apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Forgive the double post - I put this on Thread 86 this am - but I thought I'd also put it here, on this DC topic---

Logan Circle house tour, my favorite in DC, is this Sunday from 1-5

http://www.logancircle.org/tour_2005.asp

The D.C. area has a number of excellent design stores, but I would suggest you start with Apartment Zero at 7th and D streets. I believe their URL is apartmentzero.com.

In Alexandria, Virginia, there's Daniel Donnelly, who's the best non-chain in the area for Mid-Century Modern. He also can give you design tips. Check out his eponymous website. (The store is walking distance to Braddock Rd. Metro if you are in DC and don't have a car.) And take a walk along U Street between 14th and 18th. I forget the names, but I've seen a lot of small shops there crammed to the gills with neat things.

For more stores, check 14th St below U St: Home Rule, Go Mama Go, plus more home stores on the same side, but walking up towards U. Also, Tabletop right near the Dupont Metro, north exit. There's also stores on the other side of 14th going south from U around Church St.

But, it sounds like your looking for a designer? Out of all the stores mentioned, maybe someone will have a referral to a designer.

I would second Pixie's recommendations for 14th St. The blocks between S and T streets are full of interesting stores. Also, there is a Design Within Reach store in Bethesda.

There are a few second hand stores that have interesting finds around town. Miss Pixie's on Columbia and 18th across from the gas station has all sorts of early- to mid-20th Century stuff. Good Wood (not sure if it is still open) on 1400 block of U St. features lots of beautiful handcrafted antiques that are well restored, although leans more towards traditional early-American and 19th century stuff. Also, on U Street, 1500 block, is a store called Millenium that specializes in mid-20th Century furnitures, clothes, appliances and accessories. it's very quirky and fun.

There's also a Design within Reach in Adams Morgan on Columbia Rd. As of recently, Good Wood is still there.

Another mid-century is Good Eye, way up Wisconsin Ave, closest to Friendship Heights metro:
http://www.goodeyeonline.com/

Move fast on Miss Pixie's (no relation)--they lost their lease and got a reprieve until mid-January, then they're looking for a new space. One of my faves in DC.

Store recommendations above are good ones.

I just went through the very laborious process of hiring a designer. Rates in DC are generally between $100 and $125/hour, and from cost plus 15% to 25% on purchaes (you can always buy something yourself if you can find a better price).

Depending on your budget, you may have a bit of a hard time finding a designer that is willing to do an efficiency. For the basics, you can often get free advice from the stores if you bring in your floor plan. Dan Donnelly is also sometimes willing to do a free walkthrough for his customers. Some stores also offer design services on the cheap, though they will generally only recommeded pieces from lines they carry.

If you do want to hire a designer, I can heartily recommended the one I went with, Celeste Davis. If you want her contact info or more info on any of the above, feel free to send me an e-mail at kevinacker@hotmail.com.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113000430_pf.html

I think we've forgotten that one of the finalists in the COLOR contest is a designer in DC...

Here's a brief quote:

"They're a great interactive resource," says interior designer Ky Ta of the District. By posting questions on blog comment boards, he says, "you can basically leverage the entire design community to solve problems. They're also a great buying guide for people who don't necessarily know where to go to look for certain things. So they're really providing a free service, and anyone with an Internet connection can use it."

Ta regularly scans several design blogs, he says. In October, he e-mailed pictures of his U Street apartment to one of his favorites, Apartment Therapy, and quickly became a finalist in a contest sponsored by the site to find "the boldest, coolest, most colorful room in the USA." Though in the end he had to settle for runner-up status, Ta says that the "great feedback" he received from other readers proved to be a grand prize indeed.

I own a design services firm which serves young professionals who want to give their apartments or condos a hip, modern look. It's called CondoCool, check out our site, www.condocool.com. I have affordable intro packages and will come to your place and do a free initial consultation. To the poster and all others in the D.C. area, please e-mail, lisa@condocool.com or call 202-330-8675. It's not too late to spruce up your place for those holiday parties!
Thanks Apartment Therapy, love the site!
Lisa

We've been selecting furnishings for our new condo, so have been all over the place around here! There are three brand new modern furniture stores in DC; all can also help out with design and layout. Artefacto in Georgetown, across the street from Cadys Alley (itself a relatively new string of furniture stores, mostly main-line modern): Artefacto is a brazilian-based store, just opening a few shops around the U.S. over next few years. Expensive, but gorgeous; exotic woods, clean lines; they've also got some beautiful custom fabrics. We've been helped out by Michael there. RH is the modern sister to Random Harvest; a broad mix of mostly modern and transitional, it's across M street and a bit east from Artefacto. Anora is in Friendship Heights; they've got many of the less expensive lines of modern that you see so often on the web, and some great customizable storage options. (But we ended up getting lots of our stuff from NY's Desiron--even via email, they're great . . . and at about 25-30% uptick, will customize pieces to size)