Julia Child’s Georgetown Home Renovation Nears End

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Julia Child’s house in Georgetown is looking a bit different than it did when the famous American chef lived in it. 

The current owner, Rory Veevers-Carter, bought the 1,497 square foot home in 2015 and began official renovations in 2018. The Georgetown home, which Child called her “little jewel,” was the first house she owned and where Veevers-Carter claims her first cookbook, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” was tested and edited. 

Now, the iconic home has received several renovations and could be done and on the market as soon as this year, according to a report from The Washingtonian. 

Renovations include new floors, roof repairs and a fresh coat of “butter yellow” paint, giving it a modern look and other changes to the home.   

Documenting the progress on Facebook and Instagram, Veevers-Carter said in a post that preserving the history of the house is hard but important.  

“Renovation is a slow process but preserving as much of the history of the house as we can is rewarding,” the post said.  

Child and her husband Paul owned the house from 1948 to 1961, living in the house just before Paul Child was posted in Paris as part of the U.S. Information Service, sending them both off to Europe where Julia Child discovered her love for French cooking.  

It was an era of lavish Sunday night suppers and other social rituals in Georgetown, and soon the Child home was the scene of a regular Monday afternoon gathering known as “the cooking class.”

At these functions, the wives of government officials and newsmen would get together to prepare a dinner based on one of the complicated creations from Julia Child’s cookbook, and their husbands would arrive later in the evening to feast on their creations.

Certain rules of protocal were strictly observed on these nights: No criticism of the chefs or the meal was allowed. And no one could smoke at the table once the dinner had been served.

In the past four years of the project, the crew has uncovered multiple problems, including the house sagging in one area due to a lack of structural posts. 

Veevers-Carter posted that he was “shocked the house is still standing” when they uncovered the issue.  

Fixing the house has also brought a number of surprises to Veevers-Carter and the crew. While renovating the crew found a fireplace and a chimney flue in the kitchen. The crew has also discovered old bottles and a painting behind the washing machine.  

Julia Child’s old kitchen is also getting a new look, though Veevers-Carter plans to leave a patch of paint exposed of her old kitchen, which he found behind the walls and called a “very exciting find.” 

Veevers-Carter bought the home for $935,000, and now it is estimated to be valued at around $1,200,307. 

“This house has history,” Veevers-Carter said on Facebook. “It needs to be told and renovated so it can last for many generations to enjoy.”