Sunday, March 1, 2015

DC Design House - We Are Doing the Butler's Pantry!!

DC Design House 2015
We Are Doing the Butler's Pantry!!

So this is our first time to try for a room with the DC Design House group.  A few years ago, Margery Wedderburn Interiors (MWI) designed a showroom at the Washington Design Center, but over the years we have been too busy with our client load to try for a room with the DC Design House.  We love the homes that have been featured over the years. 

And we are simply so excited to be a part of it all this year.

                         Rendering from the DC Design House facebook page

So... We will start from the beginning because it is kind of fun to see what designers go through for these showhouses.  Lots of our friends who are not designers seem to enjoy this sort of thing, so we will take you along for the ride, if you find this interesting in the least bit.  Otherwise just delete these blogs out as they arrive in your Inbox.

Second Floor Hallway

View through a bedroom window - Check out the beautiful stone

Stone in the Master Bath - How cool is this??

Lower Level Bar


Before anything can begin, and for months in advance, the DC Design House Advance Team is busy trying to find a large home which will allow a bunch of designers to come in and do their work for a month.  It is no easy task, and I really admire those that are in charge of this.  That will be another blog in the future.

And then...

There is always a Designer Walk Thru in which around 80 designers stop by the house and to see all the spaces and then decide if they want to bid on a room.  Then they need to prepare presentation boards and information to give to the DC Design House Committee who will then decide which designers will get a room that year. 

We got the call in late November that we would be given the Butler's Pantry.  See the pictures here of the Pantry.  Since it is a new house, it was still a work in progress.  Immediately I loved the space and the light... We could have a great time doing something fun and different in here.  And so here are pictures of the Butler's Pantry, still very much a work in progress by Artisan Builders.


Most of the cabinetry and the marble counter is covered to protect it

Check out the unfinished floors and the kitchen beyond

Another view of the Butler's Pantry


The house is a throw-back to old country farmhouses that used to sit on this land here in McLean, Virginia.  I love love this style of house, which is one of the big styles at the moment.  There is something a bit historic and yet so casual and cozy about it.  See the detailing of this home.  Artisan Builders did a fabulous job of bringing the outdoors in and really conveying that sort of farmhouse style without going overboard.  It's not cliché...there is just enough of the country style for everyone to enjoy.

Check out the view and the new landscaping, already in place

A glimpse of the existing brand new cabinetry, which is through Lobkovich Kitchens.

There is nothing like a hammered sink to give an added texture combined with beautiful marble.
With all site measuring and pictures completed, we are ready to go to work!  Stay tuned for more on the development of the Butler's Pantry at the DC Design House 2015.

Margery