Jennifer Sergent at UrbanTurf explains that the couple, principal architects of Adamstein & Demetriou and known for their luxe modern spaces, were attracted to the property for the view. However, rather than tearing down the little structure to make room for their dream home, they incorporated the original house into it. Aside from a small jut-out on the side of the house, the home's facade has all the appearances of a charming little Sears home. But that's about where the similarities between it and its kit counterparts end.
Adamstein and Demetriou created a thoroughly modern addition in back complete with stories of windows that allow the family to take in the gorgeous views of the Potomac that first drew them to the property.
Check out the full article, including details of this home's listing price (yes, it's on the market!) over at Urban Turf.
Images: via Urban Turf
One of my favorite homes growing up was a tiny Sears-Kit bungalow from the 1920s. Space was at a minimum, but the layout was functional and humanly proportioned, and w
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I would absolutely love to know where to find that couch! Any ideas?
I know this interior is not to everyone's taste, but I really like the interior and appreciate the fact that the owner-architects worked with what they had structurally rather than do, as so many people have done in the DC metro area, tear it down completely and build a cheesy McMansion (e.g., a very large house with Greco-Roman columns, colonial shutters and Spanish tiled roofs) in its place.
gorgeous!
I love it and hate it at the same time. I like that it's like 2 houses in one--bungalow on the front and modern on the back. But it's just so big and the inside is so modern that it lost the bungalow charm. Maybe I need to see more pictures of the interior to appreciate it.
There's nothing wrong with the modern addition on the back, but that extra "bit" they added on the right side, different roofing and all, just ruins it.
I love the whole thing--especially the extra bit on the right side!
Ooohh I am really on the side of the nattering nabobs of negativism on this one... this is not preservation by any means. It's a facadectomy. Sure it's good for the continuity of the neighborhood that the exterior remains consistent, and it *is* good that it's not another neo-Greco Roman McMansion, but it's been gutted to within an inch of it's life and then some. It's a teardown in all but name and the first six inches of the exterior (and perhaps a bit of the interior which I couldn't see). I might believe more in it if it weren't on the market, which makes me think it was more an investment than a labor of love. The interior is really nice though, it just doesn't fit the spirit of the original house. Sorry for the negativity.
If they had at least matched the roofing material on the front it would have been better. It looks unfinished from the front. The back is OK, but I am continually perplexed by people who buy old homes and rip out all the charming features.
The new interior is pretty, but fairly bland and soulless.
Yeah - It's sad.
There are plenty of ugly/featureless McMansions in the DC area they could have worked their magic on - They didn't need to destroy a sweet little bungalow to have this.
Well there's a solution... My taste is historic bungalow and my partner's modern shipping container. Who'd have thought.
I like the rear exterior, and I like the kitchen.
But, as others have mentioned: make the front continuous instead of 2 different roof types.
There's a lower level under the kitchen, but due to the sunken living room there probably isn't on that side? I'd have kept the living room the same level as the kitchen- plenty of light with floor to ceiling windows. If you really want the tall ceiling for the living room, move the bedroom from above to below and expose the rafters above.
But beyond all that:
An addition on the home increased it to six bedrooms, 4.5 baths and almost 6,000 square feet of interior space.
6,000 square feet... $2.93million.. doesnt really seem to jive with the website ApartmentTherapy.com
I hated this when it was featured on my local blog, and I still hate it now. If you were going for a modern look (which is extremely well-executed, by the way), why didn't the owners just tear down the house, or buy a vacant lot and build up from there? Why ruin an old bungalow by attaching that weird asymmetrical section to one side?
This reminds me of a house in my hometown (Nashville) where the owners took a classic red brick Federal house and essentially put a huge white vinyl-sided pop-up on the back which came up over the original roof line, so you could see it from the street. The addition has been there since about 1990 and is as godawful now as it was when I was a kid. Breaking up the lines of the original house like that just looks terrible.
Note that the angle of the first photo is deceptive. This is *not* a single roof line, half shingled and half metal. The new/metal section is *behind* the original Sears section, set back about 15' as far as I can tell.
Wow, what a schizophrenic space.
I agree, they should have at least matched the roofing on the front side. The interior is gorgeous, but all the original bungalow charm is lost.
I'm sort of puzzled by this one too---I like modern, and I love bungalows. This somehow succeeds at being neither. The interior is gorgeous, but the bungalow facade is bizarre. At first I thought perhaps this was in Old Town and they wanted a modern home, but weren't allowed to tear down the old house (in which case, points for creativity...I guess?) But doesn't look like it is. So, yeah. Why not just build modern, and leave the bungalow for the bungalow lovers?
@ Sashu Grubor. That sofa is a really common style, check out west elm, cb2, etc. there are many like it. if you like the two tone, find something great and upholster the bottom as shown. seems like a great fun project!
These little Sears Roebuck kit homes are very valuable now. I know of someone who lived in one and was offered quite a lot of money for her house. The architect looking to buy the house wanted to disassemble it and move it somewhere else. Apparently it's quite a lucrative, niche market.
Note to the editor: this house is located in DC, not Alexandria. It is beautiful!
I love it guys!! Modern AND retro all in one! My hat's off to ya! BRAVO!