For decades, Yvonne Craver traveled for her job as a forensic accountant, and along the way she collected dozens of pieces of fine contemporary art glass. But the glass sat in the shadows of her traditional 1990s townhouse in the Friendship Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
When Craver was getting ready to retire, she decided she wanted her house “to be me.” So she hired Mark McInturff of McInturff Architects in Bethesda to transform her main floor into a bright contemporary space as fluid as blown glass.
The 675-square-foot area used to be a dark rectangle with a small walled-off kitchen at one end and a boxy fireplace at the other. A powder room jutted out next to a staircase along one of the long ends of the room. McInturff turned the space into an open floor plan and added clean lines along with curving walls topped with soffits.
Jeff, Mark’s son, served as project designer. The two had recently visited Italy where they tried glassblowing at a Murano glass factory. The fluid profiles of the walls were inspired by “the molten nature of glass and how to work with it,” the elder McInturff says.
Acadia Contractors of Cabin John laid out full-scale plans on the floor to guide the exacting construction, which was mostly completed in 2020, with finishing touches added in 2022.
The serpentine walls conceal the powder room (not pictured) with a big swoop, form shallow waves on the other walls, and meld with the niches and cabinetry. The design enables people to “see and enjoy the collection from anywhere in the room,” Mark McInturff says.
To brighten the space and create a neutral palette for the colorful art pieces, the oak floor was refreshed with a blond finish. The walls and ceiling are Benjamin Moore Super White (OC-152). Redesigned with white slats, a white metal rail, and dark gray carpeting, the stair area visually expands the art-filled room.
Also brightening the main floor are soffit lights that lend a glow and recessed lights that illuminate the niches. All the illumination, by WAC Lighting, is on dimmer switches.
Seattle-based glass artist Richard Royal created the custom piece for the central niche over the vent-free gas fireplace by Spark Modern Fires. Glass inserts by Dulles Glass protect the table-height niches from wine glass rings or other stains.
Washington, D.C.-based designer AnnMaria Baldine produced the silk rug. All the furniture is from Design Within Reach and Roche Bobois.
The entire sculptural space celebrates the glass collection that means so much to Craver: “I can’t say enough about how much I love it.”
This appears in the January/February 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.