Down size, up style

Serene Elegance at Lionsgate, Bethesda
July/August 2009
By Karen A. Watkins

When longtime Rockville resident Doris Wong purchased her two-bedroom condominium a year ago at Lionsgate in the heart of downtown Bethesda, she says she "wanted something cozy and warm." Wong, a widow since 2006, had lived in her house in Rockville for more than 45 years. She chose a unit with a curving living room wall and views of downtown Bethesda. Together with designer Susan Utley of Design Studio in Bethesda, Wong chose the condo's finishes, wall coverings and furnishings. The result is an opulent yet comfortable décor with hints of Wong's Chinese heritage.

The condo reflects the owner's and the decorator's combined penchant for texture and detail. Wong replaced the light fixtures in the foyer with three Murano glass ceiling fixtures and a chandelier with gold trim. The gold repeats in a large black and gold leaf mirror that sits in the hallway above a scrolled metal table, and in the dining room, in a dramatic black and gold screen that Wong inherited.
In the kitchen, gold-colored glass pendant lights above the black granite island continue the theme. A unique, iridescent glass backsplash provides textural interest. A curving banquette dressed in cotton/silk jacquard provides seating for the 10-sided kitchen table, which at first glance appears to be round.

Many other elements in Wong's home are rounded—from the spirals decorating the sheers underneath striped silk draperies in the master bedroom to the curving living room walls. "I like a lot of curves and spirals," Wong says. "They're softer forms. I just seem to pick things with swirls and motion in it. It just happened that way."

The curved soffit in the living room is stenciled in a soft patter to complement the elegant, faux-painted ceiling. A gold and burgundy color scheme lends a sophisticated, yet serene feel to the room. A plush gold sofa dressed with lushly trimmed burgundy pillows curves around a circular coffee table with striking black onyx detail. Burgundy drapes and a set of custom patterned rugs pull the color scheme together.

Wong closed off a little den with a set of arched wrought-iron doors typically found in wine cellars. She says she had them installed even though "we had to heighten the doorway to fit them in."

The most personal touch to Wong's home is an abstract "artwork" hanging in the laundry room. Wong, a virology and microbiology scientist at the National Institutes of Health for 46 years, had her DNA readout enlarged and transformed into what appears to be a contemporary painting. "I have no children and wanted to leave something of myself behind," Wong says. The "painting" has her signature in the lower right-hand corner.