Architecture firm EL Studios has remodelled the interior of a three-storey row house from the 1880s in the historic Dupont Circle neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. The brick exterior was painted, and the inside was reorganised for a family with children.
Rooms moved within the same footprint
The work focused on rethinking what was already there. Rather than extend, the architects moved rooms around inside the existing footprint to make the house easier to live in and better connected to the outdoors.
The living area now sits against the rear garden wall, so the parents can watch the children playing outside. The dining area lies between kitchen and living room and separates the two.
The kitchen moved to the street side, where an existing bay window became a window seat for family meals. It has blue and white cabinets, grey countertops and backsplash, and a wood island with seating.
Details stripped back
Excess detail was stripped out. On the staircase, the old handrails and ornament were replaced by a plain flat face and pink handrails, and the raw brick behind it was painted to brighten the space.
On the third floor, the existing skylights were kept and a new master suite was shaped around them. Dark walls and a bulkhead in the bedroom gave way to white walls and a home office by the windows. A freestanding wardrobe with linoleum-fronted cabinets was made to suit the owners’ clothing, and a custom concrete counter in the dressing area runs into the windowsill.
Bathrooms and laundry
One bathroom swapped its dark vanity for a white one and gained lighter grey tiles and a built-in bath. A second bathroom was enlarged, with a floating white vanity and a wood floor in the shower. A new laundry sits at the bottom of the stairs in the basement.
As a general point, moving rooms within an old house can change how it works far more than new finishes alone.
Project credits
- Architect: EL Studios
- Project: remodel of an 1880s row house, Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.
- Photography: Paul Burk (after); EL Studios (before)
- Source: Contemporist