This large family in
Washington, DC had two goals, one was fanciful in nature and the other
very practical.
The fanciful portion of the work was to recreate the broad views and a
sense of openness inspired by their vacations on Cape Cod. To achieve
this objective, they created a cozy, yet bright aerie on the third floor
of the house. The room’s windows include floor to ceiling glass on one
end of the wall that echoed the existing windows on the first floor
office and provide expansive views of Rock Creek Park. This aerie then
connects to a fourth floor roof deck via an oak spiral stair housed in a
tower. The practical portion of the work dealt with the fact that the
house had no garage or guest rooms, which were badly needed. The new
garage was located adjacent to the kitchen with a new side foyer for
easy entrance into the house. By setting the garage to the rear of the
buildable area, an L-shaped courtyard was created. The guest bedroom and
bath are accessed from their own stairs to give privacy for the family’s
frequent guests.
