Curated and Cool
Michael Doyle was leasing a one-bedroom apartment in Rosslyn when he turned to his sister, D.C.-based designer Cheryl Lynn Boland, for help with the decor. As a renter, he couldn’t make any permanent changes to the unit’s structure or finishes, but he wanted it to look like something other than a dorm room. “He was like, ‘Figure this out,’ ” Boland says.
Doyle, vice president of Doyle Construction in Rockville, had his eye on some classic mid-century modern furnishings, including a black-leather Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and a kidney-shaped Noguchi coffee table. The rest was up for grabs.
Boland’s approach to outfitting the 650-square-foot space was sensibly minded, with a focus on space-saving design. “What I do with any urban project,” she says, “is have everything be multifunctional.” For example, she chose a vintage dresser to hold the TV in the living room because the bedroom had no space for a bureau.
Also versatile: a set of black director’s chairs that could be moved from bedroom to living room when needed for entertaining, or folded away when not.
Doyle was convinced the aforementioned lounge chair and coffee table would leave no room for a sofa, but Boland had a plan. She had a custom settee (measuring a compact 72 inches wide by 36 inches deep) made through Maryland-based Niermann Weeks—its walnut legs and Belgian-linen fabric maintaining a trim profile and a feeling of airiness in the tiny space. (Plus, its legs are conveniently affixed to caster wheels.)
“The furniture was meant to move with him wherever he goes,” she says, which is why she had her brother invest only in well-made pieces.
Doyle’s eclectic art collection—he buys paintings and photography from all over, and Boland has framed most of it—completes the aesthetic. One bold series of black-and-white photographs depicts the construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Other eye-catchers include a panoramic landscape painting of D.C.’s Key Bridge and a vintage U.S. Open golf poster.
Design-wise, both siblings agree that matchy-matchy furnishings are overrated. As long as they are good quality, Boland says, furniture and art will always work together, no matter the style.
“Just about everything in here I plan to have the rest of my life,” Doyle says. “It’s nice to have something of permanence, even when you’re moving around.”
Indeed. As of press time, he had recently moved to new digs in Logan Circle in the District. And the new place looks just as polished.
Project Credit:
Interior design: Doyle Interiors, doyleinteriors.com
Jennifer Sergent is a freelance design writer who also blogs at DC by Design. She lives in Arlington with her husband and two teenage sons.