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PREVIOUS PAGE: (clockwise from top left): The square mirror above the mantel in the living room, as well as the matching chairs flanking the fireplace are from Tone on Tone in Bethesda, Md. The gold leaf bench is a Nancy Corzine piece; Joe Perta’s weekend house in Marshall, Va. sits atop a hill on nearly 50 acres of land; designer Joe Ireland and Perta chat in the kitchen, which features custom white-washed maple cabinetry made by Frenchman Mickael Fonteneau, a furniture maker based in Fredericksburg, Va.; the free standing tub in the master bathroom is a Victor + Albert; a sideboard purchased from 1stdibs.com is topped with a pair of Czech crystal Moser Glass lamps found at GoodWood in the District; Matisse lithographs from the artist’s “Jazz” series hang on the wall. THIS PAGE: (clockwise from top left); The chandelier in the sprawling living room is an authentic Jules Leleu, a renowned Art Deco furniture designer. It was found in the storage room of an atelier outside of Paris; a four poster bed from Dessin Fournir makes a statement in the master bedroom; a sitting area on the second floor offers guests another place to relax; the bedrooms are all numbered to make them easier to find; wood from fallen local oak trees was used to panel the library; dining chairs from a Paris flea market surround a custom table by Mickael Fonteneau, which expands to seat 16.
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make a custom table for him modeled afer a circa 1928 Macassar ebony wood Ruhlman design. The stunning table has several leaves that seamlessly transform it from an eight-seater to one double its size. It’s important to Perta that he be able to accommodate large groups of family and friends, and his home reflects that. Every guest room but one has the same upholstered Charles P. Rogers queen size bed, the same TempurPedic mattress, an en-suite or across the hall bath, and an abundance of towels and toiletries. He’s even marked rooms with red house numbers to make them easier for visitors to find. Half the kitchen has glass cabinet doors to ensure no one every needs to ask where the bowls are, and a full size freezer is stocked with enough food to make breakfast and dinner for nearly two dozen people at any given time. Perta, who lost his partner of 27 years not long before he bought the property, says that prior to moving in he reflected on how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. “When you lose someone, you become very well aware of your own mortality. You don’t live forever. And I figure I have 20 more years,” he says. How do I want to spend those 20 years?” The answer was to be surrounded by people he cares about, not just for 3-hour-dinners, but for long, leisurely weekends where they can go for walks or bike rides together, or simply “bump into each other in the kitchen” after an afternoon of solo reading. When this reporter prepares to leave after touring Perta’s house, he is sitting at his grandfather’s table in the center of the living room, flipping through a book of family photos. He looks up, glances around as the midday sun streams in through the french doors behind him and says with a smile, “ This house makes me happy. Who wouldn’t be happy here?” .
| N O V E M B E R | washingtonlife.com
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