Interior Design Trend 2011

When M. Robert Guggenheim purchased a stately mansion overlooking Rock Creek Park in 1942, he named the residence after his mother, Florence. Ironically, the name could not have been more appropriate when, 34 years later, the Italian government acquired “Villa Firenze” as an embassy residence in Washington. Set on 22 secluded acres near Cleveland Park, the magnificent home has witnessed a steady stream of cultural, diplomatic and political activity over the years. But recently, Villa Firenze

To marry the house to its surroundings, Brinitzer designed a series of retaining walls that step down gracefully from the house to street level, creating broad terraces, with a walkway through them, that allow room for handsome plantings.  To the left of the entry-level terrace, a magnificent Southern magnolia nestles in a bed of white azaleas. To the right, three serviceberries obscure the view of the house while still allowing visitors to see through to the front door. Patterned after the

The ability to tackle a million details at once is one of the hallmarks of a good kitchen designer. And in a kitchen where the design is driven by a high level of decorative detail, the challenge is even greater. Such was the case in a Great Falls, Virginia, home where kitchen designer Lois Kennedy and interior designer Maria Galiani collaborated on a kitchen brimming with Old World style. Their client had toured a kitchen Kennedy designed years ago in a National Symphony Orchestra show house,

Baltimore Real Estate Mogul Pat Turner Trend 2011 BY DEBORAH K. DIETSCH Baltimore real estate mogul Pat Turner of Turner Development Group has built a reputation over the past decade for turning neglected urban properties into stylish spaces designed to draw residents back into the city. He has converted structures as unusual as an old hospital and a 1920s grain elevator into contemporary lofts, both with the help of architect Christopher Pfaeffle of the Baltimore firm Parameter Inc.  “Chris