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HomeLifeStyle

By Marilyn Campbell

The Connection

From designing a kitchenwith a concave glass tilebacksplash to creating abackyard with a fireplace

and pool, some local homeremodelers were honored recentlywith the National Association of theRemodeling Industry’s (NARI) 2013Regional Contractor of the Yearawards for design acumen. Winningprojects ran the gamut from historicpreservation projects to environmen-tally conscious conceptions.

A MCLEAN KITCHEN by BOWAtook top honors in the “ResidentialKitchen Over $120,000” category.The homeowners were looking tocreate a free-flowing, light-filled space.

“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 porchand 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 therestroom 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-tion because they are dedicated to protect-ing the environment,” said Braswell.

CABIN JOHN, MD., BASED firm AnthonyWilder Design/Build, Inc. received kudos inthe “Residential Exterior, $100,000 andOver” category for a backyard space thatincludes a pool and fireplace. “The home-

owner wanted four separate living spacesin the backyard,” said company spokes-woman Danielle Frye. “He wanted a diningroom, a living room with a heat source, aplace to sunbathe near his pool and a placeto play cricket on his lawn.”

Frye said the Wilder team, which includedarchitect George R. Bott and lead designerAnthony Wilder, developed a backyard planthat replaced overgrown grass with flag-stone and a badly worn fence with foliageto create a sense of privacy. “There is asundeck and spaces for a sofa and diningtable, but the fireplace is the focal point,”said Frye. “We used really tall bamboo toshield the view from the hotel across thestreet.”

A BETHESDA HOME ADDITION gar-nered a top prize in the “Residential Addi-tion Over $250,000” category for A.R.T De-sign Build Inc. with team memberGrossmueller’s Design Consultants, Inc.

“The client wanted to expand their onestory house to have a separate area for [bed-rooms] and create a more functional firstfloor with more communal spaces, thekitchen, family room [and] dining room,”said Cindy G. McClure of Grossmueller’sDesign Consultants, Inc.

The design team added a new secondfloor to the home, which accommodates alaundry room, a master suite, two addi-tional bedrooms and a bathroom. A stairtower and cathedral foyer create an openfloor plan and connect the first and secondlevels.

“Elements of the old house, like the widechimney on the front and the contempo-rary 1960 style were played upon and ac-centuated,” said McClure. “The result is afunctional home that meets the needs oftoday’s family, remained within budget andwas completed on time.”

Local contractorsget top honors forremodeling projects.

The Region’s Best Home Designs

This McLean kitchen by BOWA took top honors in the “Residential KitchenOver $120,000” category. The homeowners wanted to create a free-flowing,light-filled space.

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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 RocenVirginia.rocen@comcast.net 703-684-3876. Formore information, please contact Tour ChairmenMason Bavin at mbavin@mcenearney.com, TwigMurray attwig@twigweb.com or Catherine Boltonat 4boltons@comcast.net

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 mwhip155@aol.com. For moreinformation about the tour, contact BonnieRekemeyer at chezdarbon@aol.com.

80th HistoricGarden Week,April 20-27

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

4 ❖ Reston Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 Reston Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 ❖ 5Local Media Connection LLC ❖ www.ConnectionNewspapers.com www.ConnectionNewspapers.com ❖ Local Media Connection LLC

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 Virginia homewill be quickly recovered has beensuspended — if only temporarily— as homeowners reassess.

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

While the scale of the averageproject may be smaller, it’s evidentthat many homeowners middle ageor older have come to see the homeas a long-term — even lifelong —work in progress, one that theytake up passionately, and at regu-lar intervals.

Veteran remodeler David Fostercalls these homeowners “incremen-tal” improvers, and has come to seethem them as the primary focus ofa home improvement enterprise hestarted 30 years ago.

As president of Foster Remodel-ing Solutions in Lorton, Fosterregularly coaches his team on theimportance of understanding whatthese homeowners need, what theyare expecting and how to articu-late their best options with clarity.

“Our core belief is that there aremany homeowners who will makea notable home improvement ev-ery two-to-five years, so we placea high priority on earning thatperson’s trust,” Foster said. “In thissense, there is nothing more impor-tant than outperforming expecta-tion.”

WHILE THERE MAY BE manyreasons why a homeowner will re-model in stages, Foster said thatthe typical incremental improverhas a pay-as-you-go orientation —often driven by evolving family re-quirements.

Vienna resident Kelly Grems, forinstance, has executed four remod-eling projects with Foster startingwith a kitchen addition in 2003.

“We bought the house in 1995when I was pregnant,” Grems said.“My husband [Ed] and I had beenliving in a much smaller house inMaryland, but envisioned a tradi-tional home that would offer ourgrowing family lots of useful activ-ity areas.”

A kitchen with a sizable break-

fast room was the first item on the“wish list,” an assignment compli-cated by the fact that home’s rearelevation backs into a woodlandset-aside and a precipitous drop.

“The ground level decking wasalready in place,” Grems said. “ButDavid showed us a plan for an el-evated breakfast room extensionbuilt on pilings that wouldn’t re-quire a ground level foundation.Turns out, this solution created awelcome canopy for the groundlevel patio. And it was also a moresensible, economical choice for usat the time.”

Grems said her first step washanding Foster a file of articles onkitchen interiors she had clipped

from Southern Living; the FosterRemodeling design staff then tookover, helping the couple visualizedesign ideas with the aid of a CADcomputer program.

“The selection and pricing pro-cess was transparent, and really an-ticipated what we needed,” Gremssaid. “When you’re as busy as weare, you appreciate this quality ofsupport.”

Apart from budget consider-ations, Grems said taking a pausebetween projects allowed thecouple to pay more attention tohow the family is actually using thehouse, and to develop ideas thatwork for everyone.

The recently completed family

room upgrade didn’t become animmediate action plan, for in-stance, because the family designprocess was fomenting slowly —again starting with magazine ar-ticles and other sources. “We’reparticular; we let the look come tous piece by piece,” she said.

The half-brick floor-to-ceilingbackwall was replaced by perfectlysymmetrical built-ins, crown mold-ing and an elevated hearth with amarble surround and Edwardian-style mantle.

“It’s an entirely different moodfrom the sun room,” Grems said,“and perfectly satisfies another di-mension of our lifestyle.”

ON A SIMILAR NOTE, south Al-exandria resident Sandy Nusbaumattributes her periodic home up-grade inclinations to a gradual butdecisive recognition that the fourbedroom colonial she has occupiedfor 28 years with husband Mike isthe last single family residence thecouple will ever 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 I re-newed 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, and cre-ating an outdoor component — inthe form of a 16-by-16-foot back

screen porch — that allows for easywarm-weather circulation.

Replacing a wall betweenkitchen and dining room with athree-stool dining counter provedan effective starting point to delin-eating a more interactive entertain-ment space.

A few years on the Nusbaumsbegan planning a follow-on phase:an extension of the rear familyroom, an open-air grilling deck anda layout that permits children,grandchildren and many guests tocirculate freely through a nowwide-ranging entertainment suite.

Then, just last year, the largelyunused lower level was convertedinto a multi-purpose suite thatserves as both an exercise roomand guest accommodation.

The long-term remodeler alsomay venture into non-essential,even quite personal, “tweaks” tothe existing property from time totime. After comprehensive up-grades to their kitchen and masterbath, for instance, Alexandrians

Steve and Diane Piper decided thattheir eclectically re-designed pow-der room should include a Medi-terranean-style foot bath ringed inglass and mosaic tiling.

The artfully-executed first floorfacility — planned with an assistfrom Foster designer Sarah Wolf —includes a vessel basin with ex-posed copper piping, marble floorsand a coffered ceiling with con-cealed lights.

kitchen — the Baldinos of Spring-field had Foster design a screenporch with a floor-to-ceiling stonehearth. The porch is closed onthree sides and features a 15-footcathedral ceiling with an overheadrotating fan. The project includedan extensive flagstone patio, a pri-vacy fence, a retaining wall andlandscaping.

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

The Pipers’ new powder room in-cludes a Mediterranean-style foot bathringed in glass and mosaic tiling.

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The plans for a kitchen remodel were complicated by the fact that the home’srear elevation backs into a woodland set-aside and a notably precipitousdrop.

beforeThe existing half-brickfloor-to-ceiling backwallwas replaced by perfectlysymmetrical built-ins,crown molding and anelevated hearth with amarble surround andEdwardian-style mantle.

after

The Pipers — whooften travel interna-tionally — say the foot bath is apleasant convenience in the sum-mer when they are often wearingsandals. “I wouldn’t say a footbathadds anything to re-sale value,”Diane Piper said, “But we do planto be in this house for at least an-other ten years.”

After re-doing the front eleva-tion — and before remodeling the

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

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January, 2013Top Sales inGreat Falls,McLean, Reston,Oak Hill, Oaktonand Vienna

Photos by Craig Sterbutzel/The Connection

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

1 1036 AZIZA CT ...................... 5 .. 5 .. 3 ... GREAT FALLS .. $5,115,693 .... Detached .... 0.84 ...... 22066 ...... PUTNAM FARM ESTATES ..... 01/04/13

2 710 BULLS NECK RD .............. 6 .. 6 .. 1 ...... MCLEAN ..... $5,000,000 .... Detached .... 5.00 ...... 22102 ....... BULLS NECK HUNDRED ...... 01/16/13

3 8305 FOX HAVEN DR .............. 5 .. 6 .. 2 ...... MCLEAN ..... $3,125,000 .... Detached .... 0.83 ...... 22102 ........ FOXHALL OF MCLEAN ....... 01/04/13

4 845 CANAL DR ...................... 5 .. 5 .. 2 ...... MCLEAN ..... $1,900,000 .... Detached .... 1.18 ...... 22102 ... OLD GEORGETOWN ESTATES .. 01/25/13

5 9720 ARNON CHAPEL RD ....... 6 .. 6 .. 3 ... GREAT FALLS .. $1,800,000 .... Detached .... 2.46 ...... 22066 ............ HARMON FARM ........... 01/15/13

6 11301 LANDY LN ................... 5 .. 5 .. 1 ... GREAT FALLS .. $1,734,604 .... Detached .... 1.47 ...... 22066 ........... CHANEL ESTATES .......... 01/04/13

7 400 BERRY ST SE ................... 5 .. 4 .. 1 ....... VIENNA ..... $1,402,735 .... Detached .... 0.51 ...... 22180 ......... MURMURING PINES ........ 01/29/13

8 11580 GREENWICH POINT RD 4 .. 2 .. 1 ...... RESTON ..... $1,000,000 .... Detached .... 0.31 ...... 20194 .................. RESTON ................. 01/02/13

9 12705 AUTUMN CREST DR ..... 5 .. 4 .. 1 ...... OAK HILL ...... $965,000 .... Detached .... 0.30 ...... 20171 .......... FRANKLINS TRUST ......... 01/04/13

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

Local REAL ESTATELocal REAL ESTATE1 1036 Aziza Court, Great Falls — $5,115,693

3 8305 Fox Haven Drive,McLean — $3,125,000

5 9720 ArnonChapel Road,Great Falls —$1,800,000

7 400 Berry Street SE,Vienna — $1,402,735

8 11580 Greenwich Point Road,Reston — $1,000,000

9 12705 Autumn Crest Drive,Oak Hill — $965,000

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

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Home LifeStyle

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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By Joshua Baker

BOWA

Remodeling often affordsan opportunity to re-purpose existing materials bydonating to those less for-

tunate. Ask your remodeler if thereis a plan or policy for saving materi-als for re-use rather than sending itto a land fill. Every project is differ-ent. And some materials are moreeasily removed and saved than oth-ers. Here are a couple oforganizations that accepted used ma-terials.

A WIDER CIRCLEThis organization provides basic-

need items to families transitioningout of shelters and those living with-out life’s necessities. A Wider Circlefurnishes the homes of more than1,000 children and adults eachmonth. If you wish to donate furni-ture and other home essentials thatare in good condition (no rips orstains), you can drop off items attheir Center for Community Servicein Silver Spring, Md. You can alsoschedule a pickup in most areasthroughout greater Washington,D.C. Refer to their website for a fulllist of accepted items and their “wishlist” of the most needed items atwww.awidercircle.org.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY –RESTORE

ReStore is a resale business thatsells new and used building materi-als and home items to the general

Recycle, Reuse, RemodelSALVATION ARMY

Although the Salvation Army is in-volved in many communityprograms, proceeds from items do-nated to their stores will benefit theirAdult Rehabilitation Centers, whichhelp those who have lost the abilityto cope with their problems and areunable to provide for themselves.Each rehabilitation center offers resi-dential housing and work, alongwith individual and group therapy.This enables many to be reunitedwith their families and resume a nor-mal life. Items commonly donatedinclude appliances, clothing, furni-ture, and household goods. For moreinformation on their donation pro-gram, please visit www.satruck.org.

BOWA HOME CLEANUP DAYSAs a thank you to the neighbors in

the communities in which we work,from time to time BOWA hosts HomeCleanup Days. Home Cleanup Day isa great opportunity to donate andrecycle gently used household items,toys and clothing, and dispose of anydebris or other unwanted clutter. ABOWA employee will help folks un-load their items and a Goodwillrepresentative will be on hand to ac-cept donations and provide receipts.

To find a BOWA Home CleanupDay in your area, please visit ourh t t p : / / i n f o . b o w a . c o m /communityblog/.

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

public. All donationsare tax deductibleand donated by indi-viduals, localretailers, buildingcontractors and sup-pliers. Donated itemsare then sold at 50-90percent off the retailprice, with all pro-

ceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity,an organization that provides safe andaffordable housing to low-income fami-lies. ReStore accepts appliances,furniture, cabinets, roofing and flooringmaterials, exercise equipment,countertops, electronics, lighting andplumbing fixtures, among many others.All materials and items must be in goodand working condition. Items may bedropped off at ReStore locations duringtheir business hours or for larger dona-tions you may schedule a pickup. Formore, visit Northern Virginia stores inAlexandria and Chantilly -www.restorenova.org

GOODWILLFounded in 1902, Goodwill accepts

gently used clothing, furniture,housewares, working electronics, andother household items. These items arethen sold at their retail locations, withthe proceeds used to fund employment,job training, and placement services forthe disadvantaged and those with dis-abilities. To view their full list of goodsaccepted, and for the list of donationcenters and stores, visitwww.dcgoodwill.org. You may alsoschedule a pick up online for largeritems or multiple items you don’t havethe resources to transport.

8 ❖ Reston Connection ❖ HomeLifeStyle Spring 2013 Local Media Connection LLC ❖ www.ConnectionNewspapers.com