Of the 40 or so people who attended the real estate agent's open house that day, most were in the door and out again in a matter of minutes. Not so prospective buyer Tim Schoeffler. He came, he saw, and — despite the dwelling's less-than-optimum condition — he lingered. For all its faults (and there were many), the 1940 classic Colonial house in Washington, D.C., beckoned him.

"The interiors were dated and dreary, but the house had lots of character and a great flow. It wasn't run-of-the-mill," Tim says. "It reminded me of my grandparents' house in Connecticut. It just felt like home."

There was another plus: Because the property had languished on the market for some 13 months, Tim was able to cut a good deal and then put the savings back into renovating and decorating. "I had renovated before, so it wasn't a daunting prospect," he says.

What he hadn't done before, however, was work with an interior designer. So after adding French doors to the living room, gutting the kitchen, rebuilding a porch, and removing bookshelves in the foyer, he was more than ready to turn over decorating issues to Washington interior designer David Mitchell.

"My design work is about my clients' personalities — and about pushing them a little," says Mitchell. For this house, it meant a design that reflected Tim's traditional tastes but — now for the "push" — expressed them in new and unexpected ways.

"Tim's house represents the 'new tradition,' " Mitchell explains. "It's not generic traditional, and it's not really modern. It's now. It's not stuffy, but it's comfortable. Not a single room is precious — there are no little perching chairs." Quite the opposite. In the living room alone, big, cushy chairs, a tufted ottoman, and a rolled-arm sofa mandate comfort.

Mitchell continued that new traditional attitude with accessories. Instead of finery and furbelows, he used architectural remnants and offbeat antiques. He selected a pair of metal stars excavated from a building to grace the living room mantel. Then he arranged them opposite much taller antique Indian clubs — arguably an eccentric element in their own right — to create a modern-feeling asymmetrical balance. That asymmetry is especially important; it serves as the single counterpoint to the more formal balance created by the matched windows, floor lamps, and chairs on either side of the fireplace.

Again in the living the room, Mitchell toyed with contrasts, this time playing an elegant reproduction secretary off a casual seagrass rug. In the dining room, he juxtaposed a wall-mounted architectural-salvage piece with — what could be more traditional? — a reproduction William Morris wallpaper. This subtle interplay of the expected and the surprising extends throughout the house. It makes even the formal dining room, with its heirloom Duncan Phyfe-style double-pedestal table and reproduction 18th-century shield-back chairs, feel current.

Mitchell's decision to go with wallpaper — even though it was a historic pattern — meant asking his client to stretch. "I had never decorated with wallpaper before, but I love it," Tim says. "David took me in a direction I had never been and got it exactly right. The room is traditional but fresh."

At a glance, the color palette looks neutral and monochromatic, but Mitchell insists it is full of "natural color." He says: "It isn't a beige house. It's a colorful house, but it's predominantly natural color" — another design move directed toward a younger, up-to-the-minute feel.

The living room's design actually began with the colors in the handwoven area rug, which Tim already owned. A pair of striped Italian velvet George Smith chairs echoes the rug's burgundy, navy, and gold, yet the fabric's taupe repeat still provides a neutral look. Abundant wood tones, including a collection of boxes plus a twisted-leg 賡g籥 and a round coffee table designed by Mitchell, underscore the warm neutrality. But perhaps the greatest contributor to the natural scheme, simply because it covers the most area, is the khaki-color paint on the living room walls.

Like the public spaces, Tim's bedroom "has a traditional feeling but with punch," says Mitchell. Tim already owned the antique English sleigh bed, and Mitchell complemented it with a small, marble-topped antique French table.

To add pizzazz, Mitchell looked to art and accessories, including an antique Italian plaster foot and a contemporary spiral metal lamp on the bedside table. He also opted for texture over printed pattern: The linens are matelass窠carpet is a wool petit point, and the pair of club chairs is tailored in an easy-on-the-eye neutral.

"This is definitely a man's bedroom, but it isn't heavy and overdone," notes Mitchell Though it's neutralized with battleship gray on the walls (which lends a contemporary feel), the room also features splashes of bold color in the tribal rugs scattered around the room. The burgundy from the rugs is repeated in the drapery and pillow fabrics. "The curtains are a burgundy-khaki-and-gray-striped satin — a great way to pull in color," Mitchell explains. As in the living room, though, the richer hues play only an accent role.

Above all, whether Tim is alone or entertaining a large crowd, the house is comfortable. "I host a lot of fund-raisers and may have up to two hundred guests here at one time," Tim says.

"I had my whole family here-all the nieces and nephews-the Christmas before last, and it filled up nicely," he adds. "I couldn't be happier with the results."

Exactly what you'd expect of "lucky 13."

Credits

Text: Candace Ord Manroe

Photography: Walter Smalling Jr.

Interior Designer: David H. Mitchell

Regional Editor: Heather Lobdell