apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If the way "unique" modernistic home are selling here is any indication, I think he'll have a hard time unloading it.

I'm a preservationist, but that neighborhood doesn't look exactly "historic. And the zoning regulations clearly don't address style or height, which undercuts the whole point of historic district zoning.

The new house would be cool if it were in an urban setting -- in Manhattan or Toronto, I'd love it -- but here it's a monstrosity, and apparently intentionally so.

I love passive-aggression, so I vote Hot.

I'm not sure Jay Stanley knows what 'bemusement' means, nor do I believe his claim that he hasn't "heard anyone express disgust or dislike of it."

Spite is expensive!

Wow, talk about "in your face". I kind of like the house but I really hate the statement. And I'd hate the stairs, with my knees! But the PRICE! Puh-leeze!

I like contemporary. To get the last house in a NH development that had other things going for it, we wound up with a colonial, vinyl siding, shutters, farmer's porch -- NONE of which I'd have chosen if we didn't have to blend with the neighbors. But I live INSIDE the house, and that we have made pretty much what we want. The outside is ok, if not my actual taste, and I can accept it because I know the tradeoffs made the project possible for us, when our real dream house wouldn't have been anything we could afford and certainly not in the neighborhood we are in. Sometimes you just need to accomodate reality.

Historic Area? W/ a parking lot and a bus stop next door? Whoare the neghbors kidding besides themselves?

I voted "Hot" only because the house looks like it's flipping the bird at the neighbors....

"Most of the narrow houses in the DC-area are old homes in Georgetown or Capitol Hill."

I guess those are the only neighborhoods worth mentioning in the District. There are narrow row houses all over the District especially in other neighborhoods of NE and NW.

Btw, Clarendon is fine if you like living in an overpriced soulless non diversified area.

I vote Hot too. But mostly because busybody neighbors got no reason to be.

gorgeous. And serves the neighbors right.

Wow, what a ballsy move.
I like the windows everywhere.

I really love skinny homes, but I'm not sure this one is doing it for me. Narrow homes are usually designed to maximize the use of a very narrow lot, often in an urban environment. With so much space on each side, it looks out of place, especially given the context of the neighborhood.

I love the style of the place - completely anti-my-style, but I can still appreciate it. Still, that's an awful lot of money to spend just to spite your neighbors. Or, well, neighbors of the property you have bought to develop.

I wish we could see what would have happened if they were slightly less revenge driven, and just attempted to make the tallest possible house on the small area that would also look a little more like it belonged in the neighborhood. It could be something really different, instead of a normal mod house stuck in the wrong place.

There's an apartment like that near our old place in Boston. A big neighborhood full of brownstones and brownstone-esque buildings - and someone chopped off the top of one of the prettiest rows and dropped on a two story tall fishtank. No walls, all glass.

It looks pretty awful, but worse yet, it doesn't look like much fun to live in. Someone tried to install floor to ceiling curtains to give some feeling of privacy, but then it probably feels like a cave. And the apartment obviously acts like a giant greenhouse in the summer, because they have the biggest bear of an AC unit attached up top to try and combat the heat.

I live in a 12-foot-wide house in DC (Mount Pleasant), but it doesn't look skinny or weird because it's in proportion to the rest of the houses on the street.

This one, on the other hand, looks crazy. Obviously that's kind of the point, and from a distance I can appreciate the "flip the bird" aspect of building within the stupid guidelines that nonetheless looks totally unique and different ... but I'm definitely glad that my relationships with my neighbors aren't that contentious.

I have to vote hot, because I can't stand neighbourhoods where you can't build whatever sort of house you'd like because heaven-forbid it not match the "theme" the neighours were hoping for. I love old houses, I love modern ones, there's nothing wrong with a little mix and match as long as everyone's homes are in good repair.

The house is hot, but trying to screw up the vibe of a neighborhood isn't, no matter what the house looks like. It would be just as horrible if someone built a colonial next to a bunch of modern houses. It doesn't matter if the neighborhood above is historic or not.

And Clarendon isn't soulless...people should step off the main strip where recent development has taken place and take a walk through the neighborhoods. There are beautiful old houses with a lot of charm that would fit in to every mid-century modern dream of the average AT reader. They are just as overpriced as any other place in D.C. is

I'm a huge fan of oddly tiny homes. Isn't there one over in Old Town that's something like 6 feet wide that was made out of an alley many years ago because a home owner didn't like carriages driving between the houses? I love it.

In a world where space is becoming a premium, there is something a bit charming about not taking up space. While to original intent wasn't exactly positive, I think the message of this little house can be positive.

no charm or character whatsoever.

the little shown of it is nice although not my style. wish we could see more.

at 12 ft wide, i wonder what the kitchen and bedrooms look like. that full bath is craveable - and exhibitionist. :-)

I like it!

just saw the kitchen on one of the links - looks great, too.

By the way, I just read one of the linked articles and the developer was denied the same building variance that was given to other homeowners in the neighborhood. I completely understand his frustration.

Okay, maybe I take it back. On its own, I love the house. Once I read the article linked to, however, not so much. The builder sounds like a d*ck. I live in Seattle in a neighborhood of smallish 1940s-50s bungalow. There are a couple lots nearby with GINORMOUS modern homes lurking above all the cute cottages. Making the most of your lot is one thing, but making a statement with something totally out of character to your neighbors (and blocking their light) is nothing to be proud of.

Hm, so they are waiting to find somewhat who wants to pay $1M to move into a house designed with the sole purpose of pissing the neighbors off? Cute.

I live near here and walked past this recently. I usually hate the many similar houses (in style, not shape) that have popped up all over the area. They are enormous, McMansions with better style basically. Arts and craft monstrosities, I call them. This one looks better in person, but 1 million, whatever. And those windows, who wants to live like that--in this area?
Building over the entire lot and towering over the neighboring houses is not cool in any style in any area. Being dickish to prove a point?

"Spite Houses" go back a long time--back to the 1880s.

Clarendon is a popular place to live--cute shops, restaurants convenient to the Metro. There might just be someone out there into ultra modern and willing to pay that price. But that person shouldn't expect his/her neighbors to roll out the welcome wagon and bring a home-baked pie!

Although I believe in the right to free expression, how can you not take into consideration the rest of the houses near you? There's a street not too far from me that has older, 1-story homes. Plopped down in the middle: a McMansion-looking house (the owner/developer razed the previous 1-story). It was on the market for close to 2 years. Finally sold in a "short sale"--bad news for everybody.

This is the house equivalent of a spite fence. Why are you even featuring such a hate-driven thing, AT? The house (the outside view) fairly seethes with anger. It is aggressive looking, and might as well have a big "f*-you" sign painted down that vertical section of masonry (or shingles?).

There are enough narcissistic, take-all people in the world. They should not be celebrated.

I was right, this guy's company builds the big ass houses all over NoVa. Some of them are gorgeous, I admit, but they all look too big for their lots, (even if they are legal) and they often loom over small older houses.

I live in Arlington, VA. I liked Clarendon before it became Whoville. I still like Clarendon, but outside of the three blocks of outdoor shopping mall.

I would absolutely buy this house. It is in keeping with the whole Clarendon/Lyon Village neighborhood that architectural styles vary. Just about seven blocks West of there there are a couple of houses that look like they were taken out of Arizona, a number of tudors, craftsman bungalows, a few modern places.

The guy is trying to piss off his neighbors, but the general vibe of residential architecture here is not historic, it's conservatively eclectic.

love it. and can't wait to talk to my relatives that live nearby about it . . .

that part of northern VA is plagued by fugly McMansions made by popping the roof off smaller homes, cozy on their quarter acre or less lots

the zoning is pretty out of control and the aesthetics are hopeless.
So this bit of mod is a relief

I'm half and half. I hate dickish neighbors. And I hate dickish developers. I like both modern and historic neighborhoods, but it feels like everyone got screwed here. The statement the house makes is scale - not quality. Just bland and square - actually - perhaps that makes it a perfect fit for the neighborhood.

All I can say is that I'm glad those of you who support building something to spite the neighbors are not on MY block. That is no way to build community!

What modfan said.

It's a beautiful design but just not enough space for me... I couldn't even stretch my arms out in that bathroom! And i'm only 5'0"!

i think its hot. i'm not really interested in the drama, the spite, or other developer issues. i don't really know that area. its weird to me to see a parking space out front though.

and yeah,really narrow rowhouses are not uncommon in shaw, logan circle,truxton, eckington, trinidad to name a few dc hoods beyond georgetown and the hill.

This is like living in Tokyo apartment rooms, only having them all stacked on top of each other (and slightly bigger than usual). The water closet is actually bigger than the one in my apartment, so this doesn't seem all that small to me, and it's definitely sunnier, airier, and better designed than my place.

It's all about perspective. I like it, but I would prefer the spaces be connected horizontally rather than vertically in general. Like others, I don't care about the drama behind it all and am only looking at the house itself. However, I wouldn't pay that kind of money for a place like this.

I would love a house like that
on the slope of a mountain :)

woah- how do you take a bath in that place without feeling like all the neighbors are peeping toms!? needs window treatments for sure. :)

It's such an ugly block--where are the trees?--that I don't think it hurts or helps. It does seem incongruous to put such a skinny house on a not-so-skinny lot, and to put so much glass on a house with lousy views. That's the spiteful part.

I don't think it's the house that's an issue. It's really the fact that the house sticks out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood. Whenever you drive through a neighborhood like that, where one house is totally different from the rest, you never say, "Oh wow! Isn't that great!" More often than not, it just looks out of place.

As for the new buyer, I just wouldn't think it would be good karma to buy a house with those issues.

Is that a kid in the front yard looking over the fence at what a real house looks like? Or maybe he's giving them the bird. Maybe just my eyes are bad.

I live in a 1940's garden-style apartment community down the street from this "house". The beautiful bungalow next door, with similar models seen throughout the neighborhood, was built by the same builder who had a sign posted outside of this skinny house. I'm confused as to why this builder, whose company seems to pride itself on building modern bungalows to blend in with the style of the community, would built such a giant middle finger right next door.

Personally i'm appalled at all of the negative, ill informed, and completely WRONG statements everyone keeps spewing about Arlington County. As an Arlington resident, I am very proud of the many initiatives for smart growth and green development that Arlington County has been at the forefront of and a model for over the past 20 years.
Guido & others: Your impression and take on Arlington couldn't be any further from the truth. You are confusing us with the many outter suburbs of Washington, DC. The average home size in Arlington County is very modest and "MacMansions" are limited to only a few pockets here and there. And even where they exist, they have been done somewhat tastefully and with the intent of maximizing the lot size with minimal impact on the land and environment.

As for the house in question..I like it..it absolutely fits with the eclectic feel and vibe of the metro corridor of Arlington that runs from the Rosslyn neighborhood at the North, through Ballston and concluding in the city of Falls Church. Arlington residents know and value the mix of modern architecture and classic more traditional architecture that I predict will someday be a trademark of Arlington County.

It would be GREAT of Apartment Therapy DC would take time out to show case some of the inner suburbs of DC that have a TON of character and are historic and significant in their own right. People need to stop getting the impression that the surrounding areas of DC are dull & soulless cookie cutter developments. That couldn't be further from the truth. Arlington and Alexandria City would be my top pics. Heck, I'd be willing to contribute.

Sorry jamilkb,

but I live in Arlington, agree with guido, and I'm disgusted by the McMansions that are not done tastefully - I have never seen one that was tasteful in Arlington or Falls Church. I also am also very tired of the overly conservative vibe there too so this house is a breath of fresh air.

Love the Wooten Lofts but who can afford one.

Northern VA/DC needs an injection of something interesting and contemporary with imagination. I've been here for 20 years and love the area and all there is to do, but as a designer - we need to get alot more interesting design-wise around here.

Take a cue from NYC and London and go out on a limb NOVA.

I think the soulless part of Clarendon derives from the types of people who have moved into that area during the past decade or so plus the commercial developments that came along to accommodate them (Whole Foods, Pottery Barn, Dental Arts Studio, etc). For the DC Metro area, Clarendon is the area’s prime landing spot for recent fraternity and sorority grads. As you may know the DC Metro area is fairly diverse but Clarendon is obviously not. Please don’t even mention Rosslyn as I have been working here for the past 8 years. Rosslyn is government contract haven and hotels are getting replaced with new million dollar condos in a predominately commercial neighborhood.

I stand by my statement and points that Arlington County is by no means overrun with MacMansions. That just simply isn't true. Yes, MacMansions exist, but they do not make up a large portion of the housing inventory. If Arlington County is being overrun by anything, then i'd say condo's were the culprit.

Architectural taste for single family homes in general are conservative throughout the east coast. Arlington is no different and I feel it's more of a reflection on the shortcomings of the Architectural Design community in putting too much emphasis on making a visual statement moreso than designing and constructing feasibly livable AND visually stimulating and groundbreaking structure.

Personally I think the development throughout Arlington County balances the conservative/traditional tastes in single family homes with the wealth of more contemporary and modern styled yet understated condominiums that have been constructed over the past 10-years.

I hope that all the designers someday figure out a way to provide cutting edge design & appearance that is also a realistic place for a human to live without compromise. "Interesting" is great to look at, but can you live in it??

BTW, I like the house & i'd buy it... "if I had a million dollars" - Barenaked Ladies

Also...Arlington is NOT just Clarendon. It kind of irks me that Clarendon has become THE representation of Arlington County.

Folks should take some time to really explore the many neighborhoods throughout the county...north AND SOUTH Arlington.

Also, the house isn't really even IN Clarendon in my opinion lol...

Outsidenow, thanks for the comment about other locations in the district. I'm so tired of Georgetown and Capitol Hill getting so much love all the time. Nobody ever mentions the other parts of NW, NE, and (dare I say it?) SE. There is beautiful architecture all over (yes, all over) and the yuppies are so brainwashed into thinking that DC begins and ends at Dupont Circle. Ok I'm off my soapbox now.
As for the skinny house, I would vote hot for the style of the place. It's actually pretty cool in terms of the lines and the materials. However, I would vote NOT on the lack of consideration for the neighbors. Architecture is not created in a vacuum. Buildings ought to relate to their surroundings in some way and I don't think it's appropriate to blatantly build something just to spite a group of people. This house just belongs somewhere else.

"Northern VA/DC needs an injection of something interesting and contemporary with imagination. I've been here for 20 years and love the area and all there is to do, but as a designer - we need to get alot more interesting design-wise around here.
Take a cue from NYC and London and go out on a limb NOVA."

Agreed. After 7 years in the new home construction business, I'm really tired of seeing the same interior/exterior house after house. Boring.

I live in this neighborhood (Lyon Park). Mickey Simpson is systematically tearing down all the small bungalows and building overgrown houses that take up the entire lot. They're marketed as bungalows but only because of their general shape and and a few slapped-on, faux Arts-and-Crafts details. You have to look at them next to their neighbors to see what an abomination they are.

I agree with others that this skinny house wouldn't be bad in a more urban setting. I feel sorry for whoever buys it though...the neighborhood generally hates this house.

I've seen other examples of these narrow skinny houses in the DC burbs; carriage or coach houses they are sometimes called. I kinda like this one. It spices up the area.

That neighborhood does have a lot of historic bungalows, despite the picture. However, I love the house. Why not incorporate a more modern look too? It's not like this is an architecturally undistinguished house. What I object to are all the faux colonials. I mean, have some originality!

I love this house and if I had 1.125 mil to spend on one, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat.

What a jerk. Why didn't he just SELL the lots if he didn't get what he wanted?

awful. the developer acted like a child and I hope this costs him.

I'm not judging the house on its design merits though because it was designed out of spite rather than honesty. It will probably end up being torn down - a complete waste of resources. and it makes it seem like contemporary design is a punishment.

Ha -- where I live (inner Sydney) 12 feet wide is considered "an imposing frontage". I find the design of this place regrettable, however. Regardless of the neighbor-snubbing arrogance involved in its design, the look is both sterile and dull.

I don't know, I think it's cool. And I'll wager the rule-makers now wish they'd let this guy build what he originally wanted to build. When you throw your weight around, sometimes it swings back and knocks you on your behind.

Another bad example of "In-fill develpment". I live in Arlington and it kills me when they put in a McMansion that does not fit with the character of neighborhood. We have lovely Sear bungalows with front porches and to throw something like this is YUCK!!!

I think it's going to tip over!

sounds like the developer is a bit of a D*ck -- but honestly I think it's totally unreasonable that that neighbor gave him so much grief regarding his original plans.

Personally, I don't think neighbors should have much of a say on how you build on your own land (as long as it is within regulations).

I mean I totally understand maintaining historical integrity of buildings that can't be torn down or changed...but to say that people shouldn't be able to build a house that they like.... that's BS.

As far as this house...there are a lot of cool things about it -- but it looks a bit strange!

Personally, I can't stand neighborhood preservation organisations OR developers who build to sell (as opposed to building per the new owner's spec), so I'm happy both parties got shafted here.

if it's such a 'historical' district, why isn't it landmarked?

hot

It is out of scale with it's neighbors, period. The style is fine, although I wouldn't go with a tub totally surrounded by floor to ceiling windows. Do you put curtains on them all or what? Spite is not right.

Well, if the house is a contextual commentary on how fat and bloated the American house has become since the 1950s, this house is exceptional. Unfortunately, the home is probably located in a place (judging by the neighbor house) that artistic types are neither welcomed nor looking for a home to buy. Since it is mainly an artistic commentary, he may be sitting on that site for a while to come. Of course if IKEA starts selling their kit homes (http://ultraorange.net/2008/02/04/boklok-the-perfect-ikea-house-for-your-ikea-furniture-and-ikea-family/) in the US, maybe things will change. Until then American homes won't loose a few pounds and unneeded mud rooms, engorged kitchens, rec rooms, powder closets, formal "living" rooms, etc....And we wonder why the bottom fell out of the housing bubble?

OK, so I live in the neighborhood of this house, and I have been inside for the open house. And I completely love it. The master suite is gorgeous and each level is pretty and freshly thought out. And I really like the patio and backyard, which would be great for a number or social events.
Also, for those who say that this neighborhood doesn't look lke much, except for a parking lot and such, you're wrong. across the street from this house are rows and rows of pretty single-family houses, ranging from bungalows to larger scaled houses, which make up a surburban feel.
The 'Skinny House', which is has a very modern feel, sticks out, but I don't know if it sticks out in a bad way. It brings some diversity to the neighborhood (house style-wise). Also I don't think the message isn't all that bad or wrong. And although I wouldn't havenecessarily painted it that color, I really do like and welcome this addition to the neighborhood.

Go go passive aggression!