From Bethesda Magazine: A century-old D.C. home gets a modern makeover

A spa, gym, music room and bar area complete the improved basement

By Jennifer Barger

April 8, 2026 3:00 p.m. | Updated: April 7, 2026 2:45 p.m.

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This story is a part three of a three-part series on home renovations from Bethesda Magazine. Check out part one here and part two here.

With their half-timbered facing and steeply pitched roofs, Tudor-style homes built in the 1920s boast storybook appeal. But tech executives James and Ellen Patterson’s two-story, 1928 house in the Wesley Heights neighborhood of Northwest D.C. had a cramped kitchen that felt far from fairy-tale perfect, and they longed to expand both it and their low-ceilinged basement. “We bought the house in 2017, and we lived in it for three years before we contemplated a renovation,” Ellen says. “We have three daughters [now 16, 18 and 21], and we really wanted more community space.” 

The couple, both now in their 50s, began discussing an addition with Georgetown’s BarnesVanze Architects in 2021. Working with them and D.C. interior designer Colman Riddell, the Pattersons undertook an extensive project that expanded their 5,700-square-foot home to 7,200 square feet. It was completed in April 2025.

Additions on the first floor and in the basement included a much larger light-filled kitchen, a butler’s pantry and a lower-level hangout zone with a spa, gym, music room and a bar-meets-den.

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The expansion of the four-bedroom, 4½-bath house also involved repurposing some spaces. A library at the front of the house became a small den; the snug former kitchen morphed into a butler’s pantry and a stairwell down to the expanded basement.

Riddell outfitted the pantry with floor-to-ceiling cabinets lacquered in Farrow & Ball’s “Hague Blue,” a hammered brass sink from Mexico, and Phillip Jeffries grass cloth wallpaper on the ceiling.

“We made that a little moment—it becomes a bar and a storage zone,” says Wayne Adams of BarnesVanze Architects. “It’s nice to have rooms do double duty. It also supports the dining room and keeps the new kitchen from feeling overwhelming.” 

The kitchen was bumped out and up, giving it 15-foot vaulted ceilings with wooden beams and clerestory windows. It’s furnished with white oak custom cabinets and an 8-foot-long central island, both capped with Bianco Rhino Supreme marble countertops. “Plus, there’s now a bay window with a banquette, so it’s all very welcoming,” Ellen says. “I love to cook and entertain people in the kitchen, and now we’re not all running into each other in there.” 

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Downstairs, the 1,200-square-foot basement holds more rooms fit for communing. In the TV room, Farrow & Ball’s deep blue-black “Railings” paint on the walls, a ceiling wallpapered in cork, and a camel-colored sofa from Crate & Barrel add coziness. That’s where the Pattersons watch movies or host friends. “Plus, we added on an entirely new garage and a fantastic gym,” James says.

The family’s favorite basement hangout is the new music room, an “analog” space Riddell tricked out with an oval game table from Design Within Reach,  a leather Crate & Barrel sofa and built-in shelves for LPs and equipment. Adding to the tucked-away, unplugged appeal: vintage guitars on display and walls covered in a combo of Farrow & Ball’s “Card Room Green” and wooden slats hiding acoustic felt. It’s where the couple’s daughters practice singing and where James plays his electric guitar. The whole family gathers here to play Double Nine dominoes or vintage games from Ellen’s childhood. “It’s a real hit-you-in-the-chest space,” James says. “We love spending time down there.”  

This appears in the March/April 2026 issue of Bethesda Magazine.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine