Chevy Chase, DC - Residential Addition


Brief Explanation of the Scope of Work

Most people use their formal dining room for holidays and leave it waiting empty for the rest of the year. Daily life generally centers on the kitchen and the family room. These Chevy Chase homeowners were using their home in this manner, but understood that their existing space could be better.

Unusual Constraints/Challenges and Creative Solutions

They articulated three remodeling goals: (1) a spacious kitchen/family room/eat-in area with an open floor plan; (2) a larger playroom for their children; and (3) improved back yard for entertaining. Inside, they wanted a comfortable, intimate and open space with excellent lighting, both natural and otherwise. The addition had to look original to the house, both from the interior and the exterior. To create their dream back yard, we designed and built a dramatic flagstone patio connected to their new great room and kitchen by an elegant, wide staircase.

The addition was designed to maximize the available space and to ensure a seamless flow from the existing rooms to the new space.

A key structural and design challenge was determining how the long addition could be added at the back of the house while supporting the existing and additional roof load. To achieve a crisp feel in the great room/kitchen we had to design away any new bulkheads, partitions or columns. This challenge was met by the thoughtful design, engineering and installation of a huge steel beam spanning the length of the addition with point loads on the new exterior walls.

A generous number of windows allow the eastern light to filter through the house. New oak flooring was feathered into the existing so the eye would not differentiate the old space from the new one. Excellent craftsmanship is evident throughout the job including: the exterior masonry, cedar shakes and trim, and the meticulous, cabinet and counter installation, plaster work and painting and lighting on the interior.

The kitchen is a functional and elegant space with its granite counters, restaurant quality appliances, large island, and understated tile backsplash. The natural cherry cabinets on the island were selected to contrast the painted cabinets used on the two exterior walls. The living room and eat-in area are organized as distinct areas which are also open to one another.

Overall Results

The homeowners are very pleased with the outcome of their project and claim to spend little time in the front of their house and more in the back. The addition looks original to the house and the kids are happy with their bigger and better basement playroom which opens onto the new patio.