DC Places: Atlantic Plumbing Cinema

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of going to see the new Steve Jobs movie at a new theater located in the Atlantic Plumbing Building in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC.  The Atlantic Plumbing Theater opened on Thursday, October 15^th.  It is in walking distance to my house so I was excited to be able to take a short walk over and catch a movie on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  Also, I absolutely love the design of this building and am still kicking myself for not jumping at the opportunity to buy in the building when I had the chance. The building at one point was home to the Atlantic Plumbing Supply Company and thus kept part of the name.  I was very excited to go over and check out the new cinema and even doubly so since the Steve Jobs movie was the first and only movie they decided to premiere. 

I must say my favorite part of the experience was while purchasing tickets being able to select the seats.  The prompt shows you all the seats that have been reserved (purchased) and all the seats that are available.  An honorable mention is that the theater also has a bar where you can order food and specialty cocktails named after famous films, like ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘The Last King of Scotland’.  You can eat and drink in the bar area or at the sofas and tables.  You can even take menu items into the theater with you and nosh on chicken wings and crab cake minis while you enjoy your movie.  There is a patio area for drinking and dining when the weather is nice and of course, a concessions stand with typical movie theater concessions. 

I give the experience an A+, as I really enjoyed sipping my wine from an actual glass while watching a film in a seat I selected.  I will definitely be visiting this theater again once they begin showing other films next week. 

The Atlantic Plumbing Building houses the cinema and condos/apartments and
 was formerly known asThe Atlantic Plumbing Supply Co.

Ticket kiosk.  I love that you can select your seats!

Bar and Lounge

Bar and lounge looking out onto the patio.

Plush upholstered leather chairs and banquettes offer
multiple seating options for patrons in the lounge.

Menu

Beer, wine and spirits

Snacks

Inside one of the screening rooms.

Industrial lighting compliments the building's industrial architecture.

Miele and Chelle Albert Interiors

I am super excited to announce that I will be hosting an event at Miele on November 11^th!  There will be cocktails (bubbly!), hors d’oeuvres from Chef Geoff’s, and great conversation.  I will also be giving a short presentation on how interior design can affect human behavior and how we interact with the world. Check out the flyer below for all the details!

Art At Home

Last week, I spent a few hours at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.  I love going to museums! I find so much inspiration!  It is a reminder that we all can make contributions to this world; positive contributions that will leave the world better than we found it.

Art is a very personal thing and people respond to it in different ways.  I typically prefer abstract and modern art, while others prefer portraiture or landscapes.  Some clients don’t mind when I select the art, while others prefer to select their art themselves so each piece has a story.  There is no right or wrong way to go about acquiring or decorating with art.  On many occasions I’ve been hired to help clients that own a lot of art and not a lot of wall space, determine which pieces to hang.  Below are a few of my tips…

1.  Hang art that is deeply personal to you.  Art that invokes a special childhood or adulthood memory, a photo from a family barbecue or a wedding day portrait or a landscape from a vacation can help to inspire happiness and create more of the same energy that was captured at the moment the photo was taken. 

Photo via HousetoHome.co.uk

2.  Select art that ties a room together.  This type of art should give the space a theme.  The theme can be around content or color. 

Photo via ChelleAlbert.com

3.  If you are creating a gallery wall and the space already has a lot to catch the eye, stick with frames that are similar in size and finish.  If the space is relatively neutral, play it up a bit with frames of different finishes and size. 

 

Photo via MandarinaStudio.net

4.  Don’t be afraid to create and display your own art.  The fun is in the doing but it is equally as satisfying to display your own work amongst those of real artists. 

Photo via TameraMagel.com

5.  There are many different art forms.  Don’t be afraid to explore and mix and match multiple forms and styles.  

Photo via KristenBuckingham.com

Monday Motivation: 10.19.15

A DC Dream House (The Fessenden House)

If you know me, you know one of my favorite things is to drive or walk around DC and check out real estate.  I’ve been doing this for years, spending my Sundays going to open houses and seeing what the various neighborhoods have to offer.  The nature of my job requires that I am in my car a lot, traveling to various vendors and client houses.  That said, I have a pretty good grasp on the layout of the city and I often find myself in neighborhoods where I don’t typically hangout often; real residential neighborhoods that are absent of the local bar or restaurant.  Several years ago on my way to one such client’s neighborhood, I discovered one of my dream houses. 

Not a dream house in the sense of wanting to one day live there but in the sense of wanting to decorate it.  I got in the habit of driving past this house and sitting out front and staring at it and dreaming about how I would decorate the rooms. The last time I drove by this house and took a moment to daydream was 3 years ago, so imagine my surprise when last week a friend forwarded a Business Insider article detailing the listing and selling of the same house! The article finally gave me a peak inside and with 7 bedrooms, a pool house and a wine cellar there is plenty to be decorated in this gorgeous Neo-classical styled house.  Scroll through some of the photos below.

The Fessenden House in Washington, DC.  Recently listed for $22 million,
making it one of the most expensive Washington, DC houses ever sold.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The rear view of the house overlooking the pool and the poolhouse.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The kitchen features white cabinetry, granite countertops and brass hardware.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

The house consists of four levels.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

View from the poolhouse.
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

A Look Back At David Hicks

Yesterday, I had the wonderful pleasure of listening to Ashley Hicks, son of the famed designer, David Hicks, give a presentation on his father’s work. Ashley was witty and funny and really did a great job of presenting who his father was to our small group.  I could say so much more about the presentation but the thing I was most impressed with as Ashley navigated through the various slides of his father’s work, was the timelessness of so many of the spaces.  Many of the interiors had been done 20, 30, and even 40 years ago and yet, they were still relevant.  The spaces looked like they could have been completed yesterday! 

In my own work, I seek to create classic, timeless spaces.  It is always my goal that my clients love their homes as much 10 years from the day we finished the project as they did the first time they saw the completed space.  I am often asked about the latest design trends and how I incorporate them in my work and while I do keep up with industry trends, I try not to lean on them too much when I design.  Incorporating too many trends can date your work.  Good design is never about what is on trend or trendy.  Good design is about creating spaces that outlast trends. 

Take a peek at a few of my favorite David Hicks’ interiors and let me know what you think in the comments.

David Hicks' Chelsea Living Room. Photo via flickr.com user SarahKaron

A 1970s bedroom by David Hicks. Photo via bellini.com.

Bold geometric carpets and prints were a mainstay in the design style of David Hicks.
Photo via blog.modernica.net.

Tablescapes were also a mainstay in  David Hicks interiors.
Photo via retrorenovation.com.

David Hicks circa 1995.  Photo via nytimes.com.

Monday Motivation: 10.12.15