• Published: Architectural Digest

    A famous address—Washington DC’s Watergate Complex—is known more for political intrigues of the past than for its architecture. Yet the complex remains, to this day, a prime residence for notable Washingtonians and one of the few notable modern architectural landmarks in the District, albeit one whose physical reality has been marred by unsympathetically out-of-character modifications and an identity confused by Washington DC’s uneasy relationship with modernist design.

    This combined apartment, occupying a prime perch on one of the Watergate’s top floors, rewrites the recent design history of the complex. Stripping away both an awkward layout of tiny rooms as well as the faux-colonial moldings and builder-grade finishes accreted in the intervening years, we reimagined this apartment from top to bottom, rationalizing the plan around axially-arranged spaces sized for entertaining, and stylistically embracing the over-the-top glamour of late twentieth century design in lushly layered, atmospheric tones and patterns.

    A collaboration with world-class craftspeople and ateliers—gilders, metalworkers, stonefitters, cabinetmakers—this apartment is a showcase of bespoke design and intentionally sourced, heirloom-quality materials befitting its famous address, complemented by new and vintage 1960s-70s furnishings that straddle the line between the ‘monumental modernism’ era of the late twentieth century and contemporary comfort.

    • Location: Washington, DC,

    • Type: Complete Apartment Renovation

    • Services: Architecture, Interior Design

    • Contractor: BOWA

    • Sources: ABC Worldwide Stone, AK Metals, Ferris Custom Cabinetry, Lenore Winters Studio, Nakashima Woodworkers, Nanz, Nicholas Hall Art, PE Guerin, Studio TwentySeven, The Future Perfect

    • Photographer: Chris Mottalini

    • Stylist: Tessa Watson

A living room featuring blush armchairs, a sculptural travertine coffee table, a plush gold carpet, and a bookmatched onyx feature wall
A sunlit living room featuring a bookmatched okoume wall, an ecru corduroy sofa, and blush pink leather armchairs under a gridded brass light fixture
A vestibule ent in the featuring curved okoume paneling and a floor of lilac marble roundels set in travertine leading to a gallery with an abstract sculpture
A living room featuring sculptural modern furniture, and an monumental 18th century painting, looking toward the Potomac River
A powder room with curved gold-leaf walls and ceilings, a cylindrical marble sink, and a vintage brass ceiling fixture
A vignette featuring a sculptural walnut credenza and a richly framed 1730 Capriccio of Roman Ruins with Figures by Giovanni Paolo Panini
A sitting nook in the Watergate with fringed chairs looking through a concrete balcony to the Potomac River
A dining room featuring an oval travertine table, vintage sheepskin chairs, and a 1960s Viennese chandelier.
A bedroom featuring an Okoume wall, a matching floating nightstand with a marquetry front, and a green glass palm-shaped pendant
A kitchen featuring a curved island and cabinets okoume veneers, a vibrant onyx backsplash, and a domed ceiling with a vintage brass light fixture
A kitchen vignette featuring book matched okoume veneer cabinets and sculptural bronze cabinet pulls
An entry foyer featuring a curved bench with integral shelves and an Anagama kiln vessel in front of a curving okoume veneer wall
A bathtub alcove featuring lilac reale marble and elemental brass fixtures
A curved floatin vanity in the Watergate apartment designed by Nicholas Potts featuring a floating white lacquer curved vanity, under curved green marble walls and mirrors featuring bronzed sconces, a reflection of vintage brass light fixture
A dressing area showing lit accessory shelves in a color-drenched seafood green hue, and a gold velvet pouf
A home office with a vintage desk and chair overlooking the Potomac River at sunset
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