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Spring 2013Spring 2013

2 ❖ Burke Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 Local Media Connection LLC ❖ www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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By Joshua Baker

BOWA

Remodeling often affords an opportunityto re-purpose existingmaterials by donating

to those less fortunate. Ask yourremodeler if there is a plan orpolicy for saving materials for re-use ratherthan sending it to a land fill. Every projectis different. And some materials are moreeasily removed and saved than others. Hereare a couple of organizations that acceptedused materials.

A WIDER CIRCLEThis organization provides basic-need

items to families transitioning out of shel-ters and those living without life’s necessi-ties. A Wider Circle furnishes the homes ofmore than 1,000 children and adults eachmonth. If you wish to donate furniture andother home essentials that are in good con-dition (no rips or stains), you can drop offitems at their Center for Community Ser-vice in Silver Spring, Md. You can alsoschedule a pickup in most areas through-out greater Washington, D.C. Refer to theirwebsite for a full list of accepted items andtheir “wish list” of the most needed items

at www.awidercircle.org. Someimpressive 2011 stats:

❖ 13,000: Number of homesfurnished

❖ 1,500,000: Pounds of furni-ture and home goods recycled

❖ 10,000: Number of volun-teers who assisted

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY –RESTORE

ReStore is a resale business that sells newand used building materials and home itemsto the general public. All donations are taxdeductible and donated by individuals, lo-cal retailers, building contractors and sup-pliers. Donated items are then sold at 50-90 percent off the retail price, with all pro-ceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity, anorganization that provides safe and afford-able housing to low-income families.ReStore accepts appliances, furniture, cabi-nets, roofing and flooring materials, exer-cise equipment, countertops, electronics,lighting and plumbing fixtures, amongmany others. All materials and items mustbe in good and working condition. Itemsmay be dropped off at ReStore locationsduring their business hours or for larger do-nations you may schedule a pickup. Forstore hours and locations and for the com-

Recycle, Reuse, Remodelplete list of acceptable items you can checkout the following websites:

❖ Northern Virginia: Stores in Alexandriaand Chantilly - www.restorenova.org

❖ Montgomery County: Store location inGaithersburg - www.habitat-mc.org

❖ Loudoun County: Store in Purcellville- www.loudounhabitat.org/restore

❖ Fauquier County: Store in Warrenton –www.fauquierhabitat.org

GOODWILLFounded in 1902, Goodwill accepts gen-

tly used clothing, furniture, housewares,working electronics, and other householditems. These items are then sold at their re-tail locations, with the proceeds used to fundemployment, job training, and placementservices for the disadvantaged and those withdisabilities. To view their full list of goodsaccepted, and for the list of donation cen-ters and stores, visit www.dcgoodwill.org.You may also schedule a pick up online forlarger items or multiple items you don’t havethe resources to transport.

SALVATION ARMYAlthough the Salvation Army is involved

in many community programs, proceedsfrom items donated to their stores will ben-efit their Adult Rehabilitation Centers,

which help those who have lost the abilityto cope with their problems and are unableto provide for themselves. Each rehabilita-tion center offers residential housing andwork, along with individual and grouptherapy. This enables many to be reunitedwith their families and resume a normal life.Items commonly donated include appli-ances, clothing, furniture, and householdgoods. For more information on their do-nation program, please visitwww.satruck.org.

BOWA HOME CLEANUP DAYSAs a thank you to the neighbors in the

communities in which we work, from timeto time BOWA hosts Home Cleanup Days.Home Cleanup Day is a great opportunityto donate and recycle gently used house-hold items, toys and clothing, and disposeof any debris or other unwanted clutter. ABOWA employee will help folks unload theiritems and a Goodwill representative will beon hand to accept donations and providereceipts.

To find a BOWA Home Cleanup Day inyour area, please visit our http://info.bowa.com/communityblog/.

Josh Baker is founder of BOWA, learnmore at www.bowa.com.

HomeLifeStyle

Burke Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com ❖ Local Media Connection LLC

For full schedule through April 27.

Visit www.vagardenweek.org.

Historic Garden Week 2013 willfeature approximately 200 pri-vate homes and gardens open on

32 separate tours throughout the state ofVirginia over eight consecutive days. It isthe largest ongoing volunteer effort in Vir-ginia and represents the coordinated effortsof 3,400 club members. One hundred per-cent of tour proceeds are used to enhanceVirginia’s landscape.Visit www.vagardenweek.org.

SATURDAY APRIL 20, 2013Old Town AlexandriaSponsored by the Hunting Creek Garden Club and

the Garden Club of Alexandria, 10 a.m to 4 p.m.All eight private properties on the historic Old

Town Alexandria tour are within an easy walk ofeach other, allowing visitors to enjoy strolling thequaint streets lined with charming townhouses andintimate walled gardens.

Tickets are $40 and available at the RamseyHouse Visitors Center at the corner of King Streetand North Fairfax Street on the day of the tour. Foradvance tickets contact Mrs. Donald [email protected] 703-684-3876. Formore information, please contact Tour ChairmenMason Bavin at [email protected], TwigMurray [email protected] or Catherine Boltonat [email protected]

TUESDAY APRIL 23, 2013Fairfax: Oakton/ViennaSponsored by The Garden Club of Fairfax10 a.m. to 4 p.m

The Fairfax County communities of Oakton andVienna have emerged from small rural towns intothriving family-oriented neighborhoods withhomes and gardens reflecting a wide range of ar-chitectural and personal style. Ticket price includesadmission to the Cosby Home, the Unger Homeand Garden, the Buster Home and Garden, theKampa Home and Garden, the Rosenthal Homeand Garden and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens.

Advance tickets are $20 through April 9. ContactMarty Whipple at [email protected]. For moreinformation about the tour, contact BonnieRekemeyer at [email protected].

80th HistoricGarden Week,April 20-27

This home in the Vienna/Oaktonarea is featured on Virginia’sHistoric Garden Week.

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HomeLifeStyle

See Designs, Page 4

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

From designing a kitchen with aconcave glass tile backsplash tocreating a backyard with a fireplace and pool, some local home

remodelers were honored recently with theNational Association of the RemodelingIndustry’s (NARI) 2013 Regional Contrac-tor of the Year awards for design acumen.Winning projects ran the gamut from his-toric preservation projects to environmen-tally conscious conceptions.

A MCLEAN KITCHEN by BOWA took tophonors in the “Residential Kitchen Over$120,000” category. The homeowners werelooking to create a free-flowing, light-filledspace.

“Their kitchen was not as open as theywould have liked,” said Josh Baker, founderand co-chairman of BOWA. “They wantedto make it more integrated and useful forthe family.”

To accommodate a larger kitchen, thedesign team, which included BOWA’sGeorge Hodges-Fulton, built an additionand added a sitting room, screened porch

and additional windows to allow an abun-dance of natural light to stream into thespace. The new kitchen also included abutler’s pantry and a family dining area.

What is the key to turning one’s home intoan award-winning, showcase house? Baker,who founded BOWA with his college friendLarry Weinberg, says an open dialogue isessential to a successful remodeling project.“The key is finding a person or companythat you communicate very, very well withand whose process is in line with how youlike to do business,” he said. “This is a cus-tomer service business. It is not just a con-struction business. The entire process is im-portant, not just the end result.”

FAIRFAX-BASED FIRM RJK Construction,Inc. received top honors in the category of“Residential Addition $100,000 to$250,000” for a home in the Mantua areaof Fairfax County. Company president Rob-ert Kalmin says the homeowners’ goal wasto blend their interior and exterior spaces.“They wanted to make their exterior land-scaping a visual point because they enter-tain a lot,” he said. “The windows act asmurals to the exterior landscaping bring theoutdoors in and the indoors out.”

The owners requested an open floor planthat allowed guests to move freely betweenthe kitchen and the backyard. “They werevery specific about how they wanted peopleto meander from the outside to the inside,”Kalmin said. “We had to relocate the pow-der room so that people are able to use the

restroom without having to go anywhereelse.”

An abundance of windows allows natu-ral light to flow throughout the home. “Thekitchen has red oak flooring and other col-ors and finishes that compliment the natu-ral scenery outside,” said Kalmin.

HARRY BRASWELL of Harry Braswell,Inc. in Alexandria, was named Contractorof the Year in the “Entire House $500,001to $1,000,000” category for the renovationof a home that had not been updated sincethe 1950s. “The house was outdated, toosmall for the family’s needs,” he said.

The renovation included a kitchen out-fitted with cabinet-front appliances andporcelain sinks including an apron farm sinkand an island sink in a pale aqua. “Thatcolor is carried throughout the house,” saidproject manager Gretchen Brown.

A concave glass tile backsplash surroundsthe durable, brown-toned quartzite counter.“Quartzite doesn’t stain easily,” said Brown.“It is strong like granite, but is more expen-sive.”

The Braswell team also got a nod for en-ergy efficiency for this project, which wasnamed “NARI Green Project.” Brown notedthat the team installed energy efficiencylighting and energy star appliances.

“The homeowners had specific criteriaabout wanting to meet [Leadership in En-ergy and Environmental Design] certifica-

Local contractorsget top honors forremodeling projects.

The Region’s Best Home DesignsThis McLean kitchen by BOWA took top honors in the “Residential Kitchen Over $120,000” category. Thehomeowners wanted to create a free-flowing, light-filled space.

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HomeLifeStyle

tion because they are dedicated to protecting theenvironment,” said Braswell.

CABIN JOHN, MD., BASED firm Anthony WilderDesign/Build, Inc. received kudos in the “Residen-tial Exterior, $100,000 and Over” category for a back-yard space that includes a pool and fireplace. “Thehomeowner wanted four separate living spaces inthe backyard,” said company spokeswoman Danielle

The Region’s Best Home DesignsFrom Page 3

This backyard oasis, designed by Anthony Wilder Design/Build, Inc., won a Contractorof the Year Award in the “Residential Exterior, $100,000 and Over” category. Thehomeowner wanted a backyard space with a place to sunbathe near the pool, a diningroom, a living room with a heat source and a place to play cricket.

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Frye. “He wanted a dining room, a living room witha heat source, a place to sunbathe near his pool anda place to play cricket on his lawn.”

Frye said the Wilder team, which included archi-tect George R. Bott and lead designer Anthony Wilder,developed a backyard plan that replaced overgrowngrass with flagstone and a badly worn fence withfoliage to create a sense of privacy. “There is asundeck and spaces for a sofa and dining table, but

This kitchen,designed by

Grossmueller’sDesign Consult-

ants, Inc. andA.R.T Design

Build in Bethesda,Md., was part of a

remodelingproject that

earned a 2013Contractor of theYear award. The

homeowner’sgoal was to create

a free-flowingkitchen, dining

and family roomspace.

See Designs, Page 5

Photos courtesy of NARI


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the fireplace is the focal point,”said Frye. “We used really tall bam-boo to shield the view from thehotel across the street.”

A BETHESDA HOME ADDI-TION garnered a top prize in the“Residential Addition Over$250,000” category for A.R.T De-sign Build Inc. with team memberGrossmueller’s Design Consult-ants, Inc.

“The client wanted to expandtheir one story house to have aseparate area for [bedrooms] andcreate a more functional first floorwith more communal spaces, thekitchen, family room [and] diningroom,” said Cindy G. McClure ofGrossmueller’s Design Consult-ants, Inc.

The design team added a newsecond floor to the home, whichaccommodates a laundry room, amaster suite, two additional bed-rooms and a bathroom. A stairtower and cathedral foyer createan open floor plan and connect thefirst and second levels.

“Elements of the old house, likethe wide chimney on the front andthe contemporary 1960 style wereplayed upon and accentuated,”said McClure. “The result is a func-tional home that meets the needsof today’s family, remained withinbudget and was completed ontime.”

Home

From Page 4

Region’sBest

Harry Brawell of HarryBraswell, Inc. inAlexandria, wasnamed Contractor ofthe Year in the “EntireHouse $500,001 to$1,000,000” categoryfor renovating a homethat had not beenupdated since the1950s.

Photos courtesy of NARI

6 ❖ Burke Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 Burke Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 ❖ 7Local Media Connection LLC ❖ www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com ❖ Local Media Connection LLC

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HomeLifeStyle

By John Byrd

If you compare the currenthome remodeling market to2007, it’s clear thathomeowners are less likely

to execute a top-to-bottommakeover in a single stroke thanthey were five years ago.

Home resales are rising again,but the belief that every dollarspent on a Northern Virginiahome will be quickly recoveredhas been suspended — if onlytemporarily — as homeownersreassess.

For most local homeowners, ahouse is an asset of enormouspersonal appeal: an expression ofidentity and aspiration, periodi-cally adapted to life’s changes.

While the scale of the averageproject may be smaller, it’sevident that many homeownersmiddle age or older have come tosee the home as a long-term —

even lifelong — work inprogress, one that they take uppassionately, and at regularintervals.

Veteran remodeler DavidFoster calls these homeowners“incremental” improvers, andhas come to see them them asthe primary focus of a homeimprovement enterprise hestarted 30 years ago.

As president of FosterRemodeling Solutions inLorton, Foster regularlycoaches his team on theimportance of understandingwhat these homeowners need,what they are expecting andhow to articulate their bestoptions with clarity.

“Providing an experiencethat the homeowner will valueunequivocally is probably ourmost important marketingactivity,” Foster said. “Our corebelief is that there are many

homeowners who will make anotable home improvementevery two to five years, so weplace a high priority onearning that person’s trust. Inthis sense, there is nothingmore important than outper-forming expectation.”

WHILE THERE MAY BEmany reasons why a home-owner will remodel in stages,Foster observes that thetypical incremental improverhas a pay-as-you-go orienta-tion — often driven by

See Piece by Piece, Page 9

evolving family requirements.Vienna resident Kelly Grems,

for instance, has executed fourremodeling projects with Fosterstarting with a kitchen additionin 2003.

“We bought the house in 1995when I was pregnant,” Gremssaid. “My husband [Ed] and I hadbeen living in a much smallerhouse in Maryland, but envi-sioned a traditional home thatwould offer our growing familylots of useful activity areas.”

A kitchen with a sizablebreakfast room was the first itemon the “wish list,” an assignmentcomplicated by the fact thathome’s rear elevation backs intoa woodland set-aside and anotably precipitous drop.

“The ground level decking wasalready in place,” Grems said.“But David showed us a plan foran elevated breakfast roomextension built on pilings thatwouldn’t require a ground levelfoundation. Turns out, thissolution created a welcomecanopy for the ground levelpatio. And it was also a moresensible, economical choice forus at the time.”

Grems says her first step was

handing Foster a file of articleson kitchen interiors she hadclipped from Southern Living; theFoster Remodeling design staffthen took over, helping thecouple visualize design ideaswith the aid of a CAD computerprogram. The team also providedan array of relevant finish workchoices, mostly pointing toreadily available considerationson display in the company’sshowroom.

“The selection and pricingprocess was transparent, andreally anticipated what weneeded,” Grems said. “Whenyou’re as busy as we are, youappreciate this quality of sup-port.”

Apart from budget consider-ations, Grems said taking a pausebetween projects allowed thecouple to pay more attention tohow the family is actually usingthe house, and to develop ideasthat work for everyone.

The recently completed familyroom upgrade didn’t become animmediate action plan, forinstance, because the familydesign process was fomentingslowly — again starting withmagazine articles and other

sources.“We’re particular; we let the

look come to us piece by piece,”she said.

In the end, Foster Remodelingdesigners created interior eleva-tions that bear no resemblance tothe original.

The half-brick floor-to-ceilingbackwall was replaced by per-fectly symmetrical built-ins,crown molding and an elevatedhearth with a marble surroundand Edwardian-style mantle.

“It’s an entirely different moodfrom the sun room,” Grems says,“and perfectly satisfies anotherdimension of our lifestyle.”

ON A SIMILAR NOTE, SandyNusbaum, of south Alexandria,attributes her periodic homeupgrade inclinations to a gradualbut decisive recognition that thefour bedroom colonial she hasoccupied for 28 years withhusband Mike is the last singlefamily residence the couple willever own.

“We raised three children here,and when the last of them movedaway, we looked at other housesin the area and even a retirementvillage in North Carolina,”

Nusbaum said. “That’s when Irenewed my appreciation for themany advantages of this house. Irecognized that everything wewanted was already here; we justneeded a few pointed improve-ments to take us into the foresee-able future.”

Initially that meant introducingan open, “kitchen-centric” plan inthe back half of the house, andcreating an outdoor component— in the form of a 16-by-16-footback screen porch — that allowsfor easy warm-weather circula-tion.

Replacing a wall betweenkitchen and dining room with athree-stool dining counter provedan effective starting point todelineating a more interactiveentertainment space. The newsurface is also well-positioned asa serving station for al frescoporch dining.

Although the needed structuralchanges were relatively minor, anew shelled-in niche for therefrigerator allows for additionalstorage. Maple cabinets with aBarton door style and honey-spice stain evoke a clean linear

Demand for Incremental ImprovementsOver time, some owners makeoverthe entire house —one phase at a time.

The Pipers’ new powder room includesa Mediterranean-style foot bath ringedin glass and mosaic tiling.

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The plans for a kitchen remodel were complicated by the fact that the home’s rear elevation backs intoa woodland set-aside and a notably precipitous drop.

The existinghalf-brick floor-to-ceilingbackwall wasreplaced byperfectly sym-metrical built-ins, crownmolding and anelevated hearthwith a marblesurround andEdwardian-stylemantle.

after

before


HomeLifeStyle

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

Decades before Alexandria-basedinterior designer SydnyePettengill and her family movedinto a stately Victorian home

near Old Town, it was well established as aspacious retreat. “The former owners werea family of seven who had lived there for45 years,” she said.

When Pettengill purchased the property,which was built in 1917, little had changed.The home, which connects to King Street,was in disrepair. However, Pettengill, whostarted her own business in 1987 afterstudying in London and a stint with promi-nent interior design firm Milo Hoots Asso-ciates, Inc., saw a diamond in the rough. “Ithought it had incredible potential,” shesaid. “I found the high ceilings particularlyappealing.”

Pettengill’s husband Bill Wiley, a systemsengineer and director of the Science Engi-neering Research Center at the PotomacSchool in McLean, said, “We bought itknowing that it was going to be a full reno-vation. We didn’t know what the final blue-print was going to be, but it was so largethat we knew we could do whatever wewanted to.”

The 7,590-square-foot, six-bedroom,eight-and-a-half bathroom home also in-cluded a two-story carriage house, and al-though she needed to expand and updatethe home, Pettengill worked to preserve thehistoric home’s architectural integrity. “Weremodeled and gutted, but we wanted tokeep the character of what it was,” she said.“We were careful about integrating thespaces that we added.”

ONE OF THE KEYS to maintaining theoriginal design was salvaging and reusingmaterials as much as possible. “We kept theoriginal front doors, original French doorsgoing into dining room, as well as the origi-nal windows on the first floor in front ofthe house,” said Pettengill.

“The hardwood floors in the master bed-room are original,” she continued. “Thereis a sitting room off the master bedroom. Itis quite a suite. The pine floors on the sec-ond and third levels were also saved fromthe original home and reused.”

A striking Belvedere window in thekitchen creates an ideal marriage of styleand function by filling the room with natu-ral light. “The kitchen is the heart of thehouse,” said Pettengill. “There is a side ter-race and you can go in and out of thekitchen through two door ways.”

The kitchen, which opens into the home’sgreat room, has pale yellow painted cabi-nets and contrasting dark, honed Uba Tubagranite counters. “One of the eureka mo-ments for us was the kitchen,” she said. “Westruggled with it for a couple of years andthen decided to push it out and make itmore open.” The flow continues into thedining room, which has a bay window that

is original to the home.“It is spectacular for entertaining,” she said.

“There is a terrace off the back of the housethat is concealed and very private. There isalso a side terrace off the kitchen.” The origi-nal service kitchen became the library afterPettengill added built-in bookcases.

Pettengill says that the foyer is the piv-otal point of the house. “There is an open

stairwell and you can see from the foyerstraight up to the third floor.” She evenfound a carpenter to replicate the originalstair railing.

A round table stands in the middle of thefoyer, complimenting the shape of the spaceand the period of the home. “It is a handpainted table that’s reminiscent of the Vic-torian era when the house was built,” saidPettengill.

FORMER CLIENTS SAID that one ofPettengill’s strengths is her ability to navi-gate the often-daunting task of creatingfresh designs that compliment historichomes. Alexandria resident Grace-MarieTurner hired Pettengill to complete the in-terior design on her expansive Old Townhome. The oldest part of the house was builtin the mid-1700s and subsequent additionsspan the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centu-ries.

“The house had 50 windows that all re-quired different window treatments,” saidTurner. “We wanted them to be new andfresh and at the same time respect the pe-riod.” The result, she continued, was a bal-ance of elegance and coziness that honoredthe home’s range of architectural periods.

Pettengill, who has adult children, saidit’s time for her family to find a smallerabode and turn her spacious Alexandriaproperty over to another family. “As a friendtold me, we’re not down-sizing, we’re right-sizing,” she said.

The home is on the market for$2,995,000. For more information, call 703-838-8480.

Historic Renovation in AlexandriaDesigner/ownerbrought the home upto date whilepreserving itsarchitectural integrity.

This 7,590 square-foot, six-bedroom, eight-and-a-half bathroom home near Old Town Alexandria, is on themarket for $2,995,000.

The open staircase in the foyer of designer Sydnye Pettengill’s Alexan-dria home offers a view from the foyer to the third floor. The designerfound a carpenter who replicated the home’s original stair railing.

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HomeLifeStyle

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

From floral arrangements that burst withpastel blooms to candlesthat fill one’s home withscents reminiscent of

warm weather, local style expertsoffer suggestions for accents thatwelcome spring.

Turn simple twigs and greeneryinto a harbinger of Easter. “Wel-come guests into your home witha spring wreath on the front doordecorated with greenery, flowersor eggs,” said Ann O’Shields of TheNest Egg in Fairfax. “Scents ofspring are a sure way to alleviatethe end of winter.”

Laura Smith of The DandelionPatch in Vienna, Reston andGeorgetown recommends filling airwith crisp, fresh aromas. “There arecandles with really nice springscents, like jasmine or gardenia andlemongrass. Citrus scents are alsovery big in spring and summer.”

Smith suggests setting one’s table with servewareimprinted with spring produce like lettuces that her-ald the new season. “You can use cutting boardswith artichoke prints or platters with asparagusprints. They are entertaining and fun accessories,”Smith said.

Festive baskets filled with paper grass, woodeneggs, bunnies and flowers make ideal home accents.

“Using seasonal blooms are a greatway to welcome spring,” saidO’Shields.

A floral arrangement displayedin baskets covered with springflower petals make a chic center-piece for one’s dining table. “Whenit comes to floral arrangements,people are often driven by whattheir home décor is,” saidPotomac, Md., based floral de-signer Evelyn Kinville. “The mostpopular flowers for Easter are hy-drangeas in white or soft green,daffodils, tulips in yellow, hya-cinths in pink or blue, Esperanceroses, which are large pink andcream two-toned in color, andWhite or pink hybrid lilies.”

O’Shields said, “Pick one flowerstyle and repeat it in various placesthroughout the room for the mostimpact.”

Decorating for EasterEasy ideas to welcomespring into your ahome.

Local design experts sug-gest using serveware im-printed with produce likelettuces that herald thenew season.

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Renovating Everything, Piece by Piece

look within a softly lit ambiance. Likewise, theSilestone quartz surfaces in ebony pearl provide atonal and textural contrast.

With a better rationalized kitchen in place, a fewyears later the Nusbaums began planning a follow-on phase: an extension of the rear family room, anopen-air grilling deck and a layout that permitschildren, grandchildren and many guests tocirculate freely through a now wide-rangingentertainment suite.

Then, just last year, the largely unused lowerlevel was converted into a multi-purpose suite thatserves as both an exercise room and guest accom-modation.

“The built-ins include closets on either side of anew Murphy bed— one exclusively for guest use,”Nusbaum said. “We also made the laundry roommore functional and added a full bath withhandicapped access.”

Meanwhile, Nusbaum uses the re-made lowerlevel for her daily treadmill workouts: “It’s aluxury having so many useful things exactly whereyou want them.”

OF COURSE, CONSIDERATIONS to functionaland aesthetic improvements aside, the long termremodeler also may venture into non-essential,even quite personal, “tweaks” to the existingproperty from time to time.

After comprehensive upgrades to their kitchenand master bath, for instance, Alexandrians Steveand Diane Piper decided that their eclectically re-designed powder room should include a Mediter-ranean-style foot bath ringed in glass and mosaic

tiling.The artfully-executed first floor facility —

planned with an assist from Foster RemodelingSolutions’ designer Sarah Wolf — includes a vesselbasin with exposed copper piping, marble floorsand a coffered ceiling with concealed lights.

The Pipers — who often travel internationally —say the foot bath is a pleasant convenience in thesummer when they are often wearing sandals.

“I wouldn’t say a footbath adds anything to re-sale value,” Diane Piper said, “but we do plan to bein this house for at least another 10 years.”

And speaking of personal vision: after re-doingthe front elevation — and before remodeling thekitchen — the Baldinos of Springfield had Fosterdesign a screen porch with a floor-to-ceiling stonehearth. The porch is closed on three sides andfeatures a 15-foot cathedral ceiling with an over-head rotating fan. The project included an exten-sive flagstone patio, a privacy fence, a retainingwall and landscaping.

“We wanted space that brings us into the out-doors, and the fireplace keeps the porch surpris-ingly comfortable in cooler weather,” said NancyBaldino. “It’s a great place to watch the game.”

The Baldinos, who have lived in their circa-1970s split-level for 24 years, say that their fourremodeling projects have always been focused andbudgetable.

“We love the neighborhood, so the improvementsare just a natural result of efforts to make thehouse feel even more like home.”

Staff at Foster Remodeling Solutions periodicallyoffer workshops on home improvement topics at theLorton showroom. Call 703-550-1371 or visitwww.FosterRemodeling.com.

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www.connectionnewspapers.com


© Google Map data

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January 2013 Top Sales

Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

Address .................................... BR FB HB ..... Postal City ..... Sold Price .. Type ....... Lot AC .. PostalCode ........ Subdivision .......... Date Sold

1 11399 AMBER HILLS CT ........... 5 .. 4 .. 2 .......... FAIRFAX ...... $1,476,665 ... Detached ... 0.84 ........ 22033 .... ESTATES AT FAIR OAKS .... 01/31/13

2 10817 WINDERMERE LN .......... 4 .. 3 .. 1 ... FAIRFAX STATION $1,275,000 ... Detached .. 11.01 ....... 22039 THE ENGLISH HILLS ESTATE 01/31/13

3 11391 AMBER HILLS CT ........... 4 .. 4 .. 1 .......... FAIRFAX ...... $1,160,928 ... Detached ... 0.83 ........ 22033 .... ESTATES AT FAIR OAKS .... 01/31/13

4 3510 ROSE CREST LN ............... 5 .. 4 .. 1 .......... FAIRFAX ...... $1,087,500 ... Detached ... 0.83 ........ 22033 ....... OAK HILL ESTATES ....... 01/30/13

5 3871 LEWISTON PL .................. 3 .. 5 .. 0 .......... FAIRFAX ...... $1,025,000 ... Townhouse 0.09 ........ 22030 ............ FARRCROFT ........... 01/23/13

6 12606 CLIFTON HUNT LN ......... 5 .. 4 .. 1 ......... CLIFTON ........ $920,000 ... Detached ... 5.31 ........ 20124 ......... CLIFTON HUNT ......... 01/31/13

7 7438 SPRING SUMMIT RD ........ 4 .. 4 .. 1 ...... SPRINGFIELD ..... $800,000 ... Detached ... 0.44 ........ 22150 .........WESTHAMPTON ........ 01/31/13

8 8086 PAPER BIRCH DR ............. 5 .. 4 .. 1 .......... LORTON ......... $790,000 ... Detached ... 0.21 ........ 22079 .... LAUREL HILL LANDBAY ... 01/16/13

9 13509 LAMIUM LN ................... 4 .. 4 .. 1 ...... CENTREVILLE ..... $781,000 ... Detached ... 0.25 ........ 20120 ....... FAIRCREST SOUTH ...... 01/04/13

Copyright 2013 RealEstate Business Intelligence. Source: MRIS as of February 18, 2013.

Local REAL ESTATE

1 11399 AmberHills Court, Fairfax

— $1,476,665

3 11391 Amber Hills Court, Fairfax — $1,160,9285 3871 Lewiston Place, Fairfax — $1,025,000

6 12606 Clifton Hunt Lane,Clifton — $920,000

7 7438 Spring Summit Road,Springfield — $800,000

9 13509 Lamium Lane,Centreville — $781,000


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Home LifeStyle

By John Byrd

For The Connection

Challenging times demand cre-ative thinking — so you don’thave to look far to findhomeowners executing remod-

eling projects with far-reaching objectives.Take, for instance, the case of Mary and

Harry Warren of Mount Vernon, both intheir mid-70s.

Scrolling back a few years, the Warrenswhere weighing various retirement optionswhen they learned that their daughter andthree grandchildren would be moving backto Virginia from the midwest and might beamenable to participating in a three-gen-eration household.

“There was really a lot for us to consider,”said Mary Warren. “Harry and I thought thatif we expanded the house to incorporate theextended family, we could eventually passit on to the next generation. We could alsomake some changes that would help us tomove around as we get older.”

On the other hand: the more the Warrensscrutinized the existing property, the morethey wondered if their vision was even fea-sible.

FOR STARTERS, at 1,500 square feet, thethree-bedroom split-level the couple had oc-cupied since 1994 was neatly centered ona small lot in a neighborhood with strictlyobserved set-back requirements.

To provide all three generations with thenecessary space and privacy, the Warrensfigured they would have to increase usableliving space by 40 percent or more.

A carefully planned addition along theproperty’s western side offered promisingpossibilities. But even if you could find theneeded lot space, the floorplan configura-tion that would satisfy everyone’s privacyrequirements remained elusive.

It was at this juncture that the Warrensturned to Craig Durosko, founder and prin-cipal of Sun Design Remodeling.

“The program was certainly tricky,”Durosko said. “The Warrens wanted a func-tionally independent suite that would in-clude a luxury bath, lots of custom built-

transitional zones suitable for easy every-day interaction.

TO ACCOMMODATE the elder Warrens,Durosko and team designed a 650-square-foot wing adjacent to a newly formed rearcourtyard. The perfectly-integrated one-level addition features two large bedrooms,a master bath and large reach-in closets. Aformer family room now serves as thecouple’s sitting room.

By extension, Meg and the grandchildreninherit sleeping quarters in the existing bed-room wing — a configuration of rooms thataffords everyone with the sufficient conve-nience and living space. Both families sharethe newly upgraded kitchen.

The makeover also allowed the Warrensto introduce a number of Universal Designfeatures. Hallway widths in the new winghave been expanded to 44 inches; doors are34 inches wide — compliant with Ameri-can Disabilities Act requirements. The rearentrance has, likewise, been designed to ac-commodate a ramp, should a wheelchair berequired in the future.

“We’re just thinking ahead,” Mary War-ren said.

More recently, Mindy Mitchell — SunDesign’s certified Aging-In-Place Specialist— followed Universal Design principals inrenovating the original circa 1960s kitchen.Revisions included removing unneededwalls, widening doors and hallways andintroducing roll-out cabinets with drawerpulls. There’s also task lighting, easily ma-neuvered faucets and a multi-level islandsuitable for standing or sitting.

“The new kitchen feels significantly ex-panded, yet it’s very efficiently designed —a great solution for a family like ours,” saidMary Warren. “The changes have made lifeeasier for everyone.”

All in the Family With solid planning and skillful remodeling,seniors convert personal residence into amulti-generational household.

The multi-generational solution introduced by Sun Design Remodelingincludes a one level seniors wing supplemented by a sitting area thatexits through French doors to the newly formed courtyard. Hallways anddoors in the new section are wheelchair friendly.

Initially, the Warrens were not sure if the existing three-bedroomsplit level could be converted to a larger home accommodatingtheir new plans.

ins and interior design improvements. Ourthought was: if we could satisfy this require-ment from the ground up, Meg and thegrandchildren could take over half of theexisting house as their own wing.”

“We particularly liked the considerationto everyone’s privacy needs,” Mary Warren

said. “Their plan allows for independencewhere you want it.”

Thus, stripped to its essentials, Durosko’ssolution called for converting the three-bed-room split-level into a five bedroom two-level structure that provides the Warrenswith private quarters, yet also incorporates

MoreSun Design Remodeling frequently sponsors

workshops on specific remodeling topics as wellas tours of recently remodeled homes. Headquar-tered in Burke, the firm recently opened asecond office in McLean. Call 703-425-5588 orvisit .www.SunDesignInc.com.

Photos by Bryan Burris Photography

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