Light Is Transformative
And that’s a good thing, since light levels have been substantially boosted in the house. The remodelers added 200 4- and 5-inch recessed lights throughout the home, all on dimmers. Although the fixtures are currently equipped with traditional bulbs, the homeowners plan to replace at least a portion of them with LED bulbs down the road.
Increasing the light level was a particular priority for Low. “Light is transformative,” she says, and the Potomac house was certainly in need of transformation. The homeowners were anxious to bring in natural light wherever possible. To that end, the Landis team added six skylights and seven solar tubes. Pairs of skylights were installed in the dim entryway, upstairs hallway, and the 40-foot-long screened porch, which runs along the kitchen and family room. Putting skylights in the porch allowed more light into the kitchen, Chris Landis explains. All of the interior bathrooms were given solar tubes.
The homeowners were absolutely delighted. “The light is the wow factor,” Low declares.
All the existing windows in the house were replaced with either double-hung or casement double pane, argon-gas–filled units from Pella’s ProLine series. The new wood windows have aluminum cladding on the exterior. The contractors also replaced all interior and exterior doors with Pella units. The exterior doors featured the same insulating glass as that used in the windows.
Because they wanted to retain the look of the house that their children had grown up in—and which they want them to return to—the homeowners resisted major changes to the home’s layout.
Nonetheless, there was plenty of reconstructive work, and a few tweaks here and there. A portico was built over the front door to provide shelter from the elements, but the biggest change to the main floor was a reworking of the master suite. The remodelers added French doors to the bedroom, bringing in plenty more light as well as access to the patio. The study was redone with all new cherry built-ins and desk, and an enlarged walk-in closet was lined with cedar and custom shelves. No longer do you enter the bathroom through the closet; it now has a separate entrance, radiant flooring, double sinks, a custom built-in for towels, and a low-flow, dual-flush toilet.
All of the home’s original bathrooms were remodeled, and two new full baths were added upstairs, plus a powder room just off the first floor entry with a custom-made wooden vanity. The curving staircase in the main hall got new rails and balusters.
Along the way, the porch had to be rebuilt, as did the deck above it. Apparently, the deck was a prior owner’s addition, and its surface rose 3 inches above the doors that led out onto it. When it rained, water just sheeted down the glass, rotting the wood sills and leaking onto the floors.
The new addition, a large bedroom plus full bath, can be combined with the rebuilt existing bedroom to create a self-contained suite. The new bedroom has windows on three sides and a kitchenette.
A multipurpose space, it can be used for guests, as a suite for a caretaker to look out for the property when the house is empty, or when the homeowners themselves might need a caretaker’s help as they age.
The existing pool and tennis court are also undergoing a facelift, with a new surround for the former and a resurfacing and new fence for the latter.
Even though the homeowners ended up doubling their budget to arrive at a house that looks essentially the same—albeit now highly efficient—they are satisfied with the outcome.
“This is the gathering place, the family house,” Low explains. “This isn’t a dream house, but it is a house that will make us happy.”
—Kate Tyndall is Remodeling’s Special Reports editor. She lives in Washington.