Georgetown House Tour Entices, Enchants on a Beautiful Saturday
By • April 29, 2019 0 842
It was a beautiful Saturday on April 27 — sunny, blue skies and in the 70s. The eight houses and gardens on the 88th annual Georgetown House Tour, presented by St. John’s Episcopal Church, were sparkling with fresh flowers and attractive table settings.
Waiting lines flowed smoothly, and the docents in every room of every house were eager to share information. The tea, sandwiches and desserts at St. John’s parish hall were plentiful. At the hall, there was also a panel discussion on this year’s theme “Bringing the Outdoors In.”
“We’ve had great turnout,” said the House Tour patrons’ party co-chair Avery Miller at the church reception in the late afternoon.
It was hard to choose a favorite house, several guests at the tea agreed. But the bright Ferrari red appliances in the kitchen at 3052 P St. NW were most memorable. The red lacquered cabinetry, refrigerator and other appliances were designed by Ferrari car designer Pininfarina.
Many of the homes were extensively remodeled – three by local architect Christian Zapatka, who also moderated the panel of garden designers Patricia Berl, Katia Goffin, Josh Meyer and Sarah Wessel. Many of the featured houses were much larger than they appeared at the front entrance, such as the one at 3013 Dumbarton St. with expanded back rooms, including a large family suite with a newly excavated basement in-law suite underneath.
In accordance with the tour’s theme, all the homes this year had large back gardens, such as the historic mansion on 3310 R St. that actually was just one-third of the original estate known as Mount Hope. The large newly renovated sun-filled home on 3327 Dent Place made up of two former townhouses and expanded onto a third adjoining lot, featured a generous rear garden with a classic carriage house at the back. Some of the flowers and shrubs were very recent; some in the garden of 1320 30th St. had just been planted that morning.
The house tour program contained separate pages with histories of the owners and renovations of each of the homes. St. John’s Church on O Street supports and sponsors numerous ministries and missions in the District, such as Jubilee Jobs, the Salvation Army’s Grate Patrol Van, the Georgetown Saturday Suppers, the Georgetown Senior Center and the Georgetown Ministry Center.
The platinum sponsor for the House Tour was Long & Foster Real Estate-Christie’s International Real Estate.
