Living
Contemporary creations
Gay Georgetown designer says homes should be efficient and calming
Ernesto Santalla is being honored with a minority business leader award from Washington Business Journal this month. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)
Walking into the upstairs offices of Studio Santalla in Georgetown on a warm, sunny spring day this week, it’s clear that different people designed the exterior and interior. You climb an almost fire escape-like set of outside steps to get to the nondescript door but upon entering the spacious office a different vibe emerges. There’s one mammoth room with a day bed and coffee table in the entry way, a conference table nearby and a fleet of desks on one side of the room while large protruding bookcases built into the walls on the other side jut outwards in perfect synchronization.
Owner Ernesto Santalla emerges from a rear corner with a soft-spoken greeting. Over the course of a nearly two-hour conversation, the unflappably calm gay architect and interior designer explains his philosophies, peppering his postulates with biographical rabbit trails and side projects that reveal a modern-day renaissance man.
Without a trace of ego, it emerges from the natural flow of conversation that he’s also a writer and photographer who speaks four languages. Even with piles of work paraphernalia around — backdrops he’s planning for the gay chamber of commerce dinner, mammoth enlargements of his photos propped against a desk — the office doesn’t look like a mess, though he apologizes for the slight disarray.
Santalla, whose work is contemporary, uses the office to illustrate one of his design principles: welcoming rooms should create a sense of calm. He points to blinds on the windows that form large white rectangles. They’re echoed on the floor in swatches of white carpet that divide the room. They appear again as doors on the ends of the bookshelves.
“It doesn’t hit you over the head, but your mind reads it and it’s unconscious and you say, ‘Oh, this is a well-organized space,'” Santalla, 49, says. “And so that’s part of how we use colors and materials to create a sense of calm. You’ve come in from the outside where you’re on information overload. In here is more of an oasis.”
One imagines — though it isn’t discussed — Santalla has been just as careful planning and arranging the intersections of lines and planes on his face. Impeccably manicured eyebrows peer above tiny but severe rectangular silver glasses. He’s a striking presence and much more soft-spoken than one might guess.
Santalla — who was profiled in the Washington Post in February and is getting a minority business leader award from Washington Business Journal this month — is a local entrepreneurial success. He and a former boyfriend moved here immediately after finishing college at Cornell in 1984. He worked for a local architectural firm for 10 years, then started Forma Design Company with his former colleague Andreas Charalambous in 1994. In 2001 he started Studio Santalla and has stayed busy with it ever since. He usually has between eight and 10 projects on the table at once. Spring and fall are his busiest seasons. He’s rebounded nicely from the recession, though there was a rough period.
“One fine day the phone just stopped ringing,” he says. “The summer had been slow, but it’s always slow. Or slower. But then people start calling in September. Well in 2008, they didn’t. And of course it kept going down, down, down, down, down until April of last year because the luxury business was affected immediately. It’s the first thing people give up. But we started to rebound last year.”
Santalla was born in Cuba but immigrated with his family to the U.S. 11 days before the missile crisis in 1962. He was 2. They lived in St. Louis where they had family until Santalla was 10 when they moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico where he stayed until college. It was a tough move, he says. He and his sister had been completely assimilated into U.S. culture and then had to radically switch gears. He found it a blessing in retrospect, though.
He knew he had an artistic drive early on but found few outlets for it in school. He was discouraged from taking an art elective course in junior high and opted for French instead.
“There was a stigma with it,” he says. “You either took one or the other, French or art, so it was kind of like, ‘Oh, well you can’t do French, then you do art.”
It came in handy years later though. Six years of French study proved advantageous for the biggest project of his career — renovating a 700-year-old, five-story second home of his clients Holly and Jan Grent in the south of France. He’d already done two houses for them in Gainesville, Va., where they live about half the year. He imagined a radical redesign that incorporated nearly all facets of his architectural and design skill, knocking down walls, taking out staircases, building new rooms, installing a swimming pool and a patio and terrace.
“He did a complete redesign and an architectural miracle on this place,” Holly Grent says. “Everyone who comes to the house in France, even just people selling magazines, the minute they walk in the door, they say, ‘Oh, I love the way your house is.'”
She describes his work as “simple yet elegant, straightforward and contemporary.”
He elicits similar raves from another former client who became a friend. Nancy Penczner was getting her nails done shortly after moving to Potomac, Md., from Nashville where she and her husband, Marius, directed country music videos. She knew she wanted some radical work done on her new house but didn’t know where to begin. She and Santalla clicked immediately.
“He said, ‘You know, Nancy, the most important thing in the room should be you,'” Penczner remembers with a laugh. “I said, ‘You’re hired.'”
She says the renovations, completed five years ago, haven’t aged at all and she still loves her home.
“I just admired his style and I wanted a clutter-free home,” she says. “I think you have to find somebody whose style you admire but he was also good at collaborating with me. My furniture was in a jumble. I had inherited a lot of stuff. He did a great job of understanding where I came from. It’s modern and sleek, but it also has charm.”
Grent says it’s amazing to watch Santalla at work.
“I’m not exaggerating — he can walk onto a room. He puts his hand on his chin. I know because I’ve seen him do this so many times. He pans the room and he starts seeing things and starts verbalizing and then Jan and I see it also once he describes it. And really, like 99 times out of 100, we agree with him.”
Santalla’s motto is “sustainable space for life.” He’s committed to moving toward sustainable living and work spaces and believes houses and offices should be designed so all their space is used. He loathes big McMansions in which certain rooms or spaces sit empty. He says his architectural training gives him an edge other designers don’t have.
“They’re one in the same in a way,” he says. “Architecture doesn’t end at one certain place where design picks up. It’s our unique selling point, this whole integrated approach.”
So how true is the stereotype that all interior designers are gay?
“The word on the street is yes,” Santalla says with a chuckle. But he quickly points to several famous architects who were straight. He says it’s not a big deal and most of his clients have been straight.
“I know a lot of artists, they might be straight or gay. I don’t really care one way or the other. It’s like there’s this big thing now, ‘Oh, Ricky Martin’s gay.’ So? It’s not like I stand a chance anyway or any of my female friends did, so what does it matter to me?”
One of Santalla’s gay clients ended up becoming his partner — local attorney Glen Ackerman, whose condo Santalla renovated when Ackerman relocated here from Florida in 2006. They’d both been in long-term previous relationships but were single and bonded during the project, which was featured in the Post in February. They live together now with their two dogs.
“We’re just a same-sex couple,” Santalla says. “We live together and we’re part of society in general. … I don’t segregate myself. I’ve been invited to join people of color groups and that’s fine, it’s my heritage. But it should really come down to am I good or not. Hire me because I’m good, not because you think it’s going to be cheap, because it’s not, or because you want to work with a Hispanic or a gay. Work with me because I’m good and you like me.”
Real Estate
Unconventional homes becoming more popular
HGTV show shines spotlight on alternatives to cookie cutter
While stuck in the house surrounded by snow and ice, I developed a new guilty pleasure: watching “Ugliest House in America” on HGTV. For several hours a day, I looked at other people’s unfortunate houses. Some were victims of multiple additions, some took on the worst décor of the ‘70s, and one was even built in the shape of a boat.
In today’s world, the idea of what a house should look like has shifted dramatically. Gone are the days of cookie-cutter suburban homes with white picket fences. Instead, a new wave of architects, designers, and homeowners are pushing the boundaries of traditional housing to create unconventional and innovative spaces that challenge our perceptions of what a home can be.
One of the most popular forms of alternative housing is the tiny house. These pint-sized dwellings are typically fewer than 500 square feet and often are set on trailers to allow for mobility. Vans and buses can also be reconfigured as tiny homes for the vagabonds among us.
These small wonders offer an affordable and sustainable living option for those wishing to downsize and minimize their environmental footprint. With clever storage solutions, multipurpose furniture, and innovative design features, tiny homes have become a creative and functional housing solution for many, although my dogs draw the line at climbing Jacob’s Ladder-type steps.
Another unusual type of housing gaining popularity is the shipping container home. Made from repurposed shipping containers, these homes offer a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to create modern and sleek living spaces. With their industrial aesthetic and modular design, shipping container homes are a versatile option for those contemplating building a unique and often multi-level home.
For those looking to connect with nature, treehouses are a whimsical and eccentric housing option. Nestled high up in the trees, these homes offer a sense of seclusion and tranquility that is hard to find in traditional housing. With their distinctive architecture and stunning views, treehouses can be a magical retreat for those seeking a closer connection to the natural world.
For a truly off-the-grid living experience, consider an Earthship home. These self-sustaining homes use recycled construction materials and rely on renewable energy sources like solar power and rainwater harvesting. With their passive solar design and natural ventilation systems, Earthship homes are a model of environmentally friendly living.
For those with a taste for the bizarre, consider a converted silo home. These cylindrical structures provide an atypical canvas for architects and designers to create modern and minimalist living spaces. With curved walls and soaring ceilings, silo homes offer a one-of-a-kind living experience that is sure to leave an impression.
Barn homes have gained popularity in recent years. These dwellings take the rustic charm of a traditional barn and transform it into a modern and stylish living space. With their open, flexible floor plans, lofty ceilings, and exposed wooden beams, barn homes offer a blend of traditional and contemporary design elements that create a warm and inviting atmosphere, while being tailored to the needs and preferences of the homeowner.
In addition to their unique character, barn homes also offer a sense of history and charm that is hard to find in traditional housing. Many of them have a rich and storied past, with some dating back decades or even centuries.
If you relish life on the high seas (or at a marina on the bay), consider a floating home. These aquatic abodes differ from houseboats in that they remain on the dock rather than traverse the waterways. While most popular on the West Coast (remember “Sleepless in Seattle”?), you sometimes see them in Florida, with a few rentals available in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and infrequent sales at our own D.C. Wharf. Along with the sense of community found in marinas, floating homes offer a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life.
From tiny homes on wheels to treehouses in the sky or homes that float, these distinctive dwellings offer a fresh perspective on how we live and modify traditional thoughts on what a house should be. Sadly, most of these homes rely on appropriate zoning for building and placement, which can limit their use in urban or suburban areas.
Nonetheless, whether you’re looking for a sustainable and eco-friendly living option or a whimsical retreat, there is sure to be an unconventional housing option that speaks to your sense of adventure and creativity. So, why settle for a run-of-the-mill ranch or a typical townhouse when you can live in a unique and intriguing space that reflects your personality and lifestyle?
Valerie M. Blake is a licensed Associate Broker in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia with RLAH @properties. Call or text her at 202-246-8602, email her at [email protected] or follow her on Facebook at TheRealst8ofAffairs.
Real Estate
Convert rent check into an automatic investment, Marjorie!
Basic math shows benefits of owning vs. renting
Suppose people go out for dinner and everyone is talking about how they are investing their money. Some are having fun with a few new apps they downloaded – where one can round up purchases and then bundle that money into a weekly or monthly investment that grows over time, which is a smart thing to do. The more automatic one can make the investments, the less is required to “think about it” and the more it just happens. It becomes a habit and a habit becomes a reward over time.
Another habit one can get into is just making that rent check an investment. One must live somewhere, correct? And in many larger U.S. cities like New York, Chicago, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Austin, or even most mid-market cities, rents can creep up towards $2,000 a month (or more) with ease.
Well, do the math. At $2,000 per month over one year, that’s $24,000. If someone stays in that apartment (with no rent increases) for even three years, that amount triples to $72,000. According to Rentcafe.com, the average rent in the United States at the end of 2025 was around $1,700 a month. Even that amount of rent can total between $60,000 and $80,000 over 3-4 years.
What if that money was going into an investment each month? Now, yes, the argument is that most mortgage payments, in the early years, are more toward the interest than the principal. However, at least a portion of each payment is going toward the principal.
What about closing costs and then selling costs? If a home is owned for three years, and then one pays out of pocket to close on that home (usually around 2-3% of the sales price), does owning it for even three years make it worth it? It could be argued that owning that home for only three years is not enough time to recoup the costs of mostly paying the interest plus paying the closing costs.
Let’s look at some math:
A $300,000 condo – at 3% is $9,000 for closing costs.
One can also put as little as 3 or 3.5% down on a home – so that is also around $9,000.
If a buyer uses D.C. Opens Doors or a similar program – a down payment can be provided and paid back later when the property is sold so that takes care of some of the upfront costs. Knowledgeable lenders can often discuss other useful down payment assistance programs to help a buyer “find the money.”
Another useful tactic many agents use is to ask for a credit from the seller. If a property has sat on the market for weeks, the seller may be willing to give a closing cost credit. That amount can vary. New construction sellers may also offer these closing cost credits as well.
And that, Marjorie, just so you will know, and your children will someday know, is THE NIGHT THE RENT CHECK WENT INTO AN INVESTMENT ACCOUNT ON GEORGIA AVENUE!
Joseph Hudson is a referral agent with Metro Referrals. Reach him at 703-587-0597 or [email protected].
Some vehicles age quietly — but not muscle cars.
For 2026, the Chevrolet Corvette tightens its focus, fixes one glaring flaw (the previously dowdy interior) and flaunts a futuristic design. The Dodge Charger, on the other hand, is loud and proud, daring you to ignore its presence at your peril.
CHEVROLET CORVETTE
$73,000-$92,000
MPG: 16 city/25 highway
0 to 60 mph: 2.8 seconds
Cargo space: 13 cu. ft.
PROS: Awesome acceleration. Race-car feel. Snazzy cabin.
CONS: No manual transmission. No rear seat. Tight storage.
Finally, the Chevrolet Corvette feels as good inside as it looks flying past you on the freeway. That’s thanks to the classy, completely redesigned cabin. Gone is the old, polarizing wall of buttons in favor of a sleeker, three-screen cockpit. There’s a large digital gauge cluster, a wide infotainment screen angled toward the driver, and a marvy new auxiliary display. Everything is modern and a bit glitzy — but in a good way.
Fit and finish are higher quality than before, and the controls are more intuitive. Chevy’s Performance App is now standard across trims, offering real-time data for drivers who enjoy metrics as much as momentum. And the new interior color schemes, including slick asymmetrical options, let you express yourself without screaming for attention—confidence, not obnoxious bluster.
As for handling, the steering is quick and sure, body control is exceptional, and acceleration is blazingly fast. A mid-engine layout also delivers sublime balance.
Three trim options, including the V8-powered Stingray, the E-Ray (also with a V8 but paired with electric all-wheel drive), and the Z06 and ZR1 variants for racing devotees.
(Note to self: For a truly mind-blowing experience, there’s the new 1,250-horsepower ZR1X all-electric supercar that goes from 0 to 60 mph in less that 2 seconds and is priced starting at $208,000.)
Yes, the ride in any of these Corvettes can be firm. And visibility is, well, rather compromised. But this supercar is a total Dom, not a timid sub. Think Alexander Skarsgard in “Pillion,” and you get the picture.
DODGE CHARGER
$52,000-$65,000
MPG: 16 city/26 highway
0 to 60 mph: 3.9 seconds
Cargo capacity: 22.75 cu. ft.
PROS: Choice of gas or EV power. Modern tech. Spacious cabin.
CONS: No V8 engine (yet). Soft steering. Less-than-lithe cornering.
Everything old is new again for the Dodge Charger. The automaker initially was phasing out gas-powered models in a shift to electric vehicles but then quickly pivoted back to include gas engines after yo-yo regulatory changes this year from, well, the yo-yos in the White House.
Powerful twin-turbo engines in the R/T and Scat Pack trims produce up to 550 horsepower. These models come standard with all-wheel drive but can be switched to rear-wheel drive for classic muscle-car antics when the mood strikes you.
At the same time, Dodge still offers the electric Charger Daytona, delivering up to 670 horsepower and ferocious straight-line acceleration.
The Charger’s aggressive design, massive digital displays and practical hatchback layout carry over, reinforcing its ability to be both a performance diva and everyday companion. With the larger-than-expected storage space, I appreciated being able to fit a boatload of groceries in the trunk during a Costco run.
New wheel designs, paint choices and trim variations help you visually distinguish between gas and electric Chargers. But no matter the model, each one feels decisive and deliberate on the road. Commuting in stop-and-go traffic during rush hour is fine, but this street machine excels at high-speed cruising on the freeway.
The turbo six-cylinder engine delivers muscular torque with less drama than the old V8s, but still with plenty of urgency. The electric Daytona version is a different kind of thrill, with its instant, silent thrust that feels like it could almost launch you to the moon.
Steering is stable but not exactly crisp, and the Charger’s weight makes it less lithe—and lively—than other muscle cars, especially when navigating tight corners.
But that’s just fine with me. Like Bea Arthur as Dorothy in “The Golden Girls,” this no-nonsense muscle car is proud to be big, bold and brassy.
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