A Dutch colonial Sears catalog home from the 1920s is beautifully transformed.

Open spaces grace the newly redesigned home in Chevy Chase.

THE PROJECT
One hundred years ago, a Sears catalog home was a dream: adequately spacious, comfortable and designed with families in mind. From 1908 to 1942, the company sold 700,000 in America, including one in Chevy Chase. A couple with two kids under 12 loved their Sears Dutch colonial with a gambrel roof but knew they needed more and a modern update from the hodgepodge of redesigns over the years.

The Sears catalog home sits on an expansive, free-lined lot.

THE TEAM
The couple selected Michael Patrick, principal at BarnesVanze Architects (barnesvanze.com), to tackle the architectural transformation. His team replaced a rear addition with a new design based on a second gambrel roof extending out of the back with a large rear porch. The addition created a classic kitchen-great room combination with a bay window banquette, playroom, lower-level mud room and primary suite. The architectural team also enlarged the dining room, added built-ins throughout the lower level and improved the guest and exercise rooms—the home now measures 5,800 square feet.

A reading nook creates the perfect getaway.

“Functionally, the house was missing open spaces for modern living, a primary suite to meet contemporary expectations and other amenities,” says Patrick. “We take seriously the tagline on our website: beauty and authenticity in architecture.” Sarita Simpson, founder and principal designer at Interior Matter (interiormatter.com), tackled the home’s interiors.

The living room boasts custom wallcovering and an area rug from Eliko Rugs.

Simpson says her design aesthetic continues to evolve, but warm modernism resides at its core along with current characteristics of edited eclecticism and thoughtful originality. “We aim to create original, personal and timeless spaces that would never be mistaken for a staged room,” she says. “No two projects in our portfolio look the same because no two clients or homes are the same.”

THE GOALS
“The goals were consistent with those of many contemporary families: more open spaces conducive to modern living in larger communal areas, larger primary suite, new playroom and mudroom,” says Patrick, adding that the family wanted better use of the basement and attic spaces for guest rooms, office space and exercise areas, as well as modernized and improved HVAC and electrical systems.

The light-filled kitchen offers the family outstanding room for entertaining, homework and quick, informal meals.

“The client’s home is in a lovely part of town that has historic and zoning regulations on multiple levels,” says Patrick, who coordinated with many authorities to meet various requirements. “We jumped through all these hoops and achieved a lovely design everyone liked.”

Durable fabrics grace nearly every room of the home, ensuring a long life with an active family.

LIVING ROOM
“Our mission was to add finishing touches and layers to the pristine and beautiful renovated space,” says Simpson. “This room was the most challenging for us [since we had to] reimagine the space while incorporating the existing sofa and lounge chairs in the same layout. We built a color story around large anchor pieces and a room-size carpet.” Simpson and her team layered in elements like a custom area rug from Eliko Rugs (elikorugs.com), occasional tables from Arteriors (arteriorshome.com) and Crate & Barrel (crateandbarrel.com), custom wallcovering, drapery and Hunter Douglas (hunterdouglas.com) Roman shades from Rockville Interiors (rockvilleinteriors.com) and lighting from Visual Comfort (visualcomfort.com).

Drapery from Rockville Interiors adds understated elegance in the dining room.

SUNROOM
The sunroom’s stroke of genius is its versatility. The family uses the space often, and it perfectly blends indoor and outdoor living. Simpson’s selections for the room include an area rug from Stark Carpet (starkcarpet.com), a dining and gaming table from Arhaus (arhaus.com), dining chairs from RH (rh.com), Hunter Douglas Roman shades from Rockville Interiors, a custom-built-in banquette and art ledges and lounge chairs from Lee Industries (leeindustries.com) dressed in Romo (romofabrics.com) fabric.

The sunroom holds a gaming table from Arhaus.

PRIMARY SUITE
“The space was new and beautiful, but our clients’ existing furniture wasn’t working in their much larger primary bedroom,” says Simpson. Like the living room, they wanted more than just new furniture—they desired a finished and layered space that would create a warm and inviting feeling and serve as a restful sanctuary.”

The home’s exterior reveals the addition by BarnesVanze Architecture.

“We were thrilled when our clients fell in love—just as we had—with the incredible raw silk Ombre wallcovering from Westfall & Kitson (westandkit.com). The colors are beautiful and soothing, much like the sky at dusk in the summertime. This was the driving force for all other design choices,” says Simpson, who added a bed from Kravet (kravet.com), nightstands from Huppe (huppe.net), custom bookshelves from Atlas Industries (atlaseast.com), a rug from Galleria Carpets (galleriacarpets.com), custom drapery from Rockville Interiors and lighting from Visual Comfort.

HOW THE HOME IS LIVING
“The home is living very well,” says Patrick. “We originally left the enclosure of a side porch as a phase two, which we subsequently completed for the couple.”

The primary suite features raw silk Ombre wallcovering from Westfall & Kitson and a bed from Kravet.

“They were and remain thrilled with the outcome,” says Simpson. “The couple recently reached out to discuss starting a few more rooms with us.” The Sears catalog legacy grows, evolves and becomes more meaningful each year—with some help from talented pros.

HOME DETAILS

HOME TYPE
Single-family

LOCATION
Chevy Chase

ARCHITECT
BarnesVanze Architects
barnesvanze.com

INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior Matter
interiormatter.com

RESOURCES

Arhaus
Dining table, sunroom
arhaus.com

Arteriors
Occasional tables, living room
arteriorshome.com

Atlas Industries
Custom bookshelves, primary suite
atlaseast.com

Crate & Barrel
Occasional tables, living room
crateandbarrel.com

Eliko Rugs
Rug, living room
elikorugs.com

Galleria Carpets
Rug, primary suite
galleriacarpets.com

Huppe
Nightstands, primary suite
huppe.net

Kravet
Bed, primary suite
kravet.com

Lee Industries
Lounge chairs, sunroom,
leeindustries.com

RH
Dining chairs, sunroom
rh.com

Rockville Interiors
Roman shades and drapery, living room; Roman shades, sunroom; drapery, primary suite
rockvilleinteriors.com

Romo
Chair fabric, sunroom
romofabrics.com

Stark Carpet
Rug, sunroom
starkcarpet.com

Visual Comfort
Lighting, living room, primary suite
visualcomfort.com

Westfall & Kitson
Wallcovering, primary suite
westandkit.com