Real Estate

Ari Post • December 5, 2014

Doyle New York

Important Jewelry Sale, Dec. 11
Platinum, Invisibly-Set Sapphire and Diamond Flower Clip-Brooch, France
Estimate: $40,000 – $60,000

The stylized flower and leaf is invisibly set with 153 square, rectangular and triangular-cut sapphires, approximately 15.50 carats, edged by 59 round and single-cut diamonds, flanked by a stem set with 17 baguette and tapered baguette diamonds, altogether approximately 2.45 carats, centering 3 marquise-shaped diamonds, approximately 1.75 carats, with maker’s mark and French assay mark.
www.DoyleNewYork.com

Sotheby’s

Magnificent Jewels Auction, Dec. 9
Iconic Platinum, Colored Stone, Diamond and Enamel ‘Tutti Frutti’ Bracelet, Cartier
Estimate: $750,000 – $1,000,000

The flexible openwork foliate band is set with numerous carved emeralds and rubies, accented by onyx beads and faceted rubies, further set with old European and single-cut diamonds, approximately 6.25 carats, enhanced with black enamel. Signed Cartier, circa 1928.
www.Sothebys.com

Bonhams

Fine Jewelry Auction, Dec. 8
Sapphire and Diamond Ring??
Estimate: $100,000 – $150,000

This ring of radiant blue is set with a cushion modified-cut sapphire, 25.66 carats, flanked by pear-shaped diamonds, mounted in platinum. Size 2 3/4 (with sizing beads).
www.Bonhams.com

Freeman’s

Holiday Estate Jewelry Auction, Dec. 15
Emerald, Diamond and 18 Karat Gold Ring
Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000

The classic ring centers an oval cabochon emerald weighing approximately 10.00 carats, bezel-set and accented by pavé-set diamonds. Total diamond weight approximately 2.40 carats.
www.FreemansAuction.com

Peter Murray • November 19, 2014

Washington Harbour resident Nancy Pelosi was spotted in her purple velour jumpsuit on Nov. 5. No doubt the House Minority Leader, who has lived in Washington Harbour for more than a decade, was blowing off some post-election steam after the Democrats got collectively drubbed in Senate and House races. Regardless, we appreciate a woman who can still rock a velour jumpsuit.

Georgetowner John Fahey moved from the National Geographic Society to become a member of the Board of Regents at the Smithsonian. Fahey lives on Dent Street between 33rd and 34th Streets, the block where a tree crashed into a derelict house a couple summers ago. He led National Geographic’s television ventures and extended the magazine internationally and into the digital age. We wish him luck as he settles in at a somewhat older (1846 vs. 1888) and inherently more bureaucratic institution.

A puppy named Olive has moved into a home on Olive Street in Georgetown. The yellow lab pup moved in with Doug and Laura Stone a few weeks ago and is already making waves in the neighborhood. Olive can be seen taking long walks with dad Doug, frolicking at Rose Park and getting petted by strangers amid the commercial bustle of M Street. She’s a happy little pup who is still getting through the tough parts of puppyhood, chewing on furniture and fingers and going piddle in the house. Her parents assure us she’ll turn out fine.

Anders Ohm • November 6, 2014

Developer SB-Urban moved past the last major obstacle to building micro-residential units on the 3000 M Street site of the Latham Hotel, which closed in 2012.

On Tuesday, SB-Urban was granted a series of variances from the Board of Zoning Adjustments for the project.
According to an Urban Turf article, the requests were for: a rear-yard variance for an addition, a special exception to a parking requirement that would allow the company to provide 42 off-site spaces, a variance for the remaining 74 parking spaces and a variance for a loading dock and delivery space.

The micro-unit project will create retail spaces along M Street and will have 140 furnished apartments with an average size of 330 square feet. There will also be 11,000 square feet of shared-living spaces, such as kitchens, laundry rooms and living rooms. The lease agreement will prevent residents from parking on Georgetown streets, but residents will receive Capital Bikeshare and car-share memberships.

Among its other projects, Bethesda-based SB-Urban will also convert the Patterson Mansion on Dupont Circle into rental apartments. The company bought the historic 36,470-square-foot mansion from the Washington Club for $20 million in June.

Peter Murray •

As larger and larger swaths of the city’s quadrants are torn down and rebuilt in the name of revitalization, D.C. Preservation League fights to maintain local architectural treasures. Since 1996, the organization has announced an annual list of “Most Endangered Places” to draw attention to sites of historical, cultural and architectural significance that are threatened with alteration and demolition or neglect and abandonment.

The group’s stances are widely publicized in the city, and the league has an outsized impact for its small size. For example, earlier this fall, the organization urged the Historic Preservation Review Board to block the International Spy Museum’s plans to expand the Carnegie Library. The board took the D.C. Preservation League’s advice, causing the Spy Museum to pull out of the site, an “Endangered Place,” altogether. The site is still on the list however, with the league pushing the city to fund preservation for the Beaux-Arts building across from the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

This year’s list also includes two homes on L Street in Shaw that are likely to get swept up in a proposal to build more hotels close to the near-completed Marriot Marquis convention center, a huge portion of relatively pastoral land at the St. Elizabeths East Agricultural Complex, and the Washington Canoe Club and West Heating Plant, both in Georgetown. Other than the boathouse, which is in such a state of disrepair that the National Park Service closed the building, the list consists of buildings that are facing off against gentrification.

It’s a battle that the D.C. Preservation League has seen before, and will see again, as it continues to fight a war on behalf of the city’s aged architecture. [gallery ids="101909,136324,136331,136328" nav="thumbs"]

Peter Murray • October 22, 2014

Maureen Dowd couldn’t have been happy with our editorial last week urging voters to support recreational marijuana legalization in the District. Back in June, the Georgetown resident and New York Times columnist visited Colorado to report on legalization. After eating far more than the recommended dose of a marijuana-laced edible chocolate, Dowd criticized legalization. On the experience, she wrote in her column, “I felt a scary shudder go through my body and brain. I barely made it from the desk to the bed, where I lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours… I was panting and paranoid, sure that when the room-service waiter knocked and I didn’t answer, he’d call the police and have me arrested for being unable to handle my candy… As my paranoia deepened, I became convinced that I had died and no one was telling me.” Sounds like a pretty bad trip. No doubt
Dowd will proceed carefully, if at all, when marijuana edibles come to Georgetown. Although, her place near the corner of Potomac and N streets NW is probably a better place to experiment than a Denver hotel room.

Head east across Georgetown on N Street, then north on 28th and you might bump into Walter Isaacson, the renowned author who just released a new book on the digital economy called, “The Innovators.” The book is a follow-up to Isaacson’s hugely successful Steve Jobs biography and talks about some of the most innovative companies in tech, including Apple, Microsoft and Georgetown’s own IBM.

The Nats’ playoff performance must have disappointed team owner and Washington Harbour resident Mark Lerner. There’s always next season, though. Until then, Lerner can continue working on the family’s real estate empire and supporting area institutions and causes like the Georgetown Day School, the Holocaust Museum and the Scleroderma Foundation.

Georgetowner • October 8, 2014

Bonhams
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Danseuses et contrebasse (‘Dancers and bass’), ca. 1879-1880
oil on panel
ca. 1879-1880
Auction Date: Nov. 4, 2014
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000

Part of the Impressionist and Modern Art Auction, this rare oil by Degas shows the painter at work again on his beloved dancers. With the recent 2012 exhibit at The Phillips Collection, “Degas’ Dancers at the Barre,” and the recently opened “Degas’ Little Dancer” at the National Gallery, this painting is a piece of a reinvigorated history for any Washington collector. This auction covers works from the dawn of Impressionism to the fracturing of traditions in the Post-War period, from Degas to Dalí, covering the movements that define recent Western Art. Artists represented include Monet, Bonnard, Sisley, Pissarro, Rodin, Picasso, Miró and Ernst ,to name but a few. www.Bonhams.com

Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)
“Campbell’s Soup I,” 1968
The complete set of ten color screenprints on wove paper.
Auction Date: Nov. 2, 2014
Estimate: $250,000-400,000

Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup I,” a complete set of ten screenprints, is the centerpiece of the Modern & Contemporary Art sale, featuring works by Calder, Dubuffet and Bertoia, among others. These screenprints were purchased directly from the artist
during one of their first showings at Leo Castelli’s gallery in 1968 by Lois Cowles Harrison,. The daughter of famed Warhol collector (and founder of Look Magazine) Gardner Cowles Jr., Cowles Harrison was an avid and early collector of Warhol and other Pop artists.

Potomack Company
Rare Gilt Bronze Mounted Kingwood
Meuble de Milieu
By Joseph-Emmanuel Zweiner, Paris, ca. 1880
Auction Date: Oct. 18, 2014
Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000

Cabinetmaker Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener (1849-1895) was born in Germany and moved to Paris to practice his craft. He was renowned for his copies of 18th century furniture from public collections and won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889. This cabinet is after a design by Charles Cressent (1685-1768). www.PotomackCompany.com

Doyle New York
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997)
Woman, 1965
Oil on paper laid to panel
Auction Date: Nov. 11. 2014
Estimate: $200,000 – $400,000

This seminal de Kooning will be offered with Doyle’s Post-War and Contemporary Art sale on Nov. 11, from the Estate of the Honorable Roy M. Goodman. The piece was initially acquired directly from the artist by New York State Senator Goodman (1930-2014), who was a dedicated and effective advocate for the arts in New York for more than forty years. Senator Goodman was even named an Ambassador for the Arts by the National Endowment for the Arts “in recognition of his unwavering support of the arts and cultural affairs.” The work is inscribed to Goodman by the artist himself on a notecard affixed to the reverse.

Peter Murray • September 10, 2014

Georgetowners may notice “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski strolling through the neighborhood in the coming days and weeks. The popular media personality just bought a condo in what used to be the Phillips School between N and Olive Streets. While her show is based in New York and she and her family currently live there, she purchased property here as “Morning Joe” has become increasingly focused on politics in the nation’s capitol. D.C.’s thriving real estate market could have also influenced the purchase. Alexander Memorial Baptist Church is next up on the list of old properties being converted into condo units. Maybe Mika will convince friend and co-host Joe Scarborough to become a neighbor.

If you wander a block north of Mika’s place, you’ll pass a house where retired NASA astronaut Scott Altman lives with his wife, Jill. They temporarily live near the corner of 28th and Dumbarton Streets while they await a move back to the west side, where their house on 36th Street is being redone. Altman piloted or commanded four space shuttle missions. Years before, he got to fly his F-14 in the movie, “Top Gun,” which he admits was a real kick since the pilots were allowed to “buzz the tower” at the Miramar Air Station in San Diego. The two are active in the community and regularly volunteer at the Georgetown Senior Center.

Around the corner from the Altmans, several neighbors routinely walk their dogs past the intersection of 27th and O Streets, where a black SUV or sedan sits continually at the corner. Questions have arisen among local residents as to who is living in the neighborhood with a security detail. Things became slightly clearer last year when anti-war group Code Pink demonstrated on neighborhood streets. Well, suffice it to say, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and his family live nearby. Johnson was sworn in to his current role at the end of 2013 but has lived in Georgetown for a number of years.
[gallery ids="101835,139078" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

Summer in Georgetown. The trees and flowers are in full bloom. Earlier this spring, the annual House Tour allowed us a glimpse behind the closed gates and doors of Washington’s oldest neighborhood. Founded in 1751, Georgetown lives on as a charming historic village that is thriving and attracting a new generation of Washington urban dwellers.

As Georgetown resident, councilman and recent mayoral candidate Jack Evans says, “This is the golden age of Georgetown.”

If you are reorganizing your household or moving, the ideas and suggestions below may help you. Downsizing is a subject that we all encounter throughout our lives. It is closely linked to change. A change of job may lead to a change of address, sometimes even a change of climate. A change of family structure — blending families, maturing children, retirement, the loss of a spouse — may all lead to a change in the square footage we occupy. There are so many factors that can trigger the need to downsize and reorganize.

Regardless of the reason, as it relates to living space, change offers us an opportunity to refresh or reset the organization of our lives and also to examine our relationship to the things we hold on to along the way. It offers a chance to take inventory of our lives and to decide what holds the greatest meaning for us with respect to memory, personal history, beauty and value.

Our willingness to meet changes in a positive way will allow for transitions that keep us current with the realities and routines of our lives. Furthermore, it will allow for outward expressions of our own personal style and our need for beauty and order in our surroundings.

Practical questions to consider when downsizing (especially if you are moving):

How long will it take? Your move is imminent, your lead-time is a year or less, your lead-time is three-to-five years. Spend a little time devising a strategy before acting. Have a recipe for success.

What should remain and what should go? Choose one room at a time and look at the objects in it. Rate them according to how much you have used, cherished and enjoyed them in the past year or so.

How much space will I actually have for the things I choose to keep? Is it wishful thinking? Do I love it? Do I use it? Can I live without it? Can it fit and/or be repurposed in my new space? Identify those things and sell, consign, donate or give the rest away to friends, family or charity.

REMEMBER: Sort not by the space you are in, but by the space into which you are moving.

If you get stuck, you can get more information on the internet or hire a professional space arranger. The National Association of Professional Organizers (napo.net) is a nonprofit association with more than 3,300 members throughout the world.

Create a place that actually represents how you live now. Consider the following criteria:
size, condition, value, comfort and aesthetics.

Size: Will the size and proportion of your furniture overcrowd your new space? Edit by removing, consigning, selling or donating furniture that is taking up valuable living space. Establish its value, and if collectible, make sure it finds the most appropriate sales venue, be it consignment, auction or direct sale.

Condition: If a piece of furniture is broken, damaged, worn out or threadbare and you decide to keep it, have it cleaned, repaired, refinished or reupholstered. Otherwise, you will always be reminded of its shortcoming

Value: If the things you own have intrinsic value — such as antique furniture, art, objets d’art, carpets or collections of any sort – make sure that you have appraisal information in your important documents files. While you live with your valuables, keep them in top condition. The information on file will save future generations from opportunistic buyers or, worst-case scenario, having valuables end up in a garage or yard sale.

Comfort: Those chairs in the living room and that sofa in the guest room are beautiful and my grandmother gave them to me. However, they are very uncomfortable. Your justification may be that you rarely sit in the living room or only occasionally have guests. In every instance, ask yourself if you have the luxury of displaying furniture that you avoid using because it is uncomfortable. Everything in your living space should have a useful and aesthetic purpose attached to it.

Aesthetics: Each of us decides for ourselves what we consider beautiful. If a framed poster is more beautiful to you than a dark, brooding oil painting with no value other than that it came from a family member, get the painting out of your space. If you inherited three sets of china and you rarely set a formal table, choose the one that is most pleasing to you. Sell, consign or give away the rest. Unless you have the luxury of unlimited storage space, not choosing sends you down the path of boxing things you like but will rarely (or never) use.

Lastly, we suggest to our readers that good professional help is always available and well worth the expense when measured against the successful results. In the age of the internet, there are endless resources and much shared knowledge at hand.

We spoke with Georgetowners Fran and Ankie Barnes about their experience in downsizing and changing their home and lifestyle.

Q. What advice would you offer someone who is downsizing?

A. Start early and be very organized as to where all your belongings will go. If you know measurements ahead of time, there won’t be unnecessary surprises on moving day. Downsizing makes one really analyze how many things one owns and how many things one can comfortably live without.

Q. Did you have any professional help or advice?

A. I had some design help from my husband’s architectural office Barnes Vanze Architects. We also hired the services of Orchestrated Moves. We had many books to sort through, and we used Book Bliss Online.

Resources:
OrchestratedMoves.com
BookBlissOnline.com
BarnesVanze.com

For questions or inquiries:
Alla Rogers and Dena Verrill,
principals at Dena Verrill Interiors – DenaVerrillInteriors.com [gallery ids="101772,141171,141179,141175,141181" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

Weschler’s

Tiffany & Co. Lucida Platinum and Diamond Solitaire Ring

Auction Date: September 19

Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000

Love is in the air at Weschler’s with a selection of nearly twenty diamond engagement rings, from their fall Capital Collections Estate Auction. The standout is a Tiffany & Co. Lucida platinum and diamond solitaire ring, set with an internally flawless, E-color, diamond weighing 1.63 carats. The auction will also feature an important selection of 20th century American works of art cultivated from prominent Washington, DC collections.

www.Weschlers.com

Sotheby’s New York

Platinum, 18 Karat Gold, Colored Stone and Diamond ‘Oiseau de Paradis’ Brooch, Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., France, circa 1963

Auction Date: September 23

Estimate: $150/250,000

From an ‘Oiseau de Paradis’ brooch by Schlumberger boasting fantastical colored stone plumage, to an Art Deco inspired pair of David Webb diamond earrings framed by swirling enamelwork, the Important Jewels sale this September deftly guides collectors from day to night. Modern classics are mixed among exquisite period jewels including a rare Belle Époque garland design bracelet by Cartier. The sale also offers a superb array of top quality colored gemstones and diamonds, many of which are set in signed mountings.

www.Sothebys.com

Potomack Company

Magnificent String of Opal Beads with Diamond and Sapphire Clasp

Auction Date: October 18

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

This resplendent necklace consists of 29 graduated gemstone orbs in a rainbow of hues with a larger oval opal, sapphire and diamond clasp. Opal was considered good luck in the Middle Ages and is celebrated today as the October birthstone.

www.PotomackCompany.com

Doyle New York

Rose Gold, Platinum, Mystery-Set Ruby and Diamond Leaf Clip-Brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels

Auction Date: October 21

Estimate: $150,000 – $250,000

Part of Doyle New York’s Important Jewelry Auction. 18 carat brooch, composed of three overlapping leaves mystery-set with 316 square, rectangular and fancy-shaped rubies, centering fine ribbon-like veins and topped by two stylized leaves set with 20 tapered baguette and baguette diamonds.

www.DoyleNewYork.com

Freeman’s

9.69 Carat Diamond Ring with Diamond Accents

Auction Date: November 3

Estimate: $75,000 – $95,000

This pear shape diamond set in a platinum ring with triangular-cut diamond accents will be sold in Freeman’s Fine Jewelry & Watches auction on November 3.

www.FreemansAuction.com

BRINGING DOWN THE HAMMER

Sotheby’s

July 16, Fine Jewels Auction

Enamel and Diamond Bracelet, Verger Fréres, ca. 1920

Estimate: $34,280 – $51,420

Final Selling Price: $127,693

Bonham’s

July 02, Post-War & Contemporary Art (London)

Lucio Fontana (Italian, 1899 – 1968)

Concetto Spaziale, 1952

oil on canvas

Estimate: $400,000 – $565,000

Final Selling Price: $1,241,847

Christie’s

September 03, Out of the Ordinary auction (London, South Kensington)

Mark Stoddart

‘Hippo’ Dining Table, 2002

Estimate: $8,285 – $11,599

Final Selling Price: $28,805

Alla Rogers Dena Verrill •

Displaying art is an opportunity to express your individuality through the beauty and inspiration art brings into your home. You choose a particular piece of art because it gives you pleasure and reflects who you are. It does not need to meet anyone else’s standard of “an important work” or have high monetary value. What matters is that it gives you pleasure and enhances the quality of your life.

Unlike anything else, art allows intimacy with an object. Although the piece may be static, your experience of it is not. Your perception shifts depending on the light at different times of day and season and on your mood. In turn, the art work influences your emotions and state of mind. To fully reap the benefits of surrounding yourself with art, you want to display your pieces in ways that enrich the viewer’s experience and enhances the environment (surroundings).

Displaying art is an art unto itself. In fact, museums and galleries employ design specialists to ensure that the display of their art enhances the work itself. These specialists have four basic concerns: lighting, background, framing, and hanging. The principles of display design apply equally to the home environment. By understanding these principles, you can speak with confidence with your own designers or create harmonious displays of your own.

Lighting

Art needs proper lighting to be appreciated. If possible, hiring a lighting designer is an excellent investment. Good lighting enlivens art, allowing the richness of colors, contours, textures, and other details of the work to attract the eye and awaken interest.
Commonly used design solutions are track lighting and small recessed fixtures. The distance of the light fixture from the wall on which the art is displayed should be approximately one third of the ceiling height. The lamps should “wash” the wall, avoiding the creation of concentrated hot spots of light or shadows on the art work.

Background

Wall Color. Although museums and galleries often use shades of white as display backgrounds, at home you need not feel so confined. Just as the art you select reveals what you consider beautiful and meaningful, the color you choose to complement it and your other furnishings is a personal expression. Black, white, and neutral shades of beige or grey have an architectural neutrality that work particularly well with black and white art and photography. Color photography and paintings or posters can be supported by warm neutral terra cottas and sandy shades, celadon, full saturation greens, and even red or black.

Framing

Simply stated, the frame contains, focuses, and enhances the art. A frame should not overwhelm the art itself. A commercial framer with an experienced eye is an ally worth cultivating. Friends may provide references and, since most shops have samples of their work on display, you can judge for yourself as well. Such a framer can provide you with a selection of mats, framing styles, and molding and advise you on any special requirements for the particular piece. For example, a valuable photograph or work on paper should be framed with only archival materials and museum glass to provide protection from ultraviolet light, prevent fading, and eliminate glare.

If you are framing expensive art, you will not want to spare expense in framing. A frame provides protection for the work as well as enhancement of its visual affect. For less expensive art, ready-made framing may suffice. Reasonably priced frames and mats are available in standard sizes.

Hanging Art

Ideally, you hang art so the center of the picture is fifty-seven inches above the floor. The fifty-seven inch standard represents the average human’s eye height and is regularly used as a standard in galleries and museums. By using this method you create a harmony among all the pictures in your home as they will hang in relationship to one another from their centers, not their sides, and you will also avoid the single greatest error, that of hanging art too high.

Other considerations for hanging art:

• Hang the correct scale of artwork on a wall so that it is seen but does not appear stuffed into the space. Art needs to “breathe.” For example, don’t hang a large painting on a narrow hall wall.

• Allow six to eight inches of space between pieces horizontally. You may take advantage of a vertical wall and double or triple hang art on it with a few inches of space in between. The art pieces should be of the same relative strength in color saturation and composition, yet not overpower one another. Create harmony among the works by ensuring that the subjects, colors, and sizes relate to one another.

• To make your environment beautifully personal as well as aesthetically interesting, show various art forms together in the same space: painting, sculpture, photography, crafts, textiles.

Above all, remember to relax and enjoy your art, one piece or ten, whatever style or medium, let it inspire and teach you.

www.denaverrillinteriors.com
(202) 333-3551