Painting pictures with words would seem to be a lawyer’s strength. But when a single father of two contacted Bethesda, Maryland–based Shinberg Levinas two and a half years ago requesting a master suite for his house nearby, partners Salo Levinas, AIA, and Antonio Vintro were given no hint that this suburban spread was dismal. “It needed so much work,” Levinas recalls, upon seeing the 2,500-square-foot, 1950s-era home. “I said it’s better to leave the house alone.”

Architect
Shinberg.Levinas