“To me, design is an ever-evolving canvas,” says interior designer Alex Deringer of Deringer Design, when speaking of the three-bedroom, 3,058-square-foot Old Town Alexandria rowhouse she has worked on for several years. “In this home, every time we created a room, we ended up developing and elevating it further,” she adds.
The homeowner, Marta Wilson, an organizational leadership expert, had sought Deringer’s help with redecorating the circa-1985 home she had purchased furnished.
“The rowhouse was done in a traditional style. In 2020, as the world came to a halt during the pandemic, I decided it was time for a change,” says Wilson. She wanted to transform the décor into something fresher and more representative of her style.
“We focused on the kind of vibe she wanted the home to have,” says Deringer. “Marta planned on actively using all the spaces in her house. She hosts frequently, has many gatherings in her home, bringing associates, friends, and family together in a variety of ways,” says Deringer.
Blending New with the Old
The entry sets the tone and is marked with a classic metal-and-stone table with inlay rosettes paired with a contemporary strié velvet–upholstered stool with nailhead trim. “The custom foyer table mixes metals, something I like to do. Silver and gold are ‘kissing cousins.’ I find when all metals match, a room can feel sterile and uninteresting,” says Deringer.
The step-down living room or front parlor is anything but sterile and uninteresting. The stool’s soft palette of grays, blues, and blushes carries into the room, which features a boldly patterned Turkish rug atop a neutral carpet. The back wall features two nooks on either side of the fireplace, defined with a textured wallpaper. The homeowner’s heirloom secretary sits on one side, and a desk is on the other.
“We were able to take several cherished antiques and collectables and blend them perfectly with modern, often eclectic elements,” adds the homeowner.
In the living room, Deringer layered in plenty of seating and added a round cocktail table with a fluid, curvy metallic base.
In the upstairs den, a lacquered cocktail table adds interest to the room.
“It is a bolt of color, grounding, and a focal point all at once,” says Deringer. “Its oxblood hue adds richness, while the metallic detailing and lacquered finish make it more modern.”
Bold Uses of Color
The color palette upstairs takes on greater depth in the textured wallpaper that lines the shelves and the gallery wall. Warm touches of burgundy also enhance Wilson’s antique rug.
“I typically like to thread color through the whole house, but with differing degrees of intensity, depending on the space and the mood I seek to create,” says Deringer. She often uses an owner’s favorite carpet or artwork as starting points for her palettes.
In the dining room, there is no doubt that the Hunt Slonem bunnies — both in a graphic triptych and in a larger painting — inspired the room’s boldness. A pair of vintage settees in quilted black velvet sit near a glass-topped table with an X-shaped base. A vintage mirror, embellished with ostrich eggs, hangs on a wallpapered wall.
“The blend of varied and interesting textures and patterns are anchored around neutrals,” says Wilson.
A Feminine Sanctuary
As much as the dining room is dramatic and vibrant, the primary bedroom, with dusty rose hues, is a quiet and serene retreat. Deringer worked with existing pieces, including the headboard and chest, carving out three zones: sleeping; lounging, furnished with a sofa and ottoman stools; and a work area centered about a modern shagreen table with a metallic sunburst inlay. She also snuck in a modern mixed-metal nightstand.
“Marta is an extremely busy woman, so I wanted to design a sanctuary that appealed to her feminine side,” says Deringer. “Because her existing pieces were traditional, I wanted to layer in some modern, cleaner and sleeker pieces to balance that.”
Throughout, the mix of edgier pieces and traditional furnishings creates a lively tension and spurs conversation. This is very much in keeping with the homeowner’s aesthetic and personality, which is always the intention.
“The most impactful part of this design is it’s dynamic,” says Wilson. “It will transition with me when I downsize to a pied-à-terre and take my style with me.” And so, the conversation continues.
Feature image by Robert Radifera for Stylish Productions
This story originally ran in our August issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
