Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Reviving Springdale

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Reviving Springdale, Washington DC design news
by Beth Herman


Prominent in Montgomery County agricultural circles, newlyweds Edward and Deborah Lea moved into a 2 1/2-story stucco house on 27 acres circa 1837-38. A gift from Edward's father, Delaware transplant Thomas Lea, Sr., the property in still-bucolic Brinklow, Maryland became home to a young couple who, along with their progeny, would continue to impact the community.
Springdale farm by Edward and Deborah Lea, Montgomery County
Montgomery county farmhouse renovation, Sandy Spring bankNee Springdale Farm, the Leas became stalwart stewards of an agricultural site that also supported a tenant house, spring house, smoke house and a stone mason-constructed bank barn. Credited with acquiring one of the first threshing machines in Montgomery County, Edward became a progressive member of the local horticultural society, one of the founders of the Sandy Spring Farmers' Club and incorporators of the Savings Institution of Sandy Spring. According to historical records, Edward Lea "...reached out for better ways of doing things in home and farm."

At the end of a multi-year search for a singular 18th or 19th Century property, homeowners Johanna and Larry Weekley acquired Springdale Farm which had succumbed to years of complacency by well-meaning but aging subsequent homeowners. But just as it had reflected the Leas' ambitions and agrestic achievements (Deborah made local history when she became the first in her area to successfully can applesauce after 1850), Springdale would also become a manifestation of the Weekleys' passion as curators of regional history and coveted antiques. Perhaps paramount to that, it would become a pristine canvas for what unarguably was Larry Weekley's transcendent botanical vision.

Brass tacks

Montgomery County commercial real estate news"To begin with, we needed to remove a bad addition in the back of the house," said JoAnn Zwally of Ashton Design Group, adding the program was to replace it with an historically correct one. The addition would contain a new kitchen, family room, master bedroom and bath. The rear facade would include a half moon-shaped terrace with wide steps that would eventually overlook one of the homeowners' many gardens. A neo-Colonial two-story porch with columns and a metal roof, added in the 1930s and which spanned the entire width of the facade, would need to be replaced with a Greek Revival porch with simple square columns and a wood roof - emblematic of the period.

According to Zwally, removal of the 1930s porch revealed evidence of footings and marks on the front facade indicating the exact placement of the structure's original porch. By the same token, it also required clean-up of dirt mounds used as fill in raising it up to the height of the front door, which had covered basement windows and some of the stone foundation, also resulting in considerable termite damage.

Reviving Springdale, Washington DC design news, Beth HermanRestoring the 856 s.f. two-story tenant's house occupied in generations past  by various farm hands who were given shelter, certain foodstuffs and a garden (and which was later leased out by the Weekleys), refurbishing its kitchen, flooring, single bathroom and walls was on the agenda. The homeowners were then able to move in to be closer to the larger renovation of Springdale's primary residence.

Room with an historical view

Reviving Springdale, Washington DC design news, Beth Herman, Interior design
In historical design, Zwally noted symmetry is a key component. Accordingly, the addition's kitchen reflected this in its fenestration. Double-paned banks of windows, which extend down to the sink and stove, match banks on the other side - divided by a French door. A kitchen farm table was forged by local craftsman Dr. Joe Reitman, who also made an armoire for the master bedroom. The Weekley's son Jon, log furniture maker and owner of Denver-based Medicine Wolf Co., created the kitchen's rustic corner table and a pair of aspen and spruce rocking chairs on the master bedroom balcony. (In an even later renovation, a butler's pantry was fashioned from a space off the kitchen, replete with undercounter Sub-Zero refrigerator, and items such as granite countertops were added.)
he dominant navy and terracotta colors in a Hamadan tribal rug in the Weekleys' possession. Expressed in Greeff wallpaper in a spectacular Phoenix pattern is germane to the Colonial period
In the new family room, a fireplace mantle was reused from the demolished 1930s addition, and in fact the house now boasted six working fireplaces including a new one in the master bedroom. While the existing ones, whose chimneys were relined during the renovation, had black slate facades, the fireplace in the new master was faced with delicate Delft-style tiling.

Washington DC interior designA foyer in the existing house was refreshed to follow the dominant navy and terracotta colors in a Hamadan tribal rug in the Weekleys' possession. Expressed in Greeff wallpaper in a spectacular Phoenix pattern germane to the Colonial period, the motif follows a wooden staircase all the way up to the residence's third level. Fabric that accompanied the Greeff paper was used for window treatments in the living and dining rooms, and navy accents can also be found in the new family room and kitchen and in bedrooms. In the living room, a Weekley family 18th Century Chippendale clawfoot wing chair was covered in a navy and terracotta flame stitch.

Reviving Springdale, Washington DC design news, Beth HermanArbiters of Colonial good taste, many of the home's antiques had a familial provenance through Johanna Weekley's ancestors, the Hyde family. Journeying from 17th Century England to Connecticut and ultimately settling in 18th Century Bath, Maine, the Hydes - founders of iconic (and still thriving) Bath Iron Works - passed down a Connecticut cherry Queen Anne highboy, the aforementioned wing chair, 18th Century Delft chargers, brass andirons and more. Additional antiques acquired for Springdale included a Hepplewhite mahogany bow front chest with original brass and a New Hampshire-forged grandfather clock.

Washington DC home design
Upon construction the house had not been electrified though was naturally updated over the decades. Still there was no overhead lighting in the existing part of the house and care was taken during the renovation to honor that fact, except for a foyer fixture and dining room chandelier. In the addition, recessed lighting was used.

Quarter sawn oak flooring found in the existing part of the house, milled from local trees, was repaired and preserved. Zwally also noted that when refurbishing the home's third floor beams, plaster was removed to reveal actual trees with bark and pegs, presumably taken from the property at that time to build the structure. The home's existing exterior is stucco over brick; the addition is stucco over frame.

Gardens in stone

Beautiful Montgomery County farm house renovation with gardens
Outdoors, and when Larry Weekley, who has since passed away, retired, he exorcised his inner landscape architect and put it to work suffusing Springdale's acreage with an explosion of flora rivaling the massive scale gardens of European palaces and grounds. Zwally said in many ways the focus of this property is its magnificent gardens.

Montgomery County commercial renovations, design inspiration, garden design, Zwally
"The original property had many specimen trees," she explained, noting the Leas and successive homeowners, the Mannings, were interested in cultivating such. "Larry bloomed each spring. He built walls. He built wattles. He built ponds." As a result of a serious drought one year, he constructed an underground water system to ferry water to his gardens in the future. The old stone bank barn erected on the property when the Leas moved in was destroyed by fire in the 1940s, its ruins resurrected and repointed by Weekley into a walled-in, deer-proof garden defined by irises, peonies, roses, foxgloves, hybrid daylilies, baptisia, mums and more.

Currently on the market for $1,399,000., Springdale Farm's "bonus room" comes in the guise of its original spring house. Used by the Leas and Mannings to cool milk and butter, Zwally said it is delightful inside even on the hottest summer day, and the Weekleys used it to cool beer for their generous summer parties.

"At Christmas they always made the best eggnog served in little Limoges cups," the designer recalled of her years in the homeowners' social circle following Springdale's renovation. "You'd sit by a roaring fire. It was the highlight of my season."

Monday, January 14, 2013

Your Next Place

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Washington DC real estate
I'm not usually one for nostalgia (in general, the past sucked - as far as I can tell, human history was mostly a morass of pestilence, cruelty, and few to no wi-fi hotspots), but they really don't make them like this anymore.  Dating from 1917, this space has more Old World charm than Jeremy Irons in a monocle.  From the deep-scarlet dining room walls to the quirkily adorable kitchen (that tiny-tile floor is straight out of "Annie Hall") to the vintage woodwork in the bath (yes, the bath) to the double-height screened-in porch, it seemed like everywhere I looked, I saw something wonderful that I'd never seen before.  (Sort of like when I was 11 and I found my Dad's Playboys.)

Washington DC condo for sale

But this warm, house-like space also sports all the latest updates, from the exquisitely-appointed chef's kitchen to the fully-renovated bathrooms.  The living room is warm and has softly glowing hardwood floors, and the dining room features extensive built-ins and a breakfast bar that opens onto the kitchen, so while your significant other cooks, you can sit there and tap your fork and knife on the counter impatiently until they fling a hot skillet of gravy at you.  The kitchen has antique cabinets that are to die for (not literally;  please don't harm yourself over cabinetry), and a top-quality chef's range. 

The bedrooms are equally classy, and the baths sport all the modern finishes you've come to expect (marble, glass doors) after spending too many weekends in Las Vegas.  Outside, is the long screened-in balcony-slash-porch; I could sit out here all day, just putting my feet up and thinking about life and tossing balloons full of ink down onto people who don't pick up after their dogs.  You'll also have access to the building's roof deck, which sports breathtaking 360-degree views.  All in all, it's sort of the perfect place; if it was pre-bubble, I'd totally take out a liar loan saying I make a million bucks a year and buy the place.  It would totally be worth going to prison once the jig was up.  (All those people did go to prison, right?)

1870 Wyoming Avenue NW #104
3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$774,500

Washington DC property for sale

Washington DC property for sale

Washington DC real estate for sale


Thursday, January 10, 2013

10 Questions with ... Jack Evans

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Currently in his seventh term representing Ward 2, Jack Evans is one of the most decorated and influential members of the DC City Council.  Holder of an economics degree from Wharton and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Evans started out at the SEC, and currently serves as counsel at Patton Boggs.  Recently, Evans graciously took the time to offer us a glimpse into his always-busy day-to-day.

1. What's a typical day for you?  

I get up at 6:00am, get the kids up, eat breakfast, (I used to drive them to school but now they have their learner’s permits) and the 3 triplets take turns driving themselves to school (as I am in the passenger seat, of course). Once I get into the office, depending on the schedule, I have a series of meetings throughout the day or a legislative hearing/legislative session. I go home, pick up the kids, try to have dinner with them and several evenings a week, I attend community meetings/events in the evening, and my day ends around 9:30.

2. What or who is your biggest influence?

Personally – my parents. Professionally – Abraham Lincoln & John Kennedy

3. What neighborhood do you live in?

Georgetown

4. What is your biggest DC pet peeve?

Nothing!

5. What is the #1 most played song on your iPod?

"Mack the Knife"



6. Favorite DC haunt?

Café Milano

7. What's your favorite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon?

Read the paper and go for walks in the park.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Washington, DC.

9. If you couldn't be a councilman, what would you be?

Rock singer.


10. Name one thing most people don't know about you.

I’m an open book!

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Your Next Place

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This fantastic house is truly one of a kind; from the front, the house is subtly set at an angle to the street, and features a large, perfectly round porthole-like window.  The rear, which faces the woods, is a long flat plane that has more windows than Microsoft headquarters.  (Been waiting to use that one for months.)

Inside, it's got fantastically high lofted ceilings, minimalistic white walls, and incredible views from every room.  It's like an urban ski lodge decorated by Stanley Kubrick.  The living room is a huge open space built around a fireplace, and the only slightly smaller family room features three, yes, three separate sets of French doors (or, as I like to call them, "freedom doors") leading outside.  Elsewhere, the master bedroom is just HUGE, and has three closets, each of which is larger than my entire apartment.  The master bath is a super-edgy, spartan porcelain chamber, with a glass-walled shower and a sweet soaking tub, like a really hip art gallery with a toilet in the middle.


The lower level is an in-law suite that you could rent out, or just use as an emergency "this marriage sucks, I'm living downstairs this week" bunker, like my parents do.  Across the entire rear of the house is a huge wooden deck, from which you look out into some legitimate woods.  Not the usual forest-ish wooded areas in the city, where even with full leaf cover you can still see your neighbor doing a Zumba DVD in their living room through gaps in the canopy.  This is serious greenery, where if you hear a growling sound out there while sitting on your deck at night, you should probably just start randomly firing your shotgun into the dark, like Yosemite Sam or something.  When the cops show up, just tell them a real estate blog told you to do it.  I'm sure that'll go over really well.

6633 31st Street NW 
$1,185,000
5 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths








Friday, January 04, 2013

Winstanley and Goliath

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Q and A with Michael Winstanley
by Beth Herman

Creating his own office space for a burgeoning staff at 107 N. West Street in Old Town, Alexandria, along with a state-of-the-art photography studio for wife Jessica Marcotte under the same roof, Michael Winstanley of Michael Winstanley Architects and Planners slayed the giant. Pitting the $490,000 design against Goliath projects by other firms, including a $50 million Columbia University biology lab, the 4,350 s.f. Winstanley office won 2011's National Society of American Registered Architects (NSARA) Award for building design. In the same year it also garnered a National Association for Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) Award for building renovation. DCMud spoke with Winstanley about the little office that could.

DCMud: Your firm is renovating Union Station and has designed large-scale structures in faraway places like Macau and Kazakhstan. How did you choose a building to reflect the range of your work?

Winstanley: We were originally in another old building in Old Town which was sold and was to be torn down. Jessica and I had about 1,000 s.f. each, and I had four employees. My practice was growing, and my wife needs a 12-foot high space for her photo stand and light booms. In Alexandria there isn't a lot of warehouse or industrial space, so it took a long time to find but we finally located it - a former carpet warehouse. Financing was done through a combination of private funds along with SBA and bank loans.

DCMud: What were some of the design challenges you faced?

Winstanley: Our building sits on the property line so that's as much land as we had: a zero lot line. We had a tight budget and no windows except for clerestories, and needed to have some vision windows, so we put windows along the alley which is really a fire lane - the only place we could have them. Because we work late, our office looks out onto the alley so it no longer feels unsafe for the neighborhood. We also used four operable skylights on the opposite side of the building to balance the light inside, which washed the walls in daylight.

DCMud: Sounds as though you had an eye to sustainability.

Winstanley: In fact during the day you don't even need the lights on. We also did operable windows to open for fresh air as often as possible. The entire concrete block envelope is now heavily insulated (there was none at acquisition): floor; roof; walls. The HVAC system is automated so it's off at night. For flooring we used reclaimed oak from Virginia, and it's raised up on sleepers to run our data cables underneath it to avoid data drops from the ceiling. Finally, though the building was marketed as a tear down and rebuild, we chose to use the existing building instead of razing and starting over. We are also five blocks from the King Street Metro.


DCMud: We understand the IKEA workstations have their own little backstory.

Winstanley: We currently have 20 workstations in 3,350 s.f. (the remaining 1,000 s.f. is allocated to the photography studio) but can comfortably seat 25 to 30 employees when necessary. I knew that IKEA was an economical solution but had always thought it looked too inexpensive given the kind of work we do. My concern was that IKEA furniture would indicate a modest practice, when we actually do a lot of large scale projects - like a $300 million, one million s.f. development in San Antonio. I looked everywhere for something else but never found anything with the right feel.

DCMud: So you acquiesced?

Winstanley: I wanted to do something that didn't scream IKEA, but using the same we designed a very simple four-piece furniture system. The colors and textures matched the office. The irony is when I went to add a few more desks later on, IKEA had stopped making some of the components. A carpenter agreed to replicate things for $400 - for just one of the tabletops - when it had cost $80 at IKEA. But we had to do it!

DCMud: The conference room seems to be open to the rest of the space. How does that work acoustically?

Winstanley: It's far enough away so that meetings don't interfere. We also have an in house model making shop in our space.

DCMud: Tell us about the photography studio.

Winstanley: It's all open with its own entrance. Jessie has (dedicated) office space with her desk and couch within the studio. There's also an IKEA kitchenette, just like we have in the architecture studio.


DCMud: Given the breadth and scope of your work, why are you based in Old Town and not D.C.?

Winstanley: We're planners as well as architects and I've lived in a lot of cities, including Boston. Old Town reminds me of Beacon Hill which I like. In D.C., however, you surely can't escape the power of the L'Enfant plan: the organization of the city; the symbolism of the capitol; the location of important public buildings in the Federal Triangle. It's a green and livable city that appeals to me because Charles L'Enfant was smart about the way it was planned and organized. D.C. is unlike any other place.

Photos courtesy of Jessica Marcotte

Your Next Place

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This stunning semi-detached Georgian Colonial looks like something you'd see in the British countryside, an expansive, sophisticated home for all occasions, the type of house that might make you say to the fellow next to you, in jest, mind you, "aren't you tempted to hide in a closet until the open house is over, and then live here all week?"  Only for him to reply, "Why would I do that, this is my house," and then fast-walk over to agent and whisper to them for thirty seconds while gesturing in my direction.  I had the last laugh though, since I bought the house on the spot and evicted him!  Ha ha!  (Just kidding, I just left quickly while feeling stupid.)


Off the huge foyer is a massive, bright family room, and a formal dining room fit for royalty.  There's also a very fine study featuring some extremely elegant woodwork, and the bright, sprawling living room.  It features huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and opens via French doors (freedom doors, dang it) onto the wonderful flagstone patio.  The kitchen is sleek and spacious and features stainless steel appliances and enough counterspace for a regulation Slip-n-Slide.  (The next trend in bridal showers?)  Upstairs, the master bedroom is one of the most palatial I've seen, and I've seen a few, not only as a professional open-houser, but as a burglar too.  Incredibly long, it has a beautiful salmon-colored marble fireplace at one end.  The house actually has four fireplaces, so when the cops come, each member of the family can grab an armload of evidence to dispose of separately, instead of everyone trying to fling papers into the same fireplace.  Awkward!  And finally, there's a garage; nothing sadder than seeing a car outside in the cold, all alone at night.  Here little car, does it cheer you up when I tickle your sides with my key?

3045 P Street NW
4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Bathrooms
$2,150,000







Friday, December 28, 2012

First Look at Parcel N at The Yards

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Navy Yard real estate development in Washington DC - Forest City's "Parcel N"
Forest City's Parcel N at the Yards will transform a section of the Capitol Riverfront
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern
New renderings have been released of "Parcel N," one of two new apartment buildings planned for Forest City Washington's The Yards mega-development in DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood.

Robert A.M. Stern is the primary design architect on the "Parcel N" project, WDG is the architect of record.  Planning for the building is still in the design stage, although architects said they expect permits for the 340,000 s.f. structure to be secured by May 2013, with a groundbreaking set for August of 2013, according to WDG.

Parcel N at the Yards includes architectural design by Robert A.M. Stern
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern
Forest City broke ground this summer on the other project, "Parcel D", directly catty-corner to Parcel N.  That building is being designed by Shalom Baranes.

The Foundry Lofts, a 170-unit adaptive re-use project and the first residential building in the group, completed last year.  In June Forest City secured funding for an adaptive reuse project called The Lumber Shed, described as the The Yards' "retail centerpiece".  Another adaptive reuse of a century-old building into retail and restaurants, The Boilermaker Shops, is set for opening this spring.

architectural rendering by Robert A.M. Stern for Parcel N at the Yards by Forest City
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern
Plans for parcel N include an 11-story, 325-unit building at 310 Tingey Street with ground floor retail, two courtyards, a rooftop pool, a small green roof, and a LEED target of gold.

Peter Garofalo, architect with Robert A.M. Stern in New York, said the building's design references the area's industrial architectural tradition.  There used to be an old foundry on the site, Garofalo said, but it was torn down in the 1970's.

"What we are striving to do is build a building that references historical essences, but updates them in a playful and modern way and stitches those two vocabularies together..." Garofalo told DCMud.  He said the design features glass on top of a traditional base.  Materials include glass, concrete, and dark metals.

Pete Garofolo, Forest City Yards, Southeast DC, Navy Yard, new apartments, Washington DC
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern
Garofalo said the building's design also features a zig-zag pattern across the east face of the building.  "That was done so that in the future, when the rest of the parcel is being built out, it will create diagonal views up and down 4th street for those residential units."

Designers anticipate one and two-bedroom units that Garofalo called "standard DC-sized," and don't foresee any micro-units.  "There is some debate about it, but I doubt that is going to be included," he said.

waterfront development in southeast Washington DC on the Anacostia
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern
Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

7 comments
1435 Chapin St, NW, Washington DC, condo for sale
The awesome penthouse of a breathtaking boutique condo building, this unit is like a plum-sized diamond crazy-glued to the top of a grapefruit-sized ruby.  A two-level masterpiece of a condo, this home has ceilings that are super high (insert your own "legalized marijuana" joke here), immaculate hardwood floors (if I ever become a male stripper, Immaculate Hardwood is going to be my stage name), and recessed lighting (uh ... I got nothing.).
1435 Chapin Street, Columbia Heights
The designer kitchen sports stainless steel appliances, Silestone counters, and a breakfast bar that's perfect for flinging junk mail onto (no one eats breakfast anymore except for babies and retirees).  Upstairs, are the bright, wide bedrooms, all of which have dramatic views.  But the real highlight is the private rooftop terrace.  If I lived in this place, I'd rent the indoor rooms out as storage compartments and just live out here all the time.  With over six hundred square feet of patio space, you could probably land a helicopter out here, though there's a good chance it might collapse the roof.  If you decide to try it out, make sure you tape it for me.

Washington DC retail for lease

The building is only a block from Meridian Hill park, still the best place in the city to drift off to sleep on a blanket on a warm summer day and wake up to a homeless person frantically touching himself while looking at you through a gap in the hedges.  (True story.)  It's also right between two metro stations, so you can alternate between the two and make your morning commute, like, three percent less depressing.  Hey, with the retirement age rising steadily (according to one study, the average 40 year old today won't be able to stop working until 18 to 24 months past physical death), every little bit counts.

1435 Chapin Street NW 305
$650,000
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths


1435 Chapin St., NW, Washington DC, condo for sale

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