A GRAND DESIGN
Larger than life, both in size and appeal. With wide lawns, 16 bedrooms and 22 baths this home in Potomac, a tony suburb in Washington DC can’t help but stand out.
Can your address be a mirror of your social status? It is, when you are sharing the neighborhood with the richest and most powerful A-listers on the East Coast of United States’ most envied address—Potomac in Washington DC suburbs in Maryland State. Counted among the richest Indian-Americans in the United States, Frank F Islam (born Fakhrul Islam) is a successful Information Technology entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader with his roots in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh who now lives in this tony neighbourhood. He headed to the University of Colorado in 1970 and soon after he graduated, with just $500 in his pocket he launched his IT firm QSS in Maryland state, which later employed several thousand employees. He was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year in 1997. He cashed out QSS for $300 million in 2007 and currently heads an investment group.
However, his ‘Big American Dream’ became a reality when his Norton Manor, a 10-acre mansion with 16 bedrooms and 22 baths, rivaled the 55,000 sq ft White House. He shares the neighborhood with actors such as `Wonder Woman’ Linda Carter, Maria Shriver, IT wizard, Ken Bajaj and Wolf Blitzer from CNN, among others.
Islam and his Canadian-born wife Debbie Driesman live in a home the net value of which is in the range of $75 to $80 million and maintaining it is no easy feat. “It costs nearly 1.2 million dollars in annual maintenance including energy and water, gardens and 24x7 CCTV security to keep the house running,’’ says Islam. His home has
seen many political fund-raising dinners and pre-primaries meetings as well.
TRAVEL MEMORABILIA
The chouse reflects the couple’s love for travel. It took nearly seven years to create a home that reflects their travels through India, England, Spain, Italy, France, US and West Asia. Tastefully done furnishings, fixtures, colour schemes, artwork and untold yards of richly textured fabrics dot the home. They have about 100 chandeliers, carpets from India, Afghanistan and Nepal, bathroom tiles from Morocco, a gymnasium, a movie theatre and Japanese-influenced dark green Koi fish pond at the back. “While the inspiration for the Norton Manor façade is a historic Newport, Rhode Island, mansion, The Elms, which was completed at the turn of the 20th Century, Debbie and I, have only tried to add architectural tinge from both, my country of origin and now the country of residence,’’ says Islam.
TAKING DESIGN CUES
So, the Norton Manor is also widely influenced in its design by the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the White House. The reflection pool in front at the end of a long driveway lined with Corinthian columns took its design cues from the Rashtrapati Bhawan. While like the White House, Norton Manor is divided into the East Wing, with its living quarters, and the West Wing, where Islam and Driesman have their offices. There’s even the Oval Office’s Resolute Desk which is quite grand.
The first floor is a magnificent tour de force of French Neo-Classical style. A double staircase sweeps dramatically across the two-storey entry and the round walls with detailed landscape murals take you back to the pages of history textbooks narrating Italian Renaissance period.
BESPOKE FURNISHINGS
While Islam proudly takes you around the estate, including a few minutes he spends in feeding the fish in the pond, you can’t help but notice the custom-made carpets for every room and the flooring, which is not similar for any two rooms. Interiors and even baths are designed differently for every room with heavy Italian, Moroccan and Turkish influences. Etched glass doors remind you of the coloured French arch window panes. Though a teatotaller himself, Islam’s Norton Manor houses a beautiful wine cellar. The grandeur is extended to tranquil tea house set among French gardens, where he offers the finest collection of teas. The sheer scale of the home and its overwhelming design elements are a real treat.