We’ve been followers of German design firm Studio Oink for a while now, so when Margot spotted a project in Washington, DC, on their Instagram feed, we took notice. A couple of weeks ago, our ever-game photographer Matthew Williams and I took a train to DC to investigate.
The house is located on a street that looks like any other in northwest Washington, DC: rows of Federal-style houses with painted brick and historic details, each house a little different—but mostly the same. Then there’s one painted monochrome gray, the perfect shade (a Farrow & Ball color), that signals something different. Inside, every detail is considered, down to the hinges and switch plates (painted to match the walls). You’d never guess it was designed remotely.
The owner, an attorney in DC, bought the 900-square-foot row house in 2013 with the intention to renovate. She hired a contractor to collaborate, but a year in, she realized she needed an interior design firm (she had admired the work of Leipzig, Germany–based interior architects Studio Oink on Remodelista, but factoring in distance, she decided to look locally for similar design firms). “Eventually I realized that rather than try to find a firm like Studio Oink, I should just ask Studio Oink,” she says.
Turns out, they were willing. “We were intrigued by the idea of working on a project overseas,” says Lea Korzeczek, who, along with her husband, Matthias Hiller, comprises the do-it-all team behind Studio Oink. “The owner was very sympathetic. Her biggest wish was a home that doesn’t look like a typical American house.”
Studio Oink’s vision for the project was based on the palette of a Flemish painting, “where you see a variety of dark and pastel shades,” as they say. They studied the photos and iPhone videos from the owner to develop a palette and capitalize on the light in the narrow building. Minor structural interventions were made—walls slightly modified, extended, or opened—and the designers worked with the owner’s contractor, Four Brothers, to realize the renovation. Join us for a tour.
Photography by Matthew Williams for Remodelista; styling by Alexa Hotz.
![few changes were made to the exterior: just the color, farrow & ball d 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-1.png)
![studio oink integrated a partial glass wall, an architectural detail borrowed f 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-2.png)
![the kitchen renovation was partially complete when studio oink joined on. the o 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-kitchen-full-matthew-williams-alexa-hotz-2-733x530.png)
![the amber glass vase is luca nichetto for mjölk and the gray glass bowl is 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-kitchen-full-matthew-williams-alexa-hotz-1-733x529.png)
![studio oink extended the wall to create a nook for the refrigerator, a liebherr 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-5.png)
![the top floor has a bathroom and two bedrooms. the floors are the same builder 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-6.png)
![a muller van severen first chair is parked in front of the custom desk, which i 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-matthew-williams-alexa-hotz-high-res-14.jpg)
![the guest room bed is from urban green furniture in brooklyn, painted in farrow 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-8.png)
![throughout the house, studio oink spec\2\17;d flush mount bocci electric 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-10.png)
![the pendant light is the aballs pendant lamp by jaime hayon & parachilna. t 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-9.png)
![the walls in the upstairs bathroom are painted in farrow & ball 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-12.png)
![the california faucets avalon showerhead and handles fixtures in matte whi 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-13.png)
![according to lea, \2\20;the owner was thinking of something different&#x 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-11.png)
![“in the us, custom work is hugely expensive and difficult to sourc 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-14.png)
![the ikea pax wardrobe system serves dual function; it acts as both cl 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-16.png)
![the cabinet knobs were spec’d by studio oink, but finding them stateside 32](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-15.png)
![the pocket size bedroom is painted in farrow & ball\2\17;s slip 33](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-17.png)
![the wall mounted shelf is the montana møbler write wall desk in snow. sitt 34](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-18.png)
![in the entry, which is painted in farrow & ball\2\17;s setting 35](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-19.png)
![the lower level is painted oval room blue from farrow & ball, signalin 36](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-20.png)
![the designers reconfigured the basement as a living room and fixed existing lig 37](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-21.png)
![studio oink designed a shelving system with a built in bench. the fireplace is 38](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-22.png)
![the downstairs half bath is painted sudbury yellow from farrow & ball. 39](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-23.png)
![the bath has a hay shapes mirror, porcelanosa krion sink (discontinued), m 40](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-24-e1719579136873.png)
![a solarium located off the lower level is painted strong white (another fa 42](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-26.png)
![a built in workspace table is painted in farrow & ball\2\17;s nancy& 43](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-screen-shot-temp-25.png)
Floor Plans
![plan of the second floor bedrooms. 44](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-floorplan-2nd-floor.jpg)
![the first floor kitchen and dining room plan. 45](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-floorplan-1st-floor.jpg)
![the basement living room and solarium plan. 46](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/studio-oink-washington-dc-floorplans-basement.jpg)
See more of Studio Oink’s work: