HOME LIFE | INSIDE HOMES
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hen Diane and Peter Terpeluk first walked into what would become their hom they weren’t quite ready for what home, they saw. “Every single room was a different design designer’s fantasy,” she remembers with a wry smile. ““We thought, ‘This is interesting ...’” Sh Shortly before, the former homeowner, wellknown Washington radio broadcaster Paul Anthony, had submitted the 1902 residence as a blank slate for Design House, an annual fundraiser for Children’s National Medical Center that brings the area’s best interior designers to show off their varied talents in each room. Drawn by the architectural details as well as the Barry Dixon-designed living room, the couple purchased the four-story Chevy Chase house and spent the next few years working on it with the help of friend Debby Kernan of Distinctive Designs, who also assisted in redesigning the kitchen and servants’ area into a functional whole for a modern family. Together, they reworked the house to reflect Diane’s taste, which she describes as “traditional with a twist,” a sensibility that doesn’t shy from mixing Renaissance oil paintings, Schumacher curtains and European antique chairs with Lucite coffee tables, metallic Moroccan poufs and Suzani pillows. The result is an eclectic backdrop for the family’s busy life, which over the years has included many parties and fund-raisers for various political campaigns, including the 2012 Republican presidential campaign. Tucked in among the many photos and objets d’art are mementos from their time in Luxembourg where Mr. Terpeluk served as U.S. ambassador under President George W. Bush. Three years later, Diane recalls their time there as a treasured one. “You go with visions of having lots of time to travel, but the bottom line is you’re there for a very serious purpose,” she says. One of those moments included the 40th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, an occasion that brought back American World War II veterans, many for the first time since the
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