For more than 20 years, Mona Hajj has been designing houses that are distinctively multicultural. She came to America by way of Lebanon and Europe, and the rooms she brings to life have a signature mash-up of Middle Eastern, European, and American influences. For a major renovation of a Georgetown house, the mix was made even more dynamic by the owners’ collection of modern art.
The circa-1910 Colonial, which spent much of the 20th century as the Baptist Women’s Home, had last been freshened in the ’70s. “We gutted the past renovations and peeled back the layers to reveal a more authentic space,” says Hajj. “We strove to reinstate a more classical look and to provide a backdrop for the quirky mix of furnishings and art we used.”