Big, Bold Color Punches Up a Historic Washington, D.C., Home
Traditions run deep in the nation’s capital, and an appreciation for what came before us certainly inspired the Beek family's well-established residence, which sits inside an 18th- century Beaux Arts building steeped in Washington, D.C., charm. But that's not to say the venture didn't have some unconventional twists. To start, the creative process proved to be more of a family affair than a run-of-the- mill residential design project . “My late grandfather, Lawrence N. Brandt, was the builder, Georgie and I were the designers, and my parents were the clients,” explains Jennifer Beek , one-half of J+G Design with partner Georgie Hambright ; the pair also collaborated with S. M. Berger Architecture. “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime type of project and dynamic.” Perhaps the most surprising moment occurred upon first sight of the apartment. “We were told it would need a total gut renovation , as the apartment had not been touched since the original decoration in 1962,...