Saturday, August 20, 2011

Your Next Place


By Franklin Schneider

Me personally, I like living in the city, with all that entails. I like the density, the traffic, the sirens, the gunshots, the trash, the crackheads fornicating in my backyard (tip: while scolding, shouting, and threatening to call the police will not repel them, blasting Danzig out the window will make them withdraw (get it?) almost instantly).

But (surprise) not everyone feels the same affection for the urban jungle. I know a lot of people who live in the city reluctantly, bemoaning at every opportunity the lack of space, the lack of greenery, but they have to live in the city for work, etc. If that sounds like you, this is the house you should be looking at. Located in heart-of-the-city Bloomingdale, it nevertheless feels like a semi-rural country house. It overlooks McMillan Reservoir, so all you see from your seat on the large front porch is trees and grass almost all the way to the horizon. The only other place in D.C. you’d get a view like this is around Rock Creek Park, and that would be at least three times more expensive. But while the views are quaint, the house is very much modern.



The open first floor is painted in a muted palette of yellows, blues and reds, with an expansive dining room and a large living room boasting a stone fireplace. There are windows everywhere, and the place is perpetually (almost) flooded with light. Upstairs is a fireplace-insert wood stove that will keep the entire level toasty come winter. An expansive master bedroom features exposed brick walls and an incredible closet illuminated by recessed lighting and fronted with frosted glass. It also has a two-car garage in back (that opens onto Channing Street, not onto an alley – all you drivers know exactly why this is exceptional), and a wonderful backyard with a huge patio and raised-bed gardens. Best of all, the basement is a separately-metered one bedroom unit with a private entrance, so your pastoral urban country house could potentially be financed entirely by a future tenant. America!

2429 1st St. NW
Washington DC 20001
4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
$724,999






8 comments:

ZZinDC said...

Isn't the MacMillan property on its way to development? Any potential buyer of this house (and it is nice) should become very aware of the state of the plans, or else they may find that the view from the front porch is more than "trees and grass almost all the way to the horizon".

Anonymous said...

actually the McMillan development is just to the north....your view from this porch is to the west and will not be changed

Anon2 said...

You're both right - the house is on the corner so the front view from the porch (west across First St) will not change, but the development area is directly across Channing (north), so is in the side view. Still, it's a good looking house.

Anonymous said...

Nice house; but too expensive, by about 200k.

Anonymous said...

Since the basement can easily be rented for $1,300, the asking price is not too far off. I see the price has been lowered to $699k.

Anonymous said...

Price was recently lowered to 699k. This is a great price considering other homes on First Street have recently sold for more than 800k. Yes, this home is smaller, but it has a massive garden/patio and a two car garage with a curb cut on Channing. Not many double-wide garages, and 99% of those you can find are smaller alley garages that require maneuvering to use.

Anonymous said...

There are some truly beautiful houses on 1st Street NW, and this is not one of them. It's a step down from the three-story units that are a little further south.

Although they made Channing one way (it used to be two-way) and put in speed humps, it is still a popular shortcut to Rhode Island and Florida Avenue.

Aside from its beautiful housing stock, Bloomingdale has much to be desired.

Anonymous said...

Love the dog on the bed in the photo.

Post a Comment

Commercial ads will be deleted, so don't even think about it.

 

DCmud - The Urban Real Estate Digest of Washington DC Copyright © 2008 Black Brown Pop Template by Ipiet's Blogger Template