Traditional design meets modern art in an English Country-style house

“It had great bones,” says interior designer Marlene Weiss Alexander of the Northwest DC residence she transformed into an elegant home that seamlessly showcases large-scale contemporary art. “The house always had classic architecture: a beautiful grand foyer, large formal rooms, crown moldings, high ceilings and above all, lots of wall space.”

The homeowners’ wish list included a home office, spare bedrooms and ample space to entertain. However, even more important to them was creating display areas for their modern art collection, which includes works by Gene Davis, Rodney Graham and Christopher Wool.The 8,500-square-foot English Country-style house, built in 1990, already had a mahogany-paneled study, an unfinished attic with potential and a flowing first floor, thereby meeting all the homeowners’ stipulations. However, it needed updating. The original architect, Stephen Muse, assisted with the renovation.The designer also traded the previously dark and overly traditional wall finishes for a lighter, fresher look. Because the formal rooms connected through cased openings, their wall colors had to blend well, while serving as a neutral backdrop for the art. The dining room went from red to cream, the living room from taupe to vanilla and the foyer from damask to striae-patterned wallpaper.