Veranda, June, 2011

CAPITAL IDEA
REBORN JUST BEYOND WASHINGTON, D.C.,
RENOVATION AND INTERIOR DESIGN BY MARY DOUGLAS DRYSDALE RESTOR ATION ARCHITECTURE BY ANTHONY S. BARNES
PHOTOGR APHY BY PETER VITALE AND MAX KIM-BEE PRODUCED BY CHARLES L. ROSS WRITTEN BY SUSAN STILES DOWELL
T
.,
THE LEGENDARY MARWOOD ESTATE ENTERS THE 21ST CENTURY.
E
EVER SINCE MARWOOD WAS BUILT ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION,
THE RIVERFRONT HOUSE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF WASHINGTON, D.C., HAS BEEN
A LOCAL LEGEND. FOUR U.S. PRESIDENTS DINED THERE. JOSEPH KENNEDY
rented the estate in the 1930s. He even installed an elevator for
the wheelchair-bound Franklin Roosevelt, who escaped to the
Potomac, Maryland, mansion for relief from summer heat.
Over time, owners came and went. Then in 2005, designer
Mary Douglas Drysdale was invited by a couple—longtime
clients who were purchasing the property—to bring Marwood’s
interiors into the twenty-first century as their family home.
“Seeing this neoclassical house took me back to my early
days in Europe,” says Drysdale, who launched her design
career at a Parisian architectural firm. “I was astounded to
discover what looked like a château on the Potomac River.”
102
The house’s facade—which original architect John J. Whalen
modeled in part on Malmaison, Napoleon and Josephine’s
eighteenth-century château near Paris—had weathered the
decades just fine. However, the interior of Marwood—Old
English for “a forest by water”—was another matter. Drysdale
knew that the thirty-room residence would prove to be her most
complex undertaking yet: “It required four years to restore the
grandness of the original vision and to bring it up to date.”
Drysdale began by reconfiguring the floor plan. “The layout
had not maximized the remarkable views,” she says. “Nor did
the interior’s architectural detailing live up to the refinement
An unstructured valance in plain linen softens formal
architecture. this page: Window fabric and sateen banding,
Rogers & Goffigon. Pillow and dining chairs in Kravet linen
and trim. Antique sconce and chandelier. Jars, Allan Knight
& Associates. opening pages: Console, sconces and chairs,
in Duralee fabrics with custom embroidery, all antiques.
Chair trim, Houlès. Greek key trim, Clarence House. Center
table, Dessin Fournir. Curtains in Kravet silk. Framed art,
Elaine Kurtz. opposite: Jansen chest. Pillow in Duralee wool.
Statue by Philippe Besnard. Framed art, Donald Sultan.
Modern art adds vitality to a traditional setting. Vintage
bergères, antique French settee, accent pillows and
window treatments, all in Rogers & Goffigon linen.
Coffee table and pedestal table, both custom. Floor
painted and glazed by Rising Tide. Side tables,
David Iatesta for Holly Hunt. Antique candelabra and
sconce. Gold bowl, Formations. Custom fireplace,
Chesney’s. Photographs, above settee, Roland Fischer.
Ceramic form, Michal Zehavi. Framed art, Donald Judd.
“
TODAY, WE EXPECT EVEN THE
A custom bed in an upholstered niche feels gently enveloping.
Wall, headboard and bedcover, all in Kravet fabric. Quilt
and pillow shams, Casa Del Bianco. Pillows in Clarence
House stripe and Kravet woven. Bergères in Kravet linen
and side chair in Duralee fabric, all antiques. Chair pillow in
Duralee wool. Curtains and valance in Kravet silk with
Cowtan & Tout trim. Undercurtains and chair in Cowtan &
Tout plaid silk. Table, Avrett. Rug, J. Brooks. Custom frieze.
G
E
”
GRANDEST ROOMS TO BE APPROACHABLE AND COMFORTABLE.
“
INTERIOR MOTIFS ECHO THE
of the exterior’s beauty.” She opened up or realigned various
spaces. “You can now see the river from almost every room.”
A fifteen-foot-wide central hallway—glazed in creamy tones
to create a soft patina—bisects the first floor from front to back
of the house. On one side, Drysdale decorated the rooms in a
more classical style; on the other, she used a lighter touch for
a relaxed family atmosphere. Throughout, fine millwork and
finishes produce consistency. In the entry area, new boiserie
blends with freshly mined French limestone for the floor tiles,
cut on the diagonal and tumbled for a worn look.
Statuesque curtains emphasize the height of superbly proportioned rooms and frame a picturesque curve in the river.
Drysdale adorned floors and new cornice moldings with acanthus leaves, Greek key borders, stars, medallions and other
neoclassical motifs, which reappear in custom embroidery on
108
upholstery and pillows. “Interior motifs echo the architecture,”
she says, “but I reinterpreted them so they’d feel modern.”
Significant French antiques for public rooms acknowledge
the château spirit. Custom-designed pieces, such as an oval
coffee table, reiterate the spare neoclassical lines. Simple
linen for some of the upholstery and curtains lends a quiet
dignity. Amid such traditional elements, contemporary art
provides a bold contrast, a fresh jolt that energizes spaces.
“Art by Donald Judd goes with anything, including Louis
XV,” the designer says of his sharp-edged works in the living
room. “I wanted formality and informality. Today, we expect
even the grandest rooms to be approachable and comfortable.”
Drysdale treated Marwood as more than a legend. Her
meticulous renovation helped save a relic of a lost era by
making it work for an American family today.
MORE IDEAS FROM MARY DOUGLAS DRYSDALE AT VERANDA.COM
A
e
”
architecture, but I reinterpreted them so they’d feel modern.
A graphic mirror over a sculptural tub illustrates the power
of simplicity. these pages: Tub with burnished metallic
finish, sink and faucets, all Waterworks. Sunburst mirror,
Baker, repainted by Rising Tide. Custom vanity with
limestone counter. Limestone floor, Architectural Ceramics.