing window shutters and the center hall. A Poul Henningsen front door light, a Finn Juhl sideboard, and custom cabinetry replaced older elements and partitions. The painted brick, new Marvin casement windows, and an orange steel stair rail created a modern look that helped the house stand out on a red-brick block. The interiors incorporated well-known Italian, French, and Danish modern pieces, including sofas and circular tables sourced from De Padova.

"An Italian couple based in Washington D.C. approached local architecture firm Fowlkes Studio with a 1980s brick Colonial and an impressive collection of pedigreed European modernist furniture. How to combine the two into a family home? Fowlkes, which is run by husband-and-wife team, VW and Catherine Fowlkes, rose to the challenge by deftly streamlining both exterior and interior. Out went the window shutters and the center hall. In came the Poul Henningsen front door light, the Finn Juhl sideboard, and the custom cabinetry in place of partitions."

"The new looks begins at the entry. The Italian owners—she's works for an international organization; he's in tech—are confirmed modernists, hence the painted brick (it's Blackened from Farrow & Ball at 50 percent tint), new Marvin casement windows, orange steel stair rail, and aforementioned Poul Henningsen copper sconce. "On a block of buttoned-up red brick [it's in Spring Valley], these details help the house stand out," says Catherine."

""The furniture is almost all well-known pieces from a mix of Italian, French, and Danish modern designers and architects. Every home our clients have lived in has incorporated these pieces, even their parents' house," says Catherine. The Vico Magistretti Chesterfield-style Raffles sofas and circular Sen tables are available from De Padova, a Milan-based company with a showroom in downtown NYC."

Read at Remodelista