Washington, D.C
4 Dreamy Weekend Waterfront Homes Near DC
Bay Area Meets the Bay
When a California couple took over this Kent Island property—which had belonged to the wife’s family—they built a new 7,200-square-foot house with plenty of indoor and outdoor space to continue the tradition of family gatherings.
Erin Paige Pitts, of Erin Paige Pitts Interiors in Annapolis, teamed up with the architecture firm Hammond Wilson and Focus Construction to design a space that’s “so entertaining-oriented,” Pitts says. “One of the unique things is the amount of access and flow from those main living areas, just rolling out onto the lawn.”
The home’s aesthetic reflects elements characteristic of both East and West Coasts. “Since they were moving from Northern California, they wanted a little bit of a California vibe,” Pitts says. She worked to blend that state’s style with Chesapeake touches: The home’s neutral, airy spaces are supplemented with striped textiles, jute rugs, and rope ottomans.
About half of the clients’ sizable wine collection, transported across the country, sits in their new wine room. “They really wanted to embrace the wine experience here,” says Pitts, who designed a modern yet cozy cellar with climatized bottle storage, as well as a tasting room with waterfront views. A media room was another must, she says. “They use it all the time.”
Going With the Grain
This family compound—on more than 275 acres in Oxford, Maryland, along the Tred Avon River—consists of two houses plus a pool, a pool house, and an art studio, all designed by architect Reggie Gibson, of Reggie Gibson Architects, and constructed by Lundberg Builders in Stevensville.
Interior designer Laura Hodges, of Catonsville’s Laura Hodges Studio, played to the rustic setting by installing pine paneling in the cedar homes, which are less than 2,000 square feet each. So that the natural knots and grain patterning wouldn’t make the pine appear too busy, Hodges suggested two coats of a light whitewash. “We wanted both homes to feel light and airy so your eyes go straight to the view outside,” she says. “They’re on such a pretty piece of land we didn’t want to take away from that.”
The designer wove other natural influences into the two spaces. “The client specifically wanted to celebrate the seasons,” Hodges says. In what she refers to as the main home, she embraced colors and textures more reflective of summertime, including rattan-wrapped furniture. In the other, she opted for “warmer, cozy textures and deeper colors” that represent fall and winter.
Hodges also transformed a former storage building into a “crab shack,” where the homeowners host large gatherings. Custom cabinetry, benches, and dining tables were crafted out of reclaimed wood from the property’s previous structures. The art studio, which has a kitchenette, was built to be used not only by the owners but also by other creatives in their social circle.
Hodges filled the spaces with vintage pieces when possible, to avoid a “brand-new feel.” Sustainability was also a priority: “We don’t have any materials in there that you wouldn’t find in nature. It’s all woven materials and lots of different variations of wood and handcrafted pieces.”
Natural Setting
Similar in style to Philip Johnson’s famed Glass House, this Gibson Island, Maryland, home was in need of a range of updates when Jim Rill, the principal of Rill Architects, took over.
Because he says there was “no real sense of entry” upon setting foot in the house, Rill pushed out the foyer with a portico. He then added a screened porch to the back of the house. “The flow from that front-entry portico through the back to the pond beyond really accentuated the connection between the house and its response and homage to nature,” Rill says.
Inside, he gave the kitchen a more “modern, sleek architecture style,” opting for clean lines and bright brass hardware. “We figured that when you’re in the kitchen, you want to be part of the outside and part of the rest of the house,” Rill says, noting that the warm wood finishes in the space are meant to reflect the natural world outside.
The architect also got rid of the home’s drop ceilings, which “inhibited the views and encroached on the floor-to-ceiling glass.” Rill kept the non-glass walls in the home largely devoid of art. “There is no better art,” he says, “than looking out at nature.”
Serene and Peaceful
Without moving plumbing or structural elements, interior designer Kate Ballou and architect Colleen Healey worked in tandem to tackle what they call a “replace-in-place project.” They revamped much of the interior of this Wye River, Maryland, home, with a focus on the kitchen, living room, and primary bath-and-closet suite.
The home’s existing French-country detailing didn’t appeal to Ballou and Healey’s clients, both attorneys, who prefer midcentury-modern design. The couple, who live most of the time in the Logan Circle neighborhood, craved a “serene, peaceful getaway from city life,” says Ballou, the founder of Hendrick Interiors in DC.
The architectural alterations included applying a more natural finish to the cherry-wood floors, removing faux beams on the living-room ceiling to draw attention to the windows, and updating the firebox and fireplace surround. Healey, founder of DC’s Colleen Healey Architecture, also replaced the wrought-iron railing on the staircase with one made of glass to maximize the water view. She did opt to keep the arched wooden built-ins in the library: “It was really nice to have a room that you can kind of retreat to at night and watch a movie.”
The female client, who is from California, is “used to a very open and airy feel,” Healey says. Ballou tailored the home’s design to play to the waterfront setting, which is what drew her clients to the property in the first place. Says Healey: “We kept the scale of the furniture low and quiet so that you’re really letting the view of the river be the focal point.”
This article appears in the June 2024 issue of Washingtonian.
Washington, D.C
The director of the Congressional Budget Office—known for its gloomy national debt data—is very optimistic that a crisis will be avoided entirely | Fortune
Dr Phillip Swagel is an optimist, both by nature and when he looks at the U.S. economy.
This fact is perhaps at odds with what one might assume: Swagel is the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the nonpartisan agency that offers independent budgetary and economic analysis to Congress.
Very often—an inevitable occupational hazard—the subject of national debt and the interest the U.S. Treasury pays to maintain is its central focus. The numbers are eye-watering: Public debt stands at more than $39 trillion. The interest expense on that borrowing now exceeds $1 trillion a year. Indeed, the latest budget update from the CBO highlights that the government—according to preliminary estimates—paid out nearly $530 billion between October 2025, when the fiscal year starts, and March 2026. This equates to more than $88 billion in interest payments a month, or more than $22 billion a week.
The CBO’s figures are routinely cited by policymakers, think tanks, and lobbyists as alarming evidence that the U.S. needs to find a more sustainable fiscal path or risk dire straits.
Swagel doesn’t subscribe to the notion that the U.S. will face a crisis of its own making. His justification is simple: He was at the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, and joined the CBO months before the COVID pandemic began. He has watched as the U.S. economy, seemingly against all odds, has clawed its way out of economic crises before.
That’s not to say Swagel isn’t a staunch advocate of setting the U.S. on a more sustainable fiscal path—rather, he trusts the people in power to do so when the time comes.
Why the optimism?
Among those concerned about national debt are notable names: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is also worried about federal spending and has endorsed a plan floated by Berkshire Hathaway founder Warren Buffett that would render members of Congress ineligible for reelection if they allow deficits to exceed 3% of GDP.
On the other hand, optimistic economists suggest that, despite the value of the debt, it’s not actually an issue: the bond market is holding steady, indicating a reliable market of buyers. Likewise, the U.S.’s own central bank buys huge swaths of the debt, meaning, in the simplest of layman’s terms, the economy can essentially print its own money. There are holes in this argument, not least the fact that Fed chairman nominee Kevin Warsh has suggested he would like to reduce the Fed’s balance sheet and may therefore be less inclined to finance borrowing.
Swagel’s positive outlook doesn’t rely on the argument that a crisis hasn’t happened yet, so therefore it never will: “[My optimism] is rooted in my experience,” Swagel tells Fortune in an exclusive interview in Washington D.C. “First being at Treasury during the financial crisis and seeing very difficult times and the country coming together with an effective response—not saying it’s perfect, lots of controversy—but it was effective.”
“The second thing is policymakers are smart, they’re thoughtful. Interacting with members of Congress makes me optimistic. I know you read about all the squabbles … I’m completely aware of this, but the policymakers that are thinking about these things are thoughtful and effective. Not necessarily always effective at passing legislation, but that’s part of our political system, it was set up to make it difficult ot pass legislation.”
Decisions on the horizon
Swagel’s optimism that Congress will be pushed into action will be tested sooner rather than later, likely at some point in the next six years, he told Fortune. This is partly due to the fact that, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) both Social Security and Medicare will become insolvent within that time period.
“Making progress to address the fiscal trajectory would be a positive for the U.S. economy,” Swagel said. “Credible steps would lead to lower interest rates that would make the subsequent adjustment easier, there is a reward to virtue. It’s a positive thing, we can’t go on [with] the scolding narrative. My sense is that members of Congress understand the fiscal situation, it’s not that everyone single one has looked at our one-pager of numbers and understands the debt to the third decimal point, but they understand something needs to be done.”
“It doesn’t have to be done immediately, but at some point reasonably soon.”
Swagel is of the opinion that bond investors haven’t increased risk premiums not because they’re not worried about a fiscal crisis, but because they have priced in preventative action from Congress—in his mind “a vote of confidence that my optimism is not misplaced.”
“As a country, we face up to these problems. It’s not happening now, I’m not sure it’s going to happen in the rest of this year or even the next year, or the next two years. But we will face up to it, and the market in some sense expects us to, because otherwise interest rates would be higher,” he explained.
The Cheesecake Factory
The role of the CBO, to some extent, is to provide policymakers with their options if and when they do choose to take action on federal deficits. It’s a menu not unlike the Cheesecake Factory, Swagel says: Large, inclusive of a range of modifications and options, and delivered without judgement.
“Right now it’s maybe a pick three, and you’re looking at a six or seven course menu,” joked Caleb Quakenbush, director of fiscal policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in an interview with Fortune. “The longer you delay, the more you’re gonna have to add to your tab, and those options become more expensive.”
Indeed, economists and analysts aren’t necessarily worried about the absolute level of government debt, rather the debt-to-GDP ratio. Depending on whom you ask, the debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 122% of GDP at present. This measure demonstrates an economy’s spending versus its growth, and the risk associated with lending to a nation that isn’t growing fast enough to handle its spending. To rebalance that ratio, an economy could either cut spending or increase growth—the latter being by far the less painful option.
The growth option is becoming less feasible, Michael Peterson, CEO of fiscal think tank the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, told Fortune in an exclusive interview: “I think it requires government action because we’ve waited so long. We’ve added so many trillions, and the current deficit is so big at 6% that the level of growth you would need really exceeds what is feasible.
“Growth needs to be a part of it, but it’s sort of a vicious cycle. The longer we delay, the more debt we have, the slower growth is going to be. The more we get this under control, I think the greater optimism there is, interest rates go down, more growth comes from that. It’s sort of a virtuous or vicious cycle depending on your policy response.”
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Seventy-two veterans took a trip Saturday to our nation’s capital to visit memorials honoring their service in the armed forces.
This year marks the 12th trip to Washington, D.C. for Honor Flight Tallahassee.
Early Saturday morning, veterans and their guardians met to take a charter flight up to D.C.
Throughout the day, veterans were taken to the World War II memorial, as well as the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
More Tallahassee news:
The day ended with a wonderful welcome home celebration.
Our Jacob Murphey, Julia Miller, Taylor Viles, and Grace Temple accompanied the veterans, capturing moments from throughout the day.
The team will have live coverage from Washington, D.C. on Monday to share more from the day’s events.
We will continue to have coverage throughout the month of May, leading up to our Honor Flight special on Memorial Day.
To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Nextdoor and X (Twitter).
Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here. Please include the article’s headline in your message.
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4 things to know about the weather:
- Chances of rain in the morning
- Gusty Sunday
- Chilly Monday
- Temps will rise again through the work week
Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to check the weather radar on the go.
After a nice and warm Saturday, changes arrive for part two of the weekend.
The first half of your Sunday will have a chance for showers. Winds will pick up with our next system and are expected to gust to about 20-30 mph. Cooler air will settle in, and lows Sunday night fall into the 40s.
Highs temps Monday will reach only into the mid to upper 50s.
However, temperatures will rise through the week, so you won’t need your jackets every day.
QuickCast
SUNDAY:
Showers, then partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 30 mph
HIGH: Lower 60s
MONDAY:
Partly cloudy
Wind: NW 10-15 mph
Gusts @ 25 mph
HIGH: Upper 50s
Stay with Storm Team4 for the latest forecast. Download the NBC Washington app on iOS and Android to get severe weather alerts on your phone.
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