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Living room, with restored double doors and ornate mirror over the fireplace.

up views from the hall to the rear yard. The new staircase’s “It’s a lovely stone house that originally had something of
curlicued railing, coupled with unusual paneled doors, a farmhouse aesthetic,” Zapatka said. “Then somebody really
decorative millwork, and an ostentatious mirror over the living went to town with the interior, I would guess in the late 1940’s
room fireplace, all suggest the influence of the Regency Moderne or ’50s. When we got there, it was tired. There was this red wall-
style, which was synonymous with Hollywood glamour during to-wall carpeting, and some trim was damaged. We decided to
the middle of the 20th century. embrace the mid-century renovation, though, especially in the
When Virginia Goode Ourisman, whose family is in the living room and the hall, but to clean it up and air it out.”
development business, and Robert B. Ourisman, Jr., of the multi- In the center hall of the main floor, Zapatka’s most obvious
generational Ourisman car dealership empire, bought the house move was to eliminate the enclosed vestibule that led to the
in 2017, the exterior looked much as it did when it was built, basement stairs and slightly reduce the size of the dining room,
but the interior was fusty. The young couple wanted to open up creating enough space to open up the main staircase and allow
and brighten the house without compromising its architectural its full curvature to be seen and appreciated. On the other side
integrity. Virginia Ourisman hired Christian Zapatka, AIA, of the staircase, he introduced an opening between the hall and
FAAR, to oversee a judicious renovation. the newly expanded kitchen, which not only enhances the flow
of the space, but also helps the staircase to read as more of a
52 LET IT GLOW