Ernesto Santalla, PLLC—formerly Studio Santalla—transformed this Chevy Chase basement into a midcentury oasis for a client wishing to return his home to its original style. The home office combines Santalla’s contemporary approach with mid-century modern style to achieve a clean, MadMen aesthetic. Custom floating desks with marble tops,inspired by mid-century office furniture, provide ample working space for a thriving law practice. Santalla and his team designed a stunning and functional wood and chrome storage unit, complimented by a Florence Knoll Credenza and and Knoll Table Desk. Terrazzo floors throughout provide continuity to the family room, where an asymmetrical fireplace wall with dramatic santos rosewood panels conceals a flush millwork door.
Studio Santalla designed this custom media center with hidden storage cabinet.
Studio Santalla custom designed this headboard with integrated nightstands and floating shelves
Ernesto Santalla, PLLC—formerly Studio Santalla—was consulted to complete the interiors of this L-shaped flounder-house on the Eastern Shore, erected for a pair of retiring architects. Conceived by the homeowner, this Chesapeake Bay retreat integrates eastern principles and modernist styling within a traditional Mid-Atlantic context. Designed to provide an escape from the congestion of Washington, DC, its casual elegance is a juxtaposition to the refined and austere palette of their apartment at the historic Watergate Residences. The intended function of this home is clearly defined in its interior design. Modest private spaces defer to expansive open living areas. This home is intended to be opened to family and friends. A massive, twin-island kitchen offers ample space for gathering dinner guests. The main wing of this home is pierced in a steady rhythm of expansive sliding doors, and bookended by slate ledger stone walls accented with custom designed built-ins. The living room, dominated by a vast sectional, is completed by a walnut media center with concealed equipment storage. The master bedroom, featuring views of both the courtyard and the water, features a built-in headboard with integrated nightstands and floating shelves. A media center from BoConcept tops it off. Relatively spartan guest quarters include en-suite bathrooms. The neutral color palette and simple details are in keeping the goal of this home, inviting the beauty of the outdoors in.
Treacy and Eagleburger Architects, PC, Principal Architect
Lighting Design by Cheryl Flota | Light’n Up
Photography by Geoffrey Hodgdon
Ernesto Santalla overhauls a Colonial-style Potomac home in timeless, modern style
BY SHARON JAFFE DAN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
By simply repurposing dysfunctional rooms of this dated colonial, Studio Santalla [now Ernesto Santalla, PLLC] created more space for enjoying the home and entertaining without changing its footprint. “We often come across the issue of under-utilized space,” Ernesto explains. “There is a tendency to say, ‘It doesn’t work so let’s add an addition.’ But there was no need for more space. This house was great for four people and occasional guests.”
In the formal living room, a slightly more luxurious and feminine look prevails, with a new version of a traditional “ladies” parlor. The custom Tibetan carpet of Santalla’s design is based on a motif he sketched of magnolia leaves. “We were very conscious about mixing traditional and modern elements in this particular room,” he says. He designed contemporary cabinets to store his clients’ heirloom silver collection and paired them with traditional paintings, while hanging abstract art above antique chests.
The living room opens to her home office, where she displays rare china inherited from her mother. In lieu of “old lady curio cabinets,” Santalla chose upscale modern, floating shelving from BoConcept and an armoire to offset the collection. He reupholstered a pair of luxurious traditional Barbara Barry chairs to complement the new look.
Virginia’s latest deluxe destination has a storied past and a swank future.
By Sarah Crosland | DC Modern Luxury
When the cutting-edge Long View Gallery reopened in Blagden Alley three years ago, it helped transform a block, readying it for other chic venues to join the fray. Owner William Waybourn is set to do the same in Rappahannock County. Naturally, even a “country” inn with that kind of provenance will nod far more to an urban European aesthetic than rural Virginian. Waybourn saw a market for the young and sophisticated in DC who are seeking an escape from the city’s bustle—but not its style. A homeowner himself in nearby Linden, Va., he found potential in the 100-year old Flint Hill Public House & Country Inn (flinthillva.com).
“We know that the house would require a lot of work,” says Waybourn, who points out that, prior to his purchase, Flint Hill had been a school, residence and restaurant. “It had that yard sale aesthetic,” says architect Ernesto Santalla, describing the space’s former outdated wallpaper and fluorescent lighting typical of a Bed and Breakfast. Inspired by his travels to European boutique hotels, Santalla went to work overhauling the interior to create a destination that’s both sophisticated and soothing.
Concerned that major exterior changes would bother locals, the duo decided to keep the view-from-the-road adjustments minimal. Santalla opened the space by relocating the interior staircase to the far right side of the house, offering privacy for guests coming and going. Waybourn chose a fire-engine red front door as an obvious welcome signal. While four suites cater to overnights, Santalla’s signaure modern décor brings neighbors in daily to the stunning restaurant. Visiting urban dwellers feel as comfortable in the bar sipping artisan cocktails under a FontanaArte dome light as they do pulling up a stool for a beer and the chance to catch the game on the built-in flat panel television.
The organic color palette of ebonized wood, white leather and caramel accents throughout the two-story space results in a look that’s more Hollywood glamour than unforgiving minimalism. “This does away with the preconceived notions that country inns have to be all Laura Ashley patterns and frilly curtains,” says the Georgetown-based principal of Studio Santalla.
And there’s a benefit from slumbering in a spot imagined by a gallery owner. Like the painting above your dining table or photograph next to your bed? They’re for sale. “We offer a six-page walking tour of the building that tells about the artwork,” says Waybourn, who already has offers on several pieces. Makes sense, considering Long View Director Drew Porterfield curated the space to ensure each piece of enhanced the inn’s halcyon ambience. “We never wanted anything to look busy,” says Santalla. “We’re all in information overload already. This is where you go to unwind.”
H2O | Renovation in the historic Watergate building
excerpted from: FULL POTENTIAL
A design team breathes fresh ideas into a renovated Watergate apartment
BY DEBORAH K. DIESTCH | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN KARCHMER | PHOTO STYLING BY SANDRA ANN BENEDUM
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
Once ridiculed as “antipasto on the Potomac,” the Watergate complex designed by Italian architect Luigi Moretti has become one of Washington’s most respectable addresses. But its curvaceous 1960s architecture still poses design challenges for residents seeking to transform their outdated apartments for contemporary living.
Inside, the living area now extends from the terrace door to the kitchen and an adjoining nook for watching TV. Like ground squirrels emerging from their burrows, the homeowners’ heads can be seen popping up from behind the four-and-a-half-foot-high island that serves to partially screen the kitchen from the living area. The parquet floors and modern furniture can be found in multiple rooms, and the modern kitchen is now completely open.
“A neutral color scheme allows sculptural objects, in this case the iconic furniture and artwork to stand out,” says the designer. “An element of contrast, such as a tone or a texture, adds richness to the palette.”
In the master bedroom, Studio Santalla [now Ernesto Santalla, PLLC] designed the platform bed frame with attached nightstands and added upholstered panels to the adjacent wall to create an oversized headboard. A television stand was designed for the adjacent wall that allows the screen to swivel so it can be viewed from either the bed or terrace.
Gina Farinas faced a remodeling challenge with her small two-level Arlington condo: It would be easy enough to open up the space to seem larger, but how could she make it feel more expansive while accommodating a new roommate – and allowing privacy for both of them?
Answering that triple-sided challenge was Georgetown architect Ernesto Santalla, whose solution involved elimination of some walls, visual tricks to suggest an expanded space and multifunctional furniture and built-ins to provide genuine comfort and privacy.
Farinas, 58, and Norma Samson, 72, retirees from the International Monetary Fund and longtime friends, hoped that sharing Farinas’ home would be a practical living arrangement. Samson could no longer navigate the stairs in her own two-level condo down the hall and no longer wanted to live alone. But the women sought to maintain some of the privacy each had enjoyed while living solo.
Santalla’s charge, to create living quarters for Samson, could be accomplished by repurposing the tiny room at the rear of the living room that Farinas used as an office and catch-all space. As luck would have it, it already had an en-suite bathroom. But even the preexisting room required thought to make things “more fine-tuned to my needs,” as Samson puts it.
One issue was the size of the room and the super-comfortable adjustable Tempur-Pedic foam bed Samson wanted. Santalla was able to snugly fit a twin-size bed lengthwise against the side wall of the room, where it basically filled the space, then built an upholstered back and arms around it so it took on the look of a daybed. An upholstered panel that runs across the bottom front hides the adjusting mechanism – and the diminutive Samson steps on it to climb up into the high bed.
First to go was the chopped-up look. Down came the upper portion of the pass-through wall separating the kitchen and dining foyer. That meant losing the upper cabinets on the kitchen side. To compensate, Santalla made the counter deeper, extending it into the dining area and incorporating semi-custom cabinets with a satin lacquer finish below.
The women are clearly delighted with their shared nest. Samson is now Farinas’s renter (“Ooh, and my rent is late,” chirps Samson early in February). The only problem is that Farinas now wants the same level of attention and quality of finishes in her upstairs bedroom and bath. For the moment, she’s letting her checkbook cool off, but that’s the next phase of life in this Arlington condo, now made for two.
Ernesto Santalla, PLLC—formerly Studio Santalla—was featured on HGTV’s Homes Across America for the work pictured in this project. The interior redesign of this Washington, DC area colonial home featured custom furniture in the living spaces, as well as a new contemporary fireplace. Walk-in closet space was added to the bedrooms to maximize storage space. This project presented a unique challenge, insofar that it had windows and doors of different heights. The ceiling configuration was not the most advantageous and modifying it was not an option. The solution became to unify all the openings, windows and doors, with the trim. The concept was expanded through the use of color. The walls and ceiling of the space were painted the same color as a background to what is now the architecture of the space.The updated bathroom includes a new glass shower with marble walls. The outdoor seating area provides the perfect retreat for relaxation or entertaining.
An Award Winning Architect’s Oasis—Creating Calm in the Middle of Georgetown
By Trish Donnally, Photos by Tass Mimikos
The intersection of M Street and 31st is one of the busiest in Georgetown. But enter the second floor office of Architect Ernesto Santalla, which is at this corner, and you’ll find calm quarters. This open, tranquil space, awash in natural light from large windows on two sides, 12-foot ceilings, bookcases lining one wall, and a neutral color scheme is spiced with warm orange accents.
“It’s very important to me that whoever comes in this office feels comfortable. Working with design professionals can be intimidating, so I want to do everything I can to put people at ease,” says Santalla, who recently won an Award of Merit in Interior Architecture from the Washington Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for the design of his office.
An unexpected mix of furnishings throughout Studio Santalla span from custom pieces that he designed and chairs from Design Within Reach, to finds from IKEA, Home, Expo, and Hold Everything.
“We practice that in our projects as well. It’s where can you get the best value for what you need and it’s how everything comes together that’s important. It’s not so much the individual pieces,” Santalla says.
While the floor plan of this former bookstore is open, different design elements distinguish different parts of the office, specifically the entry, meeting area, and workstations. Santalla’s custom carpet design pulls the office together.
A custom bookcase and bench that Santalla designed, a John Saladino glass and aluminum coffee table, two black Eames chairs, and work of art called Fat Red Lips by Cuban Artist Choco greet you in the entry.
Santalla selected ash wood because of the grain for the simple bookcase and bench, then stained them both espresso brown. “If you don’t have texture in the wood and you stain it or paint it, it becomes very bland,” he says. The whole piece beautifully frames Choco’s artwork.
“Since I’m Cuban, I was very excited to meet a Cuban artist. It struck me when I met him that I don’t know people who have lived in Cuba, I only know people who have left Cuba. I’m very proud to have that in my office,” says Santalla, who fled Cuba in 1963. After living in St. Louis, MO and San Juan, Puerto Rico, then graduating from Cornell University, Santalla settled in Washington, where he has worked for more thatn 20 years. He established Studio Santalla in December 2010.
The meeting are in Santalla’s office includes a custom ash and aluminum credenza that he designed, a white club chair y Michael Vanderbyl for Baker, and a sleek contemporary aluminum table and chairs from Design Within Reach. “Flotation,” a dramatic triple-tiered white paper shade fixture by Ingo Maurer, gently lights the area.
Most of the light in the office comes from the low voltage track lighting. “You can have a beautiful space, but if it’s not well lit, it doesn’t work,” he says. “There’s nothing like low voltage lighting. The beauty of color in low voltage lighting is amazing.
Three large white oak partner’s desks that Santalla designed march along one window-lined wall. Santalla bought the computer desks that are perpendicular to the partners’ desks at Crate & Barrel. The desk accessories are from Hold Everything, IKEA, and Staples. Santalla’s nearby custom designed desk is tucked into an alcove formed by bookcases.
The architect created two dramatic tables, pictured above, using copper planters from Smith & Hawken, for which he had oak tops and bases made. The carpet, manufactured by Masland, is broadloom that Santalla had pieced together to highlight different details in his office. White rectangles in the carpet, for instance, continue the line of the bookcases, windows, and workstations onto the floor. The carpet design connects the space.
Framed black and white photos that Santalla has taken reflect his travels. Just as he focuses on light, shadow, form, and function for his photography, so has he done for his studio. He and his two associate architects find their workspace and inspiring. Santalla says, “It’s really conducive to a lot of creative energy.”
A Fresh Start: Ernesto Santalla’s bold, innovative design ideas give a Northwest DC condo a new lease on life.
By Julie Sanders; Sept/Oct 2009
Artistic vision comes naturally to architect and designer Ernesto Santalla. Those creative insights became particularly useful back in 2006, when he first glimpsed the plain, one-bedroom condo in Northwest DC that he would ultimately buy. “I liked its quiet, park-like setting,” Santalla recalls. “It presented a clean palette to work on. I could see beyond it to how it could be changed to reflect my lifestyle.”
Built in 1959, the high-rise apartment building once provided student housing for American University; though Santalla’s unit was updated in the early 2000s, the floor plan remained the same. Santalla describes the building’s architecture as “International style,” a modernist aesthetic that developed in the 1920s characterized by simplified lines, a lack of ornamentation and the use of glass and steel. Santalla chose to embrace the architectural roots of the building by adhering to these characteristics even while radically altering the look of the space.
The 900-square-foot apartment includes a living/dining room with an adjoining kitchen, master bedroom and bath. In order to add visual interest and continuity, Santalla used the same dark-taupe paint and walnut millwork, interspersed with a warm white, on selected walls throughout the residence. In the living room, he painted an accent wall a vivid orange-red, and he stained all the apartment’s light oak floors a dark espresso color. In a corner of the dining area, he covered the space between windows with mirrored panels to create the effect of windows going all the way around, a characteristic of the International style. He also installed a mirror at the end of the bank of windows on one wall to create what he calls “the architectural trompe l’oeil effect of extending the windows even further.” Santalla placed a prized sculpture by Washington artist John Dreyfuss in front of the mirror so, as he says, “I can see it from both sides.”
The greatest alteration to the condo, however, occurred in the bathroom and walk-in closet. Originally, the space was piecemeal, dark and cramped. Santalla demolished the walls to create one room; by utilizing part of the front hall closet and reapportioning the area, he was able to construct a spacious combination master bath and dressing room. He replaced the wall between the bathroom and living room with frosted glass, which brings light in from the rest of the apartment but allows for privacy. Creamy limestone used on the floors, walls, shower surround and eight-inch-thick countertops lends the room a sleek continuity.
There was one design conundrum. The only entrance to the bedroom is through the bath, a setup that Santalla found unappealing. “I placed drapes across the shower and toilet so that it feels like you’re entering a foyer,” he explains, adding that he often uses drapes for concealment. The designer also removed the door between the bedroom and bath—but left the doorway—to add a sense of flow between the spaces.
Santalla carried the taupe color scheme and walnut millwork into the bedroom, where he painted two opposing walls and the ceiling to provide a unifying element to the room. Taupe draperies cover the bedroom closet doors and the windows opposite. Below the windows, walnut millwork conceals air conditioning ducts.
In the main living area, Santalla played with the idea of solid and voided space by enclosing the kitchen completely in walnut yet leaving the adjacent dining area open. He removed the upper cabinetry in the kitchen to make it feel more airy despite its enclosure, and painted it dark taupe. In the dining area, he dropped the ceiling and painted it the color of the kitchen, delineating the space yet leaving it open to the living room.
Santalla’s decorative vision also encompassed furnishings of his own design, including a dining table, credenza and desk on which high-gloss, white-lacquered surfaces rise over a rich African hardwood called Mozambique. “The idea behind the furniture is that it appears to float,” Santalla says of his pieces. In the living room area, comfortable chairs and a sofa by Donghia are grouped around a glass-topped coffee table with a chrome-plated steel base. A plush white wool carpet offers a strong contrast to the nearly black-stained floors. Original fluorescent lights have been replaced throughout with recessed and accent lighting. Against a backdrop of chromatic wall surfaces, an eclectic collection of modern art shows to great effect. Works by Andrés Tremols, sculptor Margaret Boozer, painter Kevin Tillman and others add the finishing touches to Ernesto Santalla’s own expertly rendered palette.
Colonial Update | Luxurious Soft Modern Renovation
Washington, DC Architecture and Interior Design firm Ernesto Santalla, PLLC—formerly Studio Santalla—completed this project in phases, as is the case with many renovation projects. The goal was to create spaces best suited to the client’s lifestyle. The interior renovation of this colonial home sought to achieve a soft yet luxuriously modern aesthetic. Space efficiency was also key to the design, so spaces like the Master Bathroom doubled in size by using an adjoining, underutilized area. A new shower/bathtub combination was also added. Downstairs, the spaces were opened up to improve flow and natural light, and a new media center added to the overall design.
The luxurious redesigned spaces show the owner’s desire for their home to reflect their upscale lifestyle.
