What’s that saying? You gotta spend money to make money. That’s proved true: Curbed DC reported yesterday that the historic Williams-Addison House in Georgetown went under contract for $16.8 million—after just two months on the market. Properties in those brackets can last many months or even more than a year before that special someone comes along to claim them.
But Capital City Real Estate, which listed the property, spent millions to renovate the home, hiring architect Dale Overmyer to orchestrate the design and top designer Kelley Proxmire to decorate the interiors to look like a show house—which, of course, it was.
All photography by Kip Dawkins


Kelley says she believes strongly that layering a room with interesting art and accessories is key to bringing it that life that buyers need to see in a home if they are to envision living their own lives there.
There are signs of life everywhere in this house—coffee-table books, rich artwork (all provided by Bellus Fine Art in Chevy Chase), decorative throw pillows and unusual accessories. The color scheme remains neutral—important for a house on the market, you don’t want to get too specific—but it carries a point of view that is welcoming and comfortable.
Curbed DC mentioned some other multi-million-dollar properties that have languished on the market, such as the $22 million Textile Museum, on the market since last June. Let’s compare:




Let’s cut back to the Williams Addison house now:



Let’s go back now to another big expensive house. Unlike the Textile Musuem, this $16 million home in the Palisades (which was recently pulled off the market) is furnished, and was built just a decade ago.




OK, I’m done with my snark fest. I’ll leave you off with some more pictures from the Williams Addison house. Not surprised at all that it sold so fast, considering what else is available in this bracket.
To review: spend some money, and you’ll get it back—fast, in this case.
Great post, Jen. Love Kelley Proxmire’s work (and a bit of snark). Amazing how dated that classic Washington look (reds, yellows and blues on walls) has become. Neutrals are most definitely trending for staging and beyond.