THE PROJECT
THE TEAM
Bachelor pads can go many ways and aren’t often the most glamorous spaces on the planet. One DC bachelor who works as a lobbyist had a different vision for his newly built 1,192-square-foot, two-bedroom condo in Shaw. He wanted his home to offer timeless style, beauty and function for entertaining friends and a showcase for his 1,500-volume book collection.
The homeowner selected Hannah Goldberg, the founder and principal of Hannah Charlotte Interiors (hannahcharlotteinteriors.com), to redesign every inch of the home. “My design aesthetic blends classic elegance with modern functionality, embracing warm neutrals, rich textures and carefully curated details,” says Goldberg. “While our projects range across multiple design genres, our design ethos remains [committed to] understated luxury, warm minimalism and creating visual interest through layers of textures.”
The living room features gorgeous and functional vignettes.
Goldberg says she asks countless questions during the design process. “We get to know our clients and dive deep, room by room, to understand how our clients will live and function in the space and then let our design blossom from there.”
The living room's furniture invites hours of relaxation and includes a blue velvet armchair from Soho Home
THE GOALS
Because this was a new home, Goldberg and her team started with a blank canvas. “The brief from the client was to create a balance of lively and conversational social spaces for hosting friends and colleagues while creating relaxing and cozy private spaces,” says the designer. “We ensured the spaces were tailored, elegant and minimal yet architectural to mimic our client’s aesthetic and personality and to relate to the contemporary architecture and interiors of the condominium itself.”
Goldberg also notes she aimed to design a space that felt effortlessly collected and thoughtfully curated—even though every element was new to the client. She drew inspiration from the iconic Egon von Fürstenberg and his 1980s vision of the ultimate bachelor pad: a space that boldly signals success, confidence, imagination, creativity and effectiveness.
A bar cart from Chairish adds to the living room's appeal.
LIVING ROOM
“Our goal was to create a bright, layered and conversational space that felt curated and lived in while being new,” says Goldberg. “We wanted to balance the modernity of the adjacent glossy lacquered kitchen and add softness and warmth to balance all the hard materials.”
The primary bath complements the sanctuary feeling of the suite.
The team layered the room with a wool patterned custom rug from Carpet Impressions (carpetimpressions.com), a tonal and textured boucle sofa from Four Hands (fourhands.com) and a beautiful blue velvet armchair from Soho Home (sohohome.com) that’s a visual statement as guests arrive in the entry hall. Additional standout pieces include a Carrara coffee table from RH (rh.com), a sofa end table from Branch Home (branchhomedesigns.com), a bar cart from Chairish (chairish.com), clay art from Ethnicraft (ethnicraft.com) and a drink table and light fixture from Four Hands.
The kitchen features stools from Sunpan.
DINING ROOM & KITCHEN
“Our goal for the dining niche was to create a visually stunning moment as you turned the corner into the great room space,” says Goldberg, who selected a wall sconce from Four Hands for its sculptural appeal. “We used this opportunity to add more beautiful textures, including an aged brass light fixture, a Dovetail (dovetailhome.com) bistro table and beautiful modern leather dining chairs from Blu Dot (bludot.com).” The design team complemented the dining room’s allure with gorgeous counter stools from Sunpan (sunpan.com).”
The home boasts several spaces for enjoying coffee and a great book.
LIBRARY DEN
“Our client told us from the beginning of the project that the room he plans to spend the most time in is the library den,” says Goldberg. “At the end of a long, social day, he loves to kick his feet back with a drink, read, relax and decompress. We wanted to create a moody, serene space for him to enjoy and recharge.”
Goldberg painted the room with Sherwin Williams (sherwin-williams.com) 7645 Thunder Gray in a matte finish, which served as a backdrop for elements like a chaise lounge from Bernhardt (bernhardt.com), a ceiling light from Rejuvenation (rejuvenation.com), side tables from Four Hands and a Mitzi floor lamp from Hudson Valley Lighting Company (hvlgroup.com). Built-in bookcases from California Closets (californiaclosets.com) frame the room.
The design team created a tailored retreat for the primary suite, which boasts a bookshelves from CB2
PRIMARY SUITE
Goldberg says she wanted to create a refreshing, tailored and edited retreat for the room. “We also wanted to provide a space for occasions when our client works or takes calls from home, and we wanted to utilize a perfect niche to help showcase the volumes of books that exceeded our library space—to help him keep expanding his amazing collection.”
The sanctuary features a bed from Four Hands, an area rug from Nordic Knots (nordicknots.com), a nightstand from West Elm (westelm.com), table lamps from Soho Home, a bench from Skyline (skylinefurnituremfg.com), bookshelves from CB2 (cb2.com), a desk from Chairish, a ceiling light from Arhaus (arhaus.com) and a custom roman shade from Rockville Interiors (rockvilleinteriors.com).
The living room blends modernity, softness and warmth to balance hard materials.
HOW THE HOME IS LIVING
Shortly after completing the project, the designer woke up early one morning and checked her email. “It was marvelous to read an email from the client with the subject line: ‘Beautiful! I was blown away,’” says Goldberg. “He has lived there close to a year, entertains often and is enjoying having a polished, finished space that meets all of his lifestyle needs.”
Home Details
Home Type
Condo
Location
Shaw
Designer
Hannah Charlotte Interiors
hannahcharlotteinteriors.com
Resources
Carpet Impressions
Rug, living room
carpetimpressions.com
Four Hands
Sofa and lighting, living room; side tables, library den; bed, primary suite
fourhands.com
Soho Home
Chair, living room; lamps, primary suite
sohohome.com
RH
Coffee table, living room
rh.com
Chairish
Bar cart, living room; desk, primary suite
chairish.com
Dovetail
Table, dining room
dovetailhome.com
Blu Dot
Chairs, dining room
bludot.com
Sunpan
Stools, kitchen
sunpan.com
Bernhardt
Chaise lounge, library den
bernhardt.com
Rejuvenation
Ceiling light, library den
rejuvenation.com
Hudson Valley
Lighting Company
Floor lamp, library den
hvlgroup.com
California Closets
Bookcases, library den
californiaclosets.com
