Our thanks to Fox 5 News and Holly Morris for showing our guest bedroom at the 2012 DC DESIGN HOUSE. Click on the picture below and please be patient through the short commercial (it’s worth the wait!).
We hope to see you at the Design House. It’s for a good cause – proceeds go to Children’s National Medical Center. For more information, go to the DC Design House website.
Holly Morris – 2012 D.C. Design House: MyFoxDC.com
If asked to describe in words what it is like to design the Guest Bedroom for the 2012 DC Design House they would be…
Exciting, challenging and at times a bit stressful!
These adjectives describe feelings at any given time.
Here is a very quick “Behind the Scenes” look at what it has been like to prepare for the DC Design House.
JANUARY 6: Receive email inviting us to walk through the house
JANUARY 19: Walk through house – try to figure out which rooms will generate greatest interest, which rooms will require the least “maintenance”… all the while thinking LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. Lots of thoughts are provoked
2012 DC Design House
JANUARY 19-31: CRAZY-MAKING time – create a floor plan, find furniture, rug, paint colors, window treatments, fabrics, etc., etc. – hire a renderer to create “the vision” on paper, put the presentation board together. Very challenging to meet the deadlines and continue the day job!
FEBRUARY 1: Wrap the board with protective plastic, place it carefully in the car, carry it carefully to the design house, try to catch glimpses of other boards, see if anyone submitted the same room. Walk back to car. Stress but in a good way
Original board submitted to the DC Design House committee
FEBRUARY 1-9: Kind of like waiting for college acceptance letters only in 2012 one does not go to the mailbox
FEBRUARY 10: We get THE call… “Hello my name is (name excluded to provide anonymity) from the DC Design House selection committee. We would like you to be in this year’s design house, BUT… (oh no!) we would like you to do Space 15 instead of the room you submitted. Happy but “challenged” in that we would have to adapt original idea to new space. Didn’t space 15 have the nasty mattresses, asymmetric window placement, bad floors, 8 doors and no light?!!! Talk about a challenge and the need to innovate
Space 15 - BEFORE
FEBRUARY 13 – Look at Space 15. Confirmed that space 15 was, in fact, the one we thought it might be – are we up to that challenge? NO TURNING BACK NOW!
FEBRUARY 13-February 29 – Redo floor plan (this is a different space from the one submitted), redo rendering (this time on our own). STRESS! Have not done a rendering since design school days. Procure furniture, some changes need to be made because of this different room, call painter, call flooring person, call cabinet-maker, call decorative painter, call electrician, call anyone else who can help! Prepare information for DC Design House book, prepare ad for book, redo board for Bare Bones Day. All that and try to fulfill the needs of paying clients.
FEBRUARY 25 – Bare Bones Day – stand in space for 5 hours and greet visitors – this is the fun part. It comes naturally.
Wendy in Space 15 - Before on Bare Bones Day
MARCH 1-APRIL 6 – Work on the room, remove shelves, bring in floor guy, get paint, bring in painter, visit space, bring in electrician, visit space, have painter patch holes, have painter put in moulding, visit space, wash windows, work with drapery person to create window treatments, work with framing guy to design memo boards, shop for fabric, phone calls, shop for more fabric, design dog bed, redesign dog bed, select new rug (bigger space) re-redesign dog bed, work with cabinet maker to design wood shelves for closet and panels for screens, visit decorative painter to design folding screen, visit space, work with lighting designer, bring back electrician, phone calls, organize deliveries to the space, coordinate deliveries, put room inventory together, visit space, work with glass company for shelves and mirror in linen closet (soon to be perfumerie), buy accessories, go to Saks to procure more accessories, one final shopping trip for final accessories, make bed, accessorize room, embroider dog bed, put dog bed together, make dog bed cushion, pillow and bed scarf, set up dog bed, order business cards… EXHAUSTION + EXCITEMENT!
Guest Bedroom Rendering
Shelves that were originally in the room.
Deciding on a Farrow & Ball paint color for the room.
Custom Silk Guest Dog Bed
APRIL 6 – put designer tools away, the room is complete EXCITEMENT! … will people like it? STRESS!
APRIL 10 – Press/Media Day -
APRIL 13 – Design House Gala –
APRIL 14 – MAY 13 – Design House open to the public -The day is finally here
While all of this has been going on, we have been striving to give our clients the very best service that they have come to rely on.
We may have to take turns napping in our Guest Bedroom!
And the final product…
Finished Guest Bedroom
We’re not going to make it that easy for you to see…
Please visit us!
4951 Rockwood Parkway, NW, Washington, DC
April 14th – May 13th 2012
Hours: Saturdays-Sundays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays-Fridays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tickets are $20 and benefit Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC.
Shown below is a portion of an article that appeared in WUSA9.com about our Guest Bedroom at the 2012 DC Design House…
A Preview of Space 15
Submitted by Sherry Moeller
Thursday, April 5th, 2012, 5:42am
Topics: Arts & Culture, Business, Community Spirit, Events, Home & Garden, News, People, Pets, Public Spaces, Real Estate, Shopping & Services, Style
Wendy Danziger with her design sketch and pet corner for Space 14, the Guest Bedroom.
The foyer area leads to Space 15, the Guest Bedroom designed by Wendy Danziger of Danziger Design in Bethesda, MD, www.danzigerdesign.com. “Being chosen to design the guest bedroom at the Design House makes me incredibly happy on many levels,” Danziger says. “It means a great deal to be associated with an organization that raises money to benefit children.” The designer adds that she loves the camaraderie of working with her peers as well as conquering the obstacles in a space. “It will allow visitors to the Design House to see that they can also achieve a peaceful environment for themselves.”
Danziger, who believes in the give and take between designer and client, says her guest room is a combination of ideas that promote a restful, fun space to visit. “Who wouldn’t enjoy a getaway at a friend’s home in a fresh and inviting room inspired by linens from a far away place?” says Danziger, who adds, “Don’t forget to look at the tourist info in the closet.” The designer included a special spot for a pet guest, too, as well as hand-painted silver metallic screens that hide an asymmetrical window.
A close-up of artwork in Wendy Danziger's Guest Bedroom showcases the soothing approach to her design.
Space 15 - The Guest Bedroom before its transformation by Danziger Design. Photo by Robert Radifera
The DC Design House opens to the public on April 14th. Please go to the 2012 DC Design House Website for details.
We received an email this morning from the committee members of the DC Design House casually mentioning that our rooms need to be finished in 17 days. This is the progress on our guest bedroom so far…
Ugly bookcases removed. CHECK!
Flush mount fixtures changed to recessed lighting. CHECK!
Walls and ceiling patched. CHECK!
Gymnasium-colored floors refinished. CHECK!
Ceiling painted. CHECK!
Walls painted. CHECK!
Moulding painted. CHECK!
Window treatments made. CHECK!
So “all” that is left to is to get the chandelier and hang it, have the rug delivered, have all the furniture delivered, arrange the furniture, make the bed, hang the window treatments, accessorize, accessorize, accessorize…Whew! -Then take a deep breath and let the fun begin!
I don’t think we ever shared the “BEFORE” pictures on our blog… here are some of the “BEFOREs” and we hope you’ll come see the happily ever “AFTER”.
The 2012 DC Design House comes together at 4951 Rockwood Parkway, NW. The house opens on April 14th and runs until May 13th.
Tile from Architectural Ceramics
These pictures are from a few of our projects over the last several months. There are so many different tiles to choose from… textures, materials, colors… the possibilities are almost endless! Tile makes a statement. What is your tile saying?
Tuesday night into Wednesday morning at the Four Seasons Hotel in DC proved to be an amazing experience. We are participating in our second Georgetown Jingle – this is the annual event held at the Four Seasons Hotel to benefit pediatric oncology at Georgetown University Hospital. Like the Holiday Season, the Georgetown Jingle is about hope and promise and most important, children and families.
We are honored to participate in the tree decorating again this year. The theme we chose this year is, The Poet Tree. We wanted to combine the magic of the season with the delight of children’s poetry by local poet and retired teacher Diane Amber.
It is so important to us to take time out of our seemingly busy lives and to give of our time and treasure to others.
We wish all of the inspiring children and their families the joy of the Holiday Season. Peace to all.
To learn more about the Georgetown Jingle, please click below.
‘Twas the morning before setup when all through the city… busy elves were scurrying to get the decorations ready…
Tonight’s the night! We’ll be at the Four Seasons Hotel decorating our tree into the wee hours of the morning. Ok, maybe not the wee hours, but we’ll be there until every last ornament is in its rightful place. Our preparations began in late Summer and we are so excited that the big night is finally here. Our tree will be available for viewing from November 30th through December 11th at the Four Seasons Hotel and available for purchase through the Georgetown Jingle which will be held on Sunday, December 11th. Here’s a little preview of what’s to come…
Wendy & Mary at the Georgetown Jingle Kickoff Meeting
In attendance at the meeting were Dr. Aziza Shad, MD, Chief of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Blood, and Bone Marrow Transplanation at Georgetown Hospital, other representatives from the hospital, parent and child ambassadors of Georgetown Hospital, sponsors of the Georgetown Jingle, representatives of The Four Seasons Hotel and fellow Interior Designers creating trees and vignettes to be displayed at The Four Seasons Hotel and sold at the Georgetown Jingle.
It was such a positive and humbling experience to have so many people in one place with one goal in mind… to support pediatric oncology patients and their families at Georgetown University Hospital.
To learn more about the Georgetown Jingle please click on the link below.
We presented our ideas yesterday morning for the soon-to-be renovated Pediatric Oncology/Hematology wing at Georgetown University Hospital. The idea was to create a neighborhood of “houses” that would be fun and inviting for the children. We created a “Beach Cottage” for one of the patient rooms and a “Fire House” for the staff lounge. We loved working on this project!
Here’s our concept for the beach cottage…
And our concept for the fire house…
We extend our sincere thank you to everyone at Georgetown University Hospital who stopped by to listen to our ideas. And thank you to fellow designers Gloria De Lourdes Blalock and Shazalynn Cavin Winfrey – we loved seeing your concepts as well! 
