Noticed: Newel Posts

Interesting newel posts in a Bethesda, Maryland, Colonial home.

5 Things I Love About My New Listing at 3315 Pendleton Drive

My newest listing is a contemporary house located just one mile from the Wheaton Metro Station on the Red Line and all the shopping near there. It is also around the corner from Wheaton-Claridge Park and just a short drive from Wheaton Regional Park. My prep team and I have been working hard to bring this home to market today, so I wanted to share the 5 Things I Love most about it.

1. The impressive brick fireplace, which is a dominant architectural feature of the property. In researching the history of the house and its Hammond Hill neighborhood, I discovered that the brick was reclaimed from older homes in Alexandria, Virginia, during construction.

2. The original wood cabinets. There is something comforting and warm about their patina, and they just go with the house.

3. The yard, with its size (9,176 sq ft), its privacy, and its peacefulness.  While prepping this property for sale, I discovered a Star Magnolia tree, Forsythia, Eastern Red Bud, Hemlocks, Pines, and Cedars.

4. The vaulted ceilings. Design in 1950 by architect Charles M. Goodman, famous for his design of the original National Airport terminal in Washington, DC, along with many other residential developments, every room in this cool mid-century modern home features angles and volume.

5. The windows, walls and walls of windows. This home is flooded with natural light and one feels connected to nature from the inside. It is a cheerful house.

I hope whoever buys it loves this home as much as I do. I am holding public open houses on Saturday, April 26, 2014, 2:00-4:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 27, 2014, 1:00-4:00 p.m.  Please come to tour this home in person and learn more about its history and potential.

Pocketful of Tudors: Woodhaven

Welcome to my new regular feature, Pocketful of Tudors.  I adore this particular architectural style and will spotlight neighborhoods in the DMV that have a strong concentration of Tudor homes. One particularly cool thing that happened when my family and I bought a Tudor in the Woodhaven neighborhood of Bethesda, Maryland, was that both my father and my father-in-law both said, upon seeing the photos while we were still under contract, that they had really wanted to buy a Tudor home years in the past. It felt like a special family history. Tudors are not nearly as popular in our area as say a Colonial or a Cape Cod style house, so to me they feel special.  They also evoke feelings of European charm, as I have noted in a different blog written while I was in Europe.

So I shall begin my journey through Tudor places in my home neighborhood, Woodhaven. Our neighborhood was established between 1936 and 1941, with approximately 127 homes, 56 of which are Tudor homes built by Peter Dein. The homes in the neighborhood share some common floor plans with the expected additions and modifications that over three-quarters of a century bring. The typical features of Tudors include angled roof lines, fretwork, stucco, stone, and brick.  The unique character of Woodhaven includes the heavy tree cover true to our name. on the outside mirror charming details such as arched doorways, exposed wooden beams, and massive stone or granite fireplaces inside.

Interior details that I've noticed while visiting neighbors' homes include arched doorways, exposed wooden beams, and massive stone or granite fireplaces some say were built from stones quarried right here in one of our blocks.  Many homes have living rooms with a step down to create volume ceilings above, built in garages, narrow slat hardwood floors, and charming alcoves and niches. Some homeowners over the years have replaced light fixtures but a few have remained.

One of the most charming elements of Woodhaven is the concentration and consistency of Tudor styles.  Of course other home styles were built over the years, but the majority of homes lined up along the few streets are Tudors.  Be sure to drive through Woodhaven and Whittier Boulevards, Poe and Alcott Roads, and Thoreau and Bryant Drives in the spring when we have our secret little azalea show.

On the Ground: Southwest DC Waterfront

Welcome to my new occasional feature, "On the Ground." As you know from previous posts, part of my job involves previewing properties for current and future buyers and also to maintain my working knowledge of the local real estate market. A new goal of mine is to explore or rediscover neighborhoods in DC and Maryland on a broader level by viewing not only specific properties but also the surrounding areas.

My first journey took me to Southwest DC and the Waterfront area.  I had previously written about the new development in this area, so I wanted to get an On the Ground look at the current market, housing options, and neighborhood amenities.  Who better to assist me but a dear friend and current resident of one of the Harbor Square co-op buildings directly on the water.  Al was kind enough to guide me and my older daughter Lucy around on Bikeshare bicycles for about an hour, weaving through streets and developments with running commentary on the types of units and architecture, the accessibility to amenities and job centers like Capitol Hill, and other interesting and useful topics.

I must pause here to note that the photo above was taking directly in front of Al's building and his views are amazing of the water, Haines Point across the river, and of many of the notable landmarks in DC like the Washington Monument, the National Cathedral, and the Capitol Dome. And to give Al a big shout-out for his hospitality and his time.  

Back to my report on SW DC.... The recent redevelopment of the existing retail to include one of the nicest Safeway grocery stores I've ever seen (a far cry from the Soviet Safeway I used to rely on in my early days in Dupont Circle) and a CVS pharmacy add tremendous convenience to this area.  When they renovated the shopping, they also reconnected 4th St SW with the Mall to the North for better driving access.  With all the new planned housing development, it was awesome to discover the pockets of unique, mid-Century modern architecture throughout this area.  Some development from the 60s was in the style shown here. You can't find pockets of this style in many places in the DC Metro area.

I look forward to showing buyers this unique area of the city and to my next On the Ground adventure.