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FAIRFAX COUNTY TIMESFriday-Sunday, MAY 6-8, 2016 Page B-5

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■ Under the narrow pitched roof of 60 year old Fort Hunt home, remodeler

Michael Nash created a space of unexpected

functionality, beauty

By John Byrd Special to the timeS

Converting of an unpromis-ing attic into a spa bath complete with walk-in shower, soaking tub and customized changing area has garnered a Chrysalis award for Michael Nash Design Build and Homes. The winning entry in the “interiors over $100,000.00” cat-egory was executed in a 60-year old split-foyer home in the Fort Hunt section of Alexandria. The Chrysalis competition—which considers entries from all over the US—is sponsored annually by Qualified Remodeler Magazine and Kitchen and Bath Design News.

In accepting the honor, president and CEO of the firm, Sonny Nazemian, was quick to acknowledge his company’s high-performance design team, which grappled with challenges other contractors had dismissed as infeasible.

“An attic conversion is a real sign of our times,” Nazem-ian said. “We’re seeing more homeowners looking for ways to add usable living space while staying within their home’s exist-ing walls. Finding ways to main-stream those parts of the house that were originally seen as out of bounds is one of the factors

that really motivates our problem-solving approach.”

“The challenge,” he added “is to enhance everyday living while keeping all other systems optimized. This is especially problematic in older homes.”

Since March, the innova-tive attic solution has also won a regional (10 state) “Contrac-tor of the Year” award from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI); it was previously ranked as a top-of-category “Grand winner” in the NARI metro D.C. chapter’s

annual competition.Looking back, the make-

over in the home of Andrew and Meghan Matteson began to take shape as a “possibility” shortly after the couple moved in with two small children three years ago.

“We really liked the neigh-borhood. But the house had limi-tations we hoped to overcome through remodeling,” Meghan Matteson recalled. “Frankly, we weren’t at all sure what was fea-sible.”

With three small bedrooms

and two small baths on the second floor, the couple had identified a finished top level room as a more congenial location for a master bedroom; the core problem: the home’s primary full bath would remain half flight down from the new sleeping quarters.

An unfinished attic five steps further up from the top room of-fered some consideration as the footprint for a new master bath. However, most of floor space was taken up by an attic fan and flue pipes.

The couple resolved, none-

theless, to make inquiries. “We spoke to several con-

tractors...but didn’t hear ideas that gave us confidence,” Meghan recalled. “We had a large list of priorities, but the attic wasn’t linked-in to a lot of neces-sary functional operations of the house.”

“There were several glaring problems upfront,” Nazemian ac-knowledged. “The existing floor joists were too small to hold any additional weight. The pipe link-ages needed for water and waste were all the way down in the basement. There was no natural

light, no heat source. Flue pipes occupied a lot of the mid room.”

On the other hand, 700 square feet just at the top of the stair offered a perfect spot for a wardrobe and changing area that would free-up square footage in the sleeping quarters. Laying out the new floor plan sequentially, the attic’s remaining 176 by 106 feet might just suit for a comfort-able spa bathroom—if the plumb-ing problem could be solved.

See HOMES PAGE B-6

Attic’s conversion into spa bath is national interior design winner

PHOTO BY GREG HADLEY

The skillful transformation of an unfinished attic into a luxury bath has been honored with a Chrysalis award, naming it the nation’s best interior design solution over $100,000,00. The Chrysalis is sponsored annually by Qualified Remodeler Magazine. The makeover in a 60-year old Fort Hunt home entailed reinforcing floor joists and routing pipes from the basement level. Michael Nash is the winning contractor.

PHOTO BY GREG HADLEY

A free-standing soaking tub in a quiet corner is an ideal spot to unwind-- schedule permitting. Nazemian added the window to create a source for natural light.

Page B-6 FA IR FAX COUNTY T IMES Friday-Sunday, May 6-8, 2016

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“Attics are one of the fron-tiers in remodeling now,” Nazemian said. “A soaking tub under an eave can tuck neatly into a place that doesn’t require much head room. Subway tiles keep a small space looking bright and fresh. Low walls that make intelligent used of recessed built-ins may be incorporated into an architecturally- compelling inte-rior statement.”

But, from the start, two is-sues begged closer inspection: the capacity of existing floor joists to bear the weight of a generously “loaded” spa bath; and the feasi-bility of routing water and sewage pipes to the targeted site.

On the first point: the attic had never been conceived as liv-ing space. The floor joists were undersized. To move around, one had to tip-toe gingerly; a heavy tub or shower was unthinkable.

“Our starting point was calculating new load bearing requirements based on the Mat-teson’s preferences for tub and showers; then we removed the floorboards and introduced ‘sis-ter’ joists to the existing system,” Nazemian explained. “This more than tripled the room’s weight-bearing capacity, and created a lot of luxury purchase options.”

Linkage to water and sewer

mains was another matter, Nazemian recalled:

“Turns out we had to go all the way to the basement to tap into the main sewage line. All the plumbing and electrical were routed within existing perimeter walls. If there’s a place where remodeling must perform a kind of artful magic, it’s concealing infrastructure in ways that can’t be detected by the naked eye.”

The resulting space plan called for two main chambers organized sequentially. 66 square feet at the top of the stair was de-signed for his and her wardrobe needs. There are custom-sized shelves for sweaters, shoes, per-sonal items. Racks for coats and trousers. Better yet, it’s a well-lit space with ample room to move around.

Continuing on, the master bath now has plenty natural light courtesy of a new windowed ga-ble Nazemian introduced on the north side of the house. Since this was the point where power lines connected to the house, the tran-sition to the new design entailed considerable interface with the electric company.

In maximizing the spatial util-ity of the master bath’s perimeter, Nazemian flattened off the ceil-ing in the middle of the room at a height of just over 7 feet, and then shelled-in a beveled slope that meets the walls where they

are again completely vertical. The design makes the most of

available headroom, creating an appropriate recess for the vani-ties and wall mirrors. The “wood look” long-plank flooring in con-junction with the beige wall col-oring further softens the room’s angularity. The floor covering also conceals a “radiant” system that makes it easy to adjust room temperatures.

A large walk-in shower with glass partitions and Riverstone flooring wrapped in bright white subway tiling adds to the sense of spaciousness. Each partner has their own recessed cubby for toi-letries.

His and Her vanities joined by a make-up table were designed specifically to accommodate daily needs. When the busy family schedule allows a little more in-dulgence, there’s the soaking tub.

“You can’t measure the im-provements that have come from this remodeling in square foot-age,” Meghan Matteson said. “Functionally, it’s a whole new level of the house that gives the whole family a lot more usable room. The life enhancement value has been enormous.”

For Information: 703/641-9800 or MichaelNashKitchens.com

John Byrd has been writing about home improvement for 30 years. He can be reached @ www.HomeFrontsNews.com or byrdmatx@gmail.com

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HOMES Continued from Page B-5

His and her vanities joined by a make-up table are steps from a walk-in closet and changing area situated between the master bed-room’s sleeping quarters and the multi-component bathing area.

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PHOTO BY GREG HADLEY