early every day for seven years,

Norah O'Donnell and Geoff

Tracy drove past a cheerful

yellow cottage in Wesley

Heights on their way to work from their tiny

Georgetown row house. "We always thought

it was such nice house," Tracy recalls, "It's well

situated next to a park, near a community

garden and close to our jobs."

When the 1932 dwelling was put on the

market in 2005, the couple quickly bought it

and spent the next six months overhauling its

outdated rooms. It is remarkable that they found

the time to take on this project given their

consuming careers. O'Donnell is MSNBC's chief

Washington correspondent and Tracy is Chef

Geoff, the owner of two eponymous restaurants

and the recently opened Lia s in Chevy

Chase. This May, a year after moving into their

renovated home, the busy couple became parents

of twins, Grace and Henry.

In remodeling their center-hall Colonial,

O'Donnell and Tracy wanted a better flow of

living spaces, a larger master suite and a more

spacious and up-to-date kitchen. They also sought

a more subdued, sophisticated decor than their

previous home with its bright mix of reds and

yellows. "We both have very hectic jobs, so cool,

calm colors and clean, simple lines appealed to

us," says O'Donnell says. With that look in mind,

she tapped Washington interior designer Frank

Babb Randolph, whose cool, pale-on-paler

style perfectly fitted her agenda. "He is a classic

designer and not into a lot of fluff."

O'Donnell is unflappable when it comes

to interviewing hard-nosed politicians, but the

thought of consulting Randolph, who decorated

the vice presidential mansion for the Cheneys in

2001, was "a little bit intimidating," she admits.

Jitters quickly vanished as the homeowner and