Every spring, Kenwood's streets fill with cherry blossoms, and a few minutes away Bannockburn has some of the most interesting midcentury modern houses in the area. Debbi Porter Interiors is an interior design studio based in Northern Virginia that works with homeowners across Bethesda and Chevy Chase, from older colonials to new builds and condos. The first step is a complimentary discovery call by phone or Zoom.
Brick colonials in Wood Acres and nearby
Wood Acres was built largely by one company between 1940 and the late 1950s, and its original houses are brick colonials with plaster walls and hardwood floors. Similar center-hall colonials run through much of Bethesda and Chevy Chase. The plan is familiar: living room on one side of the hall, dining room on the other, kitchen at the back, often with a family room added later.
The center-hall colonial is the navy blazer of houses. It's classic, it goes with almost anything and it can look either stiff or wonderful depending on how you style it. We like to loosen it up with color, pattern and a few unexpected pieces, keeping the symmetry the house was built around while making it feel personal. A traditional dining room might get a bold wallpaper and a modern chandelier. A formal living room might get a pair of slipper chairs in a print you love.
Kitchens and baths in these houses have usually been updated at least once, and some are ready for another round. We make the tile, stone, fixture and lighting selections and the drawings, and your contractor does the build. More on that in our bath and small remodel design service.
Midcentury houses in Bannockburn
Bannockburn, near the C&O Canal and Glen Echo Park, has a notable group of houses from the early 1950s, including work by the midcentury architect Charles Goodman. These houses have walls of glass, low rooflines and open plans that look out to wooded lots. Glen Echo Heights, nearby, mixes older bungalows, midcentury modern houses and plenty of new construction.
Midcentury houses ask for restraint in the right places. The architecture is the star, so we keep furniture low, lines clean and window treatments minimal, then bring in warmth through wood, textured fabric, art and a few saturated colors. We don't believe midcentury means only midcentury furniture. A well-chosen antique or a contemporary piece can look excellent in a Goodman house, as long as the scale and the line are right.
Planning a project in Bethesda and Chevy Chase? Start with a complimentary discovery call.
New houses on rebuilt lots
Across Bethesda and Chevy Chase, buyers compete for lots they can rebuild on, and new houses appear among the older ones in neighborhoods like Edgemoor and Kenwood. A new build here is often larger and more open than its neighbors, with a big kitchen and family room across the back.
If you're building, we make the selections and drawings for finishes, fixtures, lighting and millwork alongside your builder and architect, then furnish and style the house once it's finished. Bringing us in before the selections are due keeps the finishes and the furniture plan in agreement.
Chevy Chase Village and Kenwood
Chevy Chase Village and Kenwood are among the most established residential parts of the area, with stately older houses on tree-lined streets and, in Kenwood, the cherry trees that bring visitors every spring. Houses here often have generous entertaining rooms, a sunroom or porch and a primary suite that has been updated more than once. In homes like these, we pay close attention to how the rooms connect, so the living room, dining room and sunroom feel like parts of one wardrobe rather than pieces bought on separate trips.
Downsizing to downtown Bethesda
Some clients are going the other way, from a large family house to a condo or townhouse near downtown Bethesda, where they can walk to restaurants and the Metro. We help decide which pieces make the move and plan the new rooms around them before the movers arrive.
- A measured floor plan of the new home before moving day
- A list of what goes, what gets reupholstered and what stays behind
- Art and collections placed first, furniture second
- Lighting and storage planned for smaller rooms
