Name: Ralph and Drew + dogs Walker and Sadie
Location: Shaw-Howard — Washington DC
Size: 1,850 Square Feet
Years lived in: 4
Ralph and Drew bring together a rare blend of traditional modern masculinity. Their home is brimming with incredible local art, mostly due to Drew's job as director of DC's Long View Gallery. Much of their home decor is hand-me-down furniture, which affirms the self-proclaimed family focus of both North Carolina natives. Yet, Ralph and Drew exude an urban sensibility. Their contemporary art collection amorously mingles with salvaged heirlooms creating a unique and beautiful home.
Drew and Ralph moved into their Shaw-Howard townhome 4 years ago, and immediately took an active interest in the area. Ralph, an attorney, is author of the neighborhood blog Renew Shaw and Vice Chairman of the board of Shaw Main Streets, an organization that offers business advice to local storefronts. Drew's gallery is located two blocks away from their home, so it's no surprise the most prominent element of their home is the diverse art collection.
Every wall offers a visual treat, from the family portrait in the bedroom entryway to the striking portraits in the living room weaved by Drew. Even their bathroom art is fascinating. The poster in the master bath is a movie billboard from WWII Poland. In recent years these have become collectors items due to their unusual nature. During the war, Polish artists recreated movie posters for American films because Polish law prohibited the display of American advertising. Drew says, "it's counterintuitive, but many of these billboards were quite avant garde for their time."
Ralph and Drew might have an envious art collection, but they're not above shopping at popular megashops like West Elm and Crate & Barrel. Ralph says, "when we first bought our place, we went on a one-stop shopping spree at West Elm," but, what makes their home feel full of life and soul and not like a contemporary catalog, are the family pieces sprinkled throughout the townhouse. Drew and Ralph went on a recent shopping expedition in Ralph's family storage unit. During their cost-effective shopping trip, they acquired the handsome leather chair in their living room and the petite blue chairs in their bedroom. Both these pieces standout against the cool gray walls and add a traditional warmth to their space, encompassing the essence of their style. Although, there is no denying the cheerful glow of their festive holiday decorations and the loving glances of their two cute dogs, Walker and Sadie.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
Style: Our style is comfortable, current, traditional and modern, but not jarringly modern.
Inspiration: We're constantly inspired by the fine art at Drew's gallery, and other artist he's in contact with because of his job. Then, like everyone else, we like popular sources, Dwell and Metropolitan Home (RIP!). Also, we are also huge fans of Jeff Lewis' style on Bravo's Flipping Out.
Favorite Element: Our favorite element is the black leather chair in the living room we just acquired from Ralph's parents. That chair represents our style perfectly. It's traditional and worn out, but still looks new and modern in our house – whereas it could look outdated in someone else's house. We also enjoy our backyard, being from North Carolina we're used to having access to the outdoors. It's such a pleasure having an outdoor area in the city.
Biggest Challenge: We love to entertain and the house is long and narrow so the furniture arrangement is perpetually changing depending on the flow of traffic. We're always moving around chairs, but sometimes it brings a flexible energy to the space. Another issue was making sure there was continuity between the dining room and living room. We didn't want to split up the space visually, so it was a challenge finding a dining room table that would blend with the living room decor. The floors are a beautiful dark hardwood that, unfortunately, advertise the white dog fur that coats every surface.
Biggest Embarrassment: The floors are a dark hardwood that, unfortunately, advertise the white dog fur that coats every surface. Also, the decor in the partial bathroom was an "afterthought."
Proudest DIY: Drew risked his life painting the back exterior of the house. We both spent weekends renovating the backyard area that started out as a barren gravel pile.
Biggest Indulgence: Art, is by far, our biggest indulgence. The Stacie Albano painting over the dining room table was our first expensive piece.
Best Advice: Our advice is to embrace design as a process of evolution and an expression of yourself.
Dream Source: Winning the lottery and Ann Sacks!
RESOURCES OF NOTE:
LIVING ROOM
• Photography next to fireplace: by Drew
• Black Leather Side Chair: family piece
• Black and White 'Stockholm' Rug: IKEA
• Sofa: Furnitureland South
• Pillows: West Elm
• Beige Side Chair: West Elm
• Vases: Consignment Shop
• TV Console: Crate & Barrel
• Chest by front door: Family Piece
• Miniature Christmas Tree on chest by front door: by Ralph's Grandmother
• Glass Table in corner of room: old aquarium Ralph salvaged from his grandfather.
DINING AREA
• Table: West Elm
• Green Dining Room Chairs: Second Hand
• Photography Series: by Drew
• Painting: Stacie Albano
KITCHEN
• Painting: from Ralph's Mom
MUDROOM
• Wooden Fold-out Table: Antique from 1800's, present from Ralph's Parents
• Black and White Painting: Cheryl Wassenaar
OUTSIDE AREA
• Furniture: Smith & Hawken
• Planters: Restoration Hardware Warehouse
MASTER BEDROOM
• Family Portrait: custom art by Mary Chiaramonte
• Blue Chairs: family piece
• Side Table Next to Blue Chairs: family piece
• Painting on Side Table: by Dana Ellyn
• Painting Above Bed: by Drew's Uncle Clyde (Clyde Fowler)
• Rooster Art : Matt Sesow
• Dresser: family piece
• Mirror: West Elm
• Bedding: Bed Bath & Beyond
• Pillows: Apartment Zero
• Painting on wall next to chairs: by Amy Genser
SECOND BEDROOM
• Dresser, Bed, Side Tables and Desk Chair: family pieces
• Leather Chair: Furnitureland South
• Desk: IKEA
• Side Table Lamps: Target
• Painting on Dresser: Tony Savoie
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Love those navy chairs and I love how Ralph and Drew are totally unafraid to proclaim they purchased a lot of furniture and decor pieces from mega decor stores. Even in a decor-rich place like the DC area, the mega decor stores often have the best deal and the exact look you're going for anyway.
The kitchen table and chairs (the chairs!) are fab. I also lurve the foyer (was it the foyer?) table with the blue vase, etc. Gorgeous house. (I like how the blue chairs in the bedroom with the red house across the street. Was that on purpose. Lol.) x
Correction: I like how the blue chairs in the bedroome MATCH the red house across the street. x
What the heck is "traditional modern masculinity"?
Really enjoyed this tour. I was wondering what wall colors were used on the walls. Usually that is listed :(
Thanks for sharing your beautiful home guys. I like your beautiful restrained holiday decorations too. Would love to see even more photos someday!
Your mixing modern and traditional seem effortless. Beautiful home.
Thanks for the comments!
Re: wall colors, the living room, dining room, mud room, and upstairs hallway are all Behr Dolphin Fin; the master bedroom is Ralph Lauren Mercer; the master bath is Ralph Lauren Lancaster Blue; and the guest bedroom is Sherwin Williams Hopsack.
Too neutral (for me). But I really love how it looks both uncluttered and lived-in at the same time. Also I like the bedroom and bathroom art. I would have really liked to see some of that kind of art in the main living space.
Well done, guys!
I love the stripey rug in the living room.
I have too questions for you:
1.How do you maintain the house so clean and spotless with 2 dogs? Something must be wrong with me.
2.Where did you get the artwork in slide 15? (The painting - I think it says it in the bedroom entry). Fabulous. It is custom job?
CanadianMango -- thanks so much!!!
Re: Dog Hair, we feel your pain. Our dogs shed all the freaking time, and the furminator is powerless to them. We vacum (with a Dison we like a lot) and mop pretty regularly -- particularly thoroughly in anticpation of guests or apartment therapy photographers :-). It usually feels like a losing battle to us, too.
Re: the piece in slide 15, Drew commissioned it by a Long View Gallery artist, Mary Chiaramonte, for my birthday a few years ago. I love her work -- the colors in this piece are typical of those she generally uses. Her subject matter is often people (although she usually frames her images to exclude people's faces).
"Weaved"? Really??
if a lot of that is hand me downs, I want your friends and family.
Very nicely put together.
I LOVE the painting over the bed (was that slide 15, already discussed??) Really nice, please mail it to me! ;^)
Sherry - the painting above the bed is by Drew's uncle, Clyde Fowler (I think it's in slide 16). He recently retired as the director of the visual arts program at the NC School of the Arts. Long View Gallery also represents him and has some gorgeous work in varying sizes.
what is that lovely gray paint colour in the bedroom?
Is it too pedantic to mention that the art collection is enviable, not envious?
Probably.
I love this home. Except for the IKEA rug in the living room, which is too bold and busy for the elegant restraint of the rest of the furnishings. Everything else is beautifully understated: the best example is the glass vase full of grey pebbles in image 4.
well done I especially love your artwork. I think your living room rug was a great choice.
I see the paint colors listed on your previous comment, but what grey did you use? Ralph Lauren sweatshirt grey?
This housetour is one of my favorite. So calm, so perfectly balanced, I love it ! Great inspiration for those of us living in long and narrow houses.
On a side, note, I love that you had the honesty to say that you prepped the house a bit for AT photographs. Everybody does that, but they are almost no tiny vignette in your housetour, meaning that the house is really as amazing as shown. I really love that !
Wonderful, serenely wonderful. The Clyde Fowler painting above the bed in the master bedroom is a revelation and a delight. I'd love to see more of his work. And, unless they're some exotic breed, I'd love to know how/why there's no evidence of Walker and Sadie's shedding on that living room carpet. Maybe the tranquil ambiance curtails pet shedding? This tour is one that inspires - thank you.
Love your dogs! In slide 3, they look like they are about to embark on wrestling that striped rug into disarray.
I love your duvet! Are those feathers in the pattern? I see you got it at Bed Bath and Beyond - do you recall the brand or pattern name?
Tara -- the gray in the master bedroom is Ralph Lauren Mercer (I'm 90% sure...). The gray almost everywhere else is Behr Dolphin Fin (I'm 100% sure).
RLWertheimer -- the bedding in the master is mostly all from West Elm (the guest bedroom bedding is mostly from BB&B). In looking at WE's website just now, I don't see our duvet.
Re: the ikea rug, in all candor, we've gone through numerous floor coverings in the living room space. This is our favorite look to date because it adds some drama to the space, whereas some of our prior selections fell a little flat. And in a high traffic area where wine and coffee are often consumed near wagging tails, it's a good that it's inexpensive and thus easy to replace.
beautiful.
where did you get that round mirror ?
thanks.
thanks, KJ26! We purchased the round mirror at a now-closed store in Morehead City, NC, called To The Beat. We recently noticed a VERY similar mirror at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.
I love this house, and love the wall color.
Except it's a town HOUSE (or a row house) not town HOME? Gaah.
Classy.
I love your house!! The hand me down blue leather chair is to die for, and I also love the chairs in the master bedroom. That art next to the bed with the bomb pop is awesome! Thanks for the peek inside.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this home and every color chosen-Very inspiring !!
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! Well done. So yummy all over.
I would love to know about the art in slide 10. Lovely home, thanks for the tour!
Strikingly beautiful dining area. Lovely home.
This is a really wonderful home. Your color choices are perfect.
I really like this place, and the way it -- true to the House Tour name -- makes me feel comfortable. Like, sit-and-read-a-book-for-hours-and-don't-feel-shamey-about-it kinda comfortable. LOVE the striking art, and thoughtful moments throughout.
I feel like the photography really isn't doing this place justice. The twisted angles and quick compositions are distracting, and take away from the House Tour a bit for me. You can do better AT, I know you can.
That said, I am truly inspired. Thank you to Ralph and Drew for sharing your warm and wonderful space with us.