Pomerance Residence

Master Suite Renovation
Adams Morgan, Washington, DC

Reaching for the Light
Repurposing attic space creates a dynamic master bedroom in Adams Morgan, Washington, DC

Bringing light and a sense of spaciousness into their small master bedroom, without expanding the structure of the house, was the goal of our Clients.  They also had two small bathrooms they were looking to remodel.

By expanding up into the attic, we were able to increase the size of the room and dramatically change the feel of the space.  Existing attic dormer windows and new skylights brought in light and created a sense of spaciousness.  The angles of the new walls and use of paint helped define the space to maintain a human scale.

Moving the interior wall of the bedroom meant that stairs to the attic space were now in the bedroom.  This was treated as an interesting sculptural element to design around. Custom cabinetry near the stairway and a headboard/storage unit behind the bed served as design elements and maximized use of space.

The two bathrooms were small and lacked light.  Again, skylights were used to introduce natural light and create a sense of spaciousness.  Custom fixtures and careful crafting of space formed a luxurious and highly functional environment.

My wife and I have done a number of projects with Lorena.

Lorena has helped us to make virtually every corner of our house into a delight, to use and to admire. She accurately figures out how we live, and how we want to live and tailors her designs to enhance our lives. Working with the highest of standards she is still budget conscious. She is not only a great architect, but works extremely effectively with clients (us) and with our contractor. Lorena also has a large number of specialists: interior decorators, cabinetmakers and even stain glass artists who add so much to a project. Our relationship must now be close to 15 years old and we could not be happier with the results of her work.

Rafe & Lenore Pomerance
Adams Morgan, Washington, DC


  • Principal Architect
    Lorena Checa, AIA, LEED AP
  • Project Architectural Designer
    Carlos Sanchez
  • Structural Engineer
    JGK Structural Engineers
  • General Contractor
    RCB Contractors
  • Solar Consultant
    Chesapeake Wind and Solar
  • Photography
    Kenneth M. Wyner Photography Inc.