Historic Mansion Relighting Project, Hillwood Museum and Gardens, Washington DC (completed 2001)
Architect: Bowie Gridley Architects PLLC

Hillwood Museum & Gardens

Historic Mansion Relighting Project

Hillwood, the Washington, D.C., home of Marjorie Merriwether Post, houses the heiress's outstanding collection of Russian and French decorative arts. During her lifetime, Mrs. Post experimented with several discreet accent lighting solutions to highlight key objects. The museum hired Hefferan Partnership to develop building wide solutions sympathetic to her approach in conjunction with a renovation of mechanical systems completed in 2001. For the most important rooms, restrained use of state of the art recessed accent lighting creates a subtle emphasis on the collection which is often lacking in most domestic settings. Throughout the house, original decorative fixtures were restored and brought under the control of a building wide dimming system.

The project is an example of the care and understanding that Hefferan Partnership brings to these most delicate of environments.