Jeff Gillway & Kim Gittleson

Washington, DC

Brutalist Townhouse is a renovation of a 1962 cast concrete and brick townhouse in Southwest Washington DC. The project is a study in efficiency, color theory, eclecticism, and art curation. Their home is a space in constant evolution- for a growing family that enjoys art, avid reading, restoring furniture, and vintage audio equipment.

The simple concept of the interior is to sharply contrast the exterior. The brutalist base building has cold and unadorned facades of brick, concrete, and glass- so inversely the interior is designed with warm woods, quirky furniture, rich textures, and colorful artwork. The couple’s art collection (which ranges from 17th century intaglio prints, Hudson River School oil paintings, Japanese wood block prints, to modernist silkscreens) is a primary focus throughout the interior, with special attention to flexibility as the collection grows. Drawing from experience in museum and gallery design, most of the art walls are kept white- while only the doors throughout the space are vibrantly painted to give a curated pop of color.

2026