Many cities across the US are famous for their row houses. They’re synonymous with American city-living, so much so that they’ve shown up in countless beloved shows and movies—think the opening credits of Full House, set in San Francisco, or Carrie Bradshaw of Sex and the City arriving home to her classy Manhattan brownstone.
Take our historic city, for example, you can’t miss the quaint row houses here in Washington D.C. But what exactly is a Row house, and why are they so popular?
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are getting a lot of buzz lately. If the term sounds like industry jargon, or perhaps makes you think of a purse large enough to live inside, maybe one of these will ring a bell: in-law suite, carriage house, granny flat, or a good old apartment over the garage.
ADUs are simply a secondary living space located on the same property as a traditional home, usually offering its own separate entrance. Generally, an ADU will have its own kitchen, bathroom, and living space, but the key element is that it can function as its own, separate space. An ADU can be a tiny house, a basement apartment, or an attic with its own entrance. Accessory Dwelling Units are a longstanding concept in America, but a recent resurgence due to population growth and untenable city real estate costs are making them an increasingly more attractive option for homeowners.
There are four reasons for the growing popularity of ADUs:
The average cost of building an ADU ranges hugely based on where you live and what you’re working with. There are examples of recently built ADUS that cost as low as $18,000 all the way up to $400,000, but generally tend to start at $140,000 with an average square foot cost of $180-250. It depends on what you’re looking to do and what your space looks like—for instance, converting a basement is different than building a detached structure in your backyard.
At Landis, our range for creating a basement apartment in an unfinished basement is $100,000 to $300,000, and a new detached structure or building above a garage is $200,000 to $450,000.
The typical ADU ranges between 600 and 1000 square feet in the United States (according to data from AARP). An ADU will generally accommodate a studio, one bedroom or two-bedroom dwelling and is ideal for housing 2 tenants or a family with one child. Of course, larger ADUs are also an option as the size of an ADU will be determined by the ample land available on your property.
Housing costs in Washington D.C. and its surrounding neighborhoods have been on the rise for the past decade and continue to climb today. Accessory Dwelling Units can help maximize your property, and in turn, help your community: “ADUs are a low-impact way to diversify housing options, provide more affordable homes for young families or older adults, and help the homeowner with additional income through rent” offers the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).
Due to their small size, ADUs are a more sustainable, eco-friendly option as well. They require less energy and fewer resources, thus minimizing carbon emissions and utility costs. To quote Professor Karen Chapple in Frameworks, UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design magazine: “As infill development, [ADUs] make efficient and ‘green’ use of existing infrastructure and help increase densities to levels at which transit becomes viable — yet with lower costs and quicker permitting processes than for larger, multi-family building types.”
In addition, zoning code changes have made it easier to build ADUs in D.C., and the Coalition for Smarter Growth, a D.C. area organization puts it best: “By building ADUs across the city, we can weave additional housing into residential neighborhoods in ways that enhance the community fabric, promote intergenerational living arrangements, and improve housing affordability.”
Happily, Landis has been building ADUs in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area for years, and since we handle all aspects of the construction process in-house, we can take care of the permitting, regulations, zoning, etc. involved for you!
For those wanting to rent out their ADUs commercially it’s important to understand the D.C. rules and regulations around renting ADUs. Landis is not a certified provider of ADU licensing for rentals but can still help you achieve your dream ADU for personal, family or friend accommodations.
Though Aditi Ripley is now a Business Account Manager at Ferguson Enterprises, in her lengthy career at the plumbing supply company, she has helped countless clients make plumbing fittings and fixtures, hardware, lighting and appliance selections. She and her family recently moved into a new home in Bethesda – a project where she and her husband had to make all the selections!
Aditi’s Style: Modern twist on arts and crafts; transitional.
Inspirations. Aditi found inspiration and ideas at Houzz.com, in magazines, from her Ferguson’s coworkers, and this blog
She offers these 9 selections tips from her experience:
1. Go with your gut. If you are drawn to a certain product, color, or design follow your instincts.
2. Decide what overall style you want for your home – look at all your selections with an eye toward the big picture and the feel you want to create and make your selections based on this vision.
3. Start collecting photos of rooms and features you love. Place them in a binder or online folder. Share this vision with your designer and/or selections person. Also share with them the plans and your budget so they have a full picture of your goal. This will help them guide you toward the best products for you.
4. Balance your design wishes and your budget. It helps to list a few features that are important to you where you don’t want to compromise.
5. One way to stay within budget is to pick a few rooms that are important to you or where you entertain. You can splurge on items in these rooms, then make selections for the basement or hall bath or mudroom that are good quality, but more budget-friendly.
6. Some suppliers (like Ferguson Enterprises) have their own brand as well as products from major manufacturers that are made exclusively for them. These may be offered in limited styles or finishes, but with an affordable price point.
7. Ask for the lead time on products before finalizing selections. A product may have a long lead time that doesn’t fit your timeline.
8. Consider investing in a paint color consultation. Selecting paint can be overwhelming and having guidance can keep you on track and create the feel that you want.
9. If something is not working for you, say something. It’s an overwhelming process – if you don’t say something to your designer or selections person, they won’t know you’re frustrated or not finding what you want.
Paint Colors. She had seen a house she loved that had James Hardie Hardieplank fiber cement siding in Boothbay Blue and the exact product she selected for her house. She worked with Sherwin William’s color consultant. For most of the main areas of the house, she used Big Chill (256-C7) darkened 25%. Then she used darker grays in the powder room, the mudroom and in the coffered ceiling. She added some pops of color in some of the other rooms. For the painted paneling accent wall in her master bedroom, she opted for Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore.
Favorite Spaces
The kitchen turned out exactly as she wanted.
She says her master bathroom is nicer than any boutique hotel. Based on advice from the tile consultant, she went with 12-inch by 24-inch tile in a herringbone pattern for the floor. She wasn’t sure that large format tile would look good in this pattern, but now loves it.
Her absolute favorite space, one that she made a priority from the beginning, is the outdoor patio. It has a stone fireplace, a gas grill and flower beds. She was willing to make changes to the construction of the house to accommodate this “want.”
Most Difficult Selections
Tile: The exotic marble tile she loved was out of her budget. She opted for marble in just the master shower – but mixed it with complementary tile.
Lighting: She considered lighting the jewelry of a room and opted to splurge on lighting in a few areas: the dining room fixture, kitchen island pendants, master tub chandelier, and the powder room.
Compromises
She wanted an open floor plan on the main level and did not want to have central stairs that you would see when you walk in the front door. Placing the stairs on the side of the house meant giving up a den on the main level, a second-floor family room, and an exercise room. But she really likes the sight lines from the front door to the back of the house.
For budget savings, she used carpet instead of hardwood in a few bedrooms.
She compromised on a standing seam metal roof but added it back later.
She wanted a porch that wrapped all the way around the house, but that wasn’t possible.
What She Would Change
Opted for a shower, not a tub in the guest room
Included an exit from the basement to the backyard
Trends
White cabinetry in the kitchen with island cabinets in blue or gray
Bath vanities in black or navy
Mixing metals. No one is using one metal finish throughout a room. Even with stainless appliances in the kitchen, brushed gold is still popular for lighting and door/drawer pulls.
Shiplap on walls
Aditi hosts roundtables with new staff at Ferguson Showrooms to train them on helping clients with selections. She reminds them that they may do this every day, but the client visiting Fergusons may only do this once in their lifetime. “Slow down and make sure they comprehend everything you’re saying,” she says. She tells the staff that before taking them around the showroom to look for ideas, sit with them and ask them about their style, their budget, and the production schedule. Then make a list and make selections room by room. For more information on the selections process please visit your closest Ferguson showroom or www.shop.ferguson.com
Landis is proud and excited to announce that we are one of the 2020 Top Workplaces in the Washington Area. We are one of 200 companies selected by the Washington Post in its seventh annual survey, conducted in partnership with employee engagement firm Energage. The Post’s survey identified the highest ranked workplaces in the region based on employee responses about their own company. More than 3,500 area companies were invited to participate and 406 were surveyed.
“We are particularly grateful to each member of our team for working with us to create a great work environment. This listing comes at a great time as we are celebrating our 30th anniversary in business. Since shortly after the launch of our company in 1990, we have made investments in every department. One of our core values is lifelong learning and we strive to help employees add to their design and construction knowledge and elevate our professionalism,” says co-founder Ethan Landis. “Clients often complement us on the team members working with them during the design process and the crew working in their home. We feel that this is in large part due to the overall success in building a diverse and talented team.”
The full list, along with profiles of some of the winners, stories on how employees coped at home during the pandemic and breakdowns on the sectors represented among the 200 winners will be featured in a special Top Workplaces magazine on October 14 and on The Post’s site. The Washington Post also plans to host an awards ceremony in October to recognize the 200 top-ranked companies.
