apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

As a DC resident, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I'm definitely going to take the tour -- thanks for a great recommendation and a wonderful post! Best kept secret indeed!

Great post about a part of our American Decorative history that I doubt many folks have ever heard of.

Informative, good photo selection, interesting and local. Great job!

Now THAT's a before and after transformation.

Excellent post about an interesting place- all the years I've lived in DC and I've never even heard of this tour! This is definitely one to add to my list...

Voting buttons don't seem to be working though?

who knew? this is the first of the dc blog posts that i learned something new.

Great post. I had no idea -- and I've lived in DC for awhile. The fact that these are in (I assume) the very institutional looking Dept. of State building makes hem even more interesting.

It is a fantastic space, I found it more impressive than the White House (so tiny in real life!) A great place to impress people when they come to town.

Awesome post! I didn't know about this. I also like that it's such a different style of decoration from most of what's featured on AT.

How refreshing to see a post with no MCM. ;-> I'm a bit disappointed that the designer didn't know the difference between a real Heriz rug and an Indian made copy though.

Great post. Having lived in the DC 'burbs I'm still kicking myself for not taking advantage of many of the tours.

We are thinking of DC for our anniversary this year. Will add this tour to the list! Great job and good luck!

This definitely sounds like a well-kept secret since so many DCers here have never heard of it. Great post and great find on a truly local experience!

I wanted to vote three cupcakes, but that button isn't working for me...

As a DC-ophile from far away, I found this post fascinating. Who knew? (Not many people, apparently.) I'm so glad Colleen included the before and after pics -- so telling. The before looks like a typical basement "rumpus room" of the 1960s. The after is an incredible transformation.

Thanks for telling us about this, Colleen! (Too bad the top vote is just three cupcakes...)

Voting button isn't working for me either. Conspiracy?

Yet another thing I didn't know about in DC--Colleen, you're amazing!

Next time I'm in D.C. I'll be sure to check these out. It's true the size of the rooms at the White House is smaller than most people expect, but that's because it's a real house, not a palace.

Edward Vason Jones' challenge problem at the State Department seems to be just the opposite: how to make gargantuan, architecturally undistinguished spaces feel like something more than a series of hotel ballrooms with antiques, and judging by these photos, it looks like his biggest weakness is his ceilings. In the first room, the ceiling's ornament looks timid & fussy, unrelated to the crispness of the paneled walls & the bold outlines of the furniture, and in the second, he goes the other way: the massive cove & its heavy entablature seem to be slowly crushing the rest of the room. That dainty, pasted-on Adamesque medallion does nothing to lighten the ceiling's visual weight and seems to have come from another room entirely.

Nevertheless, down at floor level, with the right lighting, these rooms probably look very handsome. Certainly, their contents are interesting. It's just too bad the photos are so bad. With their harsh & unmodulated flash lighting, these look like crime scene shots. Where's Derry Moore when you need him?

Magnaverde.

I'm another 3 cupcake voter who can't vote for some reason- can AT add our votes in manually somehow?

Too bad I never knew that the State Department allowed tours of these rooms when I lived in DC- it would have been a great place to send guests. Thanks Colleen for sharing this hidden gem! I've really enjoyed all these great DC posts...

Wanted to give a 3 cupcake but couldn't vote - I have seen the rooms and they are impressive - the review made me go back and check out a couple of the mentioned aspects.

I can't select 3 cupcakes either, and this post definitely deserves it! The left column of ads is covering some of the center column for me- I wonder it that is the problem? Strange though that it is only affecting some people...

I think this is a great post about a really interesting space that it seems most folks have never heard of before- is exactly the type of local insight readers are looking for here on AT. Excellent choice and excellent post Colleen!

i learned something. go dc!

Wow! this is the real thing. If I gave any less than three cupcakes it would be because I ate one of them. Too bad the button isn't working.

..........3 cupcakes for sure!!!

Very informative. Maybe--just maybe one of these day I can get away and visit DC!

gosh thanks everyone- I guess this really is one of DC's best kept secrets! I have to say, I'm another person who can't vote for me- I wonder why this is only affecting a few of us?

All those years in DC and I never knew! I'll have to visit next time.

I've been on a tour of these rooms and I highly recommend it if you get the chance. Some of the individual pieces are really special, and of course the rooms themselves are pretty wonderful, too!