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Gail's Home, Studio & Art Collection
House Call

Name: Gail Vollrath
Location: Washington DC — Old City, Capitol Hill, NE

I'm an artist and have been in my condo for 3 years. The building was built in 1933 and has four units — mine is the largest at 804 square feet. I've got a large art collection and my studio is in my home. The neighborhood is in the Old City section of Capitol Hill, a neighborhood in transition.

 
 

The H Street neighborhood is the closest commercial area to my home. The photos uploaded are only of the living area which includes the dining area. All the hardwoods are original and the plaster and trim were recently redone and painted a gray blue Duron paint. In one of the photos there is a bin of my work which I keep for guests to visit and flip through. Many of the artworks are either mine or colleagues I have ether traded for or purchased. I own many DC artists works as well as a Kiki Smith print.

In my office are custom shelves I designed and had built which store my art work as well as boxes of prints and drawings of other artists. The condo has a living room, main bedroom, office/bedroom, studio, kitchen and one bathroom. There is an entrance foyer separate from the living area as well. Most of the furnishings come from West Elm, trash dumpsters or flea markets. There are a couple of vintage pieces in the living area — the two dining chairs which were "recovered" from the dumpster at Catholic University after a library renovation and a two cushion upholstered wood frame chair which was purchased at a church sale for $3.50 and reupholstered for $30.

My family had a shoe store while I was growing up in Chicago and I have several old items, such as antique shoe and hat stretchers, a Swank men's glass and wood jewelry case, a small wooden lamp which served as a night light for the store and a small glass and oak display case which was used for displaying cosmetics in the 40s.

You can see more of my art at gvollrath.com

Thanks, Gail!


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Comments (13)

I like! Wish we could see more of it. I like the art.

posted by Pixie on November 6th 2009 at 1:42pm
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It's also nice to see something in the H St. area.

posted by Pixie on November 6th 2009 at 1:43pm
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Looks like a comfy and cheerful space. Nice colors, nice art.

posted by mirandabee on November 6th 2009 at 1:47pm
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your leather couch is to die for...

posted by yul on November 6th 2009 at 2:10pm
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Very nice place! I like that there is a lot of color, but none of it is overwhelming.

Also, where did you get the living room rug?

posted by emmelemm on November 6th 2009 at 2:28pm
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From one artist to another...I love your space!!

posted by topherburk on November 6th 2009 at 2:41pm
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Ugh, I have that couch. It is from West Elm and while nice to look at, it is awful to sit on. It is more of bench and you are too upright to be comfortable.

The stupid cushions on the back tip over all the time too.

posted by gothamguy on November 6th 2009 at 3:39pm
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cute cute place :) I love that rug too!

posted by dunklekatze on November 6th 2009 at 8:25pm
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The rug is two smaller Pier 1 rugs stitched together. Yes the couch is not most comfortable to sit on, but it does make into a good guest bed. Thank you for the comments!

posted by gvollrath on November 8th 2009 at 9:00am
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Love your art (both here and on your website). It's stunning!

posted by Polpol on November 10th 2009 at 2:24am
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love your green chair and rug(s). the clouch is lovely as well, except for the comfort issue. I adore your snowflake painting

great layout of a small space, my home is about the same size and we have 4 of us in here!

posted by LittleLovables on November 13th 2009 at 12:38pm
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Definitely dig your place! Great way to change heights and depths with a cool blend of colors and shapes. Everything fits perfectly! Please come decorate my place!

posted by lobo on November 15th 2009 at 10:27pm
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Thanks everyone! For those of you who want to see more of my work, I will have several small affordable pieces in a group show opening Nov. 27 at Plan b gallery on 14th St in DC. http://www.galleryplanb.com/exhibits.html#year Opening reception Dec. 5 from 6-8 pm. Hope to see you there!

posted by gvollrath on November 16th 2009 at 11:05am
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