apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Small rant:
Why is it that seemingly EVERY new construction in DC has that exact same kitchen? Same cabinet style & colors, same black countertops & backsplash?

Regardless, I am totally jealous of her closet.

i think that its nice, but just looking at the first shot, i feel that she should remove the black lights that hang just over the couch, it would be better to have a lamp with a dimmer. those lights often cast a wierd shadow on the face... nice art pieces.

Holly,

As a fellow DC-er (actually, former, since I moved to Alexandria two years ago) I agree with your kitchen observation. Howver, this kitchen does seem to be a step up from other new-construction kitchens I've seen around town.

I think developers use shaker style doors, because it's safe. Even if a potential buyer doesn't particularly like the kitchen, the kitchen's not so bad that it would be a deal breaker. That style of door will mix with both traditional, modern and contemporary furnishings.

I heard that Europeans typically take their kitchens with them when they move. Hence, the popularity of free-standing kitchens there. I would prefer this, because no matter where I move, I'm eventually going to have to rip out the kitchen entirely, unless it has slab doors and plenty of drawer storage.

Also, I'm totally envious of Maxine's art collection.

And I love the bedroom furnishings.

I'd like to see more of the actual place as opposed to little vignettes. A picture of a bottle on a counter or a single picture on the wall doesn't seem to do justice to what looks like a great place from the first picture. Too bad the first picture is the only one that seems to give a sense of place. I'd love to see what a 1600 SqFt place in DC actually looks like...

Drooling over the art collection.

david-

You're right about the kitchens in Europe. After 30 years in the US (and new constructions), my family moved back to Spain, and after finding the perfect apartment, arrived on move in day to find that the previous owner had taken every single appliance- stove, fridge, oven, dishwasher, even hallway ceiling light fixtures.

After consulting with my aunts my mother learned that anything you pay for out of pocket and choose the quality of is yours and moves with you. It makes perfect sense, but it does make me think "God bless America!"

Sophisticated and beautiful. Thank you for sharing your photos.

I'm drooling over all the art. Was any of it bought locally? What I like is that it's quirky and whimsical without being kitsch or looking dated. The moose made me smile. :)

Boomer, I agree with you. There aren't enough full room shots to really get a sense of what's going on. I just moved into a 1500 sq ft house in DC myself, so I'd love to see how someone worked with that amount of space.

It kind of reminds me of Akeem and Semmi's revamped Queens apartment in Coming to America. But in a good way. Without the living room jacuzzi though.

"anything you pay for out of pocket and choose the quality of is yours and moves with you"

Like paint?

Ditto on more full room shots. I find this is often a problem with house tours, and has led me to wonder who is actually taking the pictures? Is it AT editors or the people who live there?

But those wall units/shelving are great!

I'm envious of how tidy the place is! I guess that's part of the clean slate-ness of it all.

I live in DC too in a new condo building and I must say they all do look like! Is this a dc 'look' or pretty national? I LOVE the art collection - I'd like to know if many of the pieces were bought in dc or during her travels?

Shawn-

I'm sure if it were possible, the paint would travel as well!

Can anyone figure out how the dining room table works? I'm fascinated by the idea of a table that flips to become twice the size -- but can't figure out how it's done (and the pictures don't help).

Love the art -- especially that adorable moose-creature.

Love it. Lovely execution.

Like JDog, am also curious about the dining table. Would you guys please explain?

Wow, do you ever have an amazing collection of art!

Can you please tell me the source of the bedding in your master bedroom, looks absolutely divine.

HollyinDC - I agree with kitchens in new DC construction, esp all the new "lofts" all over the place. The first thing I thought when I saw the kitchen was, looks familiar, have seen enough of these.

Maxine, I love your place. It reflects a life well lived and your art collection seems to be a collection of carefully chosen things that you really love. I'll bet the reason for the pale neutral walls is so that you can move all of your art around. I keep my walls pale for the same reason. Thanks for sharing!

Note: Since Maxine's art collection is such a comprehensive one, it makes sense that she has pale walls which keep the emphasis on the art and not colour. Well done, Maxine!

WHERE ARE THE DISHS FROM? THEY ARE TOO SUPER! CAN YOU EMAIL ME? ALISHAJUNE81@YAHOO.COM?

I've just taken a look at all of your comments and want to express my thanks for some of the lovely compliments made and to also offer some information, in response to questions asked.

The dining table, as shown, has two glass circles with one laying on top of the other. There is a tool, used at the base, that allows first raising one circle from the surface of the other and then rotating that second surface so that it gets positioned next to the first surface. The tool then allows you to lower the second glass circle so that the two circles lay next to each other, at the same level, thereby creating a figure '8'. This will comfortably seat 6 people.

The linen was purchased at Bloomingdales.

The art has been collected over a period of approximately 35 years, mostly from travels with my husband. The moose (a candle) came from San Francisco and the paintings and sculpture from Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Dubrovnik, Greece, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Israel and South Africa. There are also some pieces from the DC area. The best part of having this collection are the memories associated with finding' there are some very special stories associated with some of them. Disposing of other 'things' that we had in a household for four of us over a period of 30 years seemed daunting at the time but creating this new space for myself to house the art that represented a wonderful marriage was a labor of love.

I'm happy to answer any other questions.

Oops, I missed the question about the dishes. The company is Riverside Design. They are the manufacturer and their website lists where you can find distributors thruout the U.S. The dishes are sea glass and come in a variety of colors.

Hi Maxine! What a beautiful space. I'd love to know where you found the coffee table in the living room. We've been looking for a similar table for ages with no luck- perhaps this is serendipity! Many thanks.

The living room table, as was much of the furniture, was bought at Roche Bobois.

maxine - congrats on doing what you like. sorry, it's not my thing at all.

Maxine! I enjoyed this post very much and reading your comments! Thanks for sharing.

@jdog--

i also have a size-doubling table, but its simpler cause its rectangular. Picture a regular small table. Put another table surface the exact same size/shape on top. Attach the two with hinges on one side. This is the table in small-mode.

To transform, you flip the top surface over, like opening a book. The problem is, there's nothing to hold it up, so what happens is the whole table service is on a slide/pivot contraption that lets you rotate it so that the unfolded double-size top is centered on the legs, but oriented the other way. Now, its twice as big, the table edges are just somewhat farther from the legs/apron than they would be on the avg. table.

Maxine -- thanks for satisfying my curiosity with your detailed description on the dining table! What a novel way to expand a glass-top table. Is this also a Roche Bobois piece?

Burgatroid -- thanks for the info. I've seen wooden tables with similar mechanisms to what you describe, though the hinges always seem to be a bit of an eyesore when the table is in "small" mode (on the few I've seen, at least). The slide/pivot contraption does sound like a nifty way of getting around the problem of table legs getting in the way when you move from seating 4 to seating more.

The dining table is, in fact, Roche Bobois. When in its smaller version, the legs form an 'X' and when the table is expanded, the legs form a parentheses shape.

Great artwork, and I love all the natural light from those awesome huge windows! Wondering why there are so many lights hanging in the first photo?

my kitchen in DC looks the same too lol. just smaller. there must have been on sale on black granite!

Hi Maxine,

Gorgeous home. Fabulous, fabulous artwork. Furniture selection is also amazing. Love the dressers, both in MBR and in guest room.

You have such an excellent eye for quality.

Hi again Maxine,

Would you please:
1) share a few words about your thinking leading to this big decision to purge three decades of accumulated possessions. What was your light bulb moment? (so glad you kept your fantabulous art collection!)

2) for those of us interested in lightening our homes and lives by decluttering before retirement, what are some purging guidelines you recommend (i.e. what helped you let go of things?)

Thank you.

To respond to the question about the lighting - The angle of the photo is a little misleading. The pendant light is one of two that hang over the kitchen island. The larger, hanging light is in the eating area and the track lighting is in the living room area - the spacing is in better proportion to the space than what it appears to be.

Maxine

You've asked a big, soul searching question about making the decision to purge 30 plus years of family history.

We all may come to the same place (i.e. paring down our 'things') via our own unique circumstances. Mine had to do with losing my husband and having my children grow up and leave home. I didn't do anything rash but rather, over the course of a couple of years, I came to the decision that living with all that I'd accumulated wasn't emotionally healthy for me nor was it practical. I took my time and carefully went through all of the family's possessions. I realized that I could give up possessions without giving up wonderful memories. I was also fortunate that my art represented many of those wonderful memories and that is what I chose to keep. Moving to an apartment from a house also reinforced the need for this decision. The end result turned out to be better than I'd imagined. I actually feel 'lighter' and freer, having not realized that I wasn't 'light' and 'free'.

Your positive comments are also so generous and heartwarming and I thank you one and all.

Maxine

afro76! i remembered u said u liked the coffee table and then i ran across this. hope u come back and see it!

http://www.designpublic.com/shop/david-brunicardi/5404