project profile
Spring Valley Home Renovated to Enhance Charm and Rectify Quirks

Homeowner Challenge:

This single-family home in DC’s Spring Valley neighborhood provides our clients the charm of an older home and the convenience of an in-town location. Unfortunately, as in most older homes, the character they loved came with quirks. When it was originally built, the owners wanted to save a large tree in the backyard and to do so, built the house at a slight angle. The tree eventually died, but the crooked home remained. The next owners built a rear addition, which included 1-2 stairs up or down into each of the adjacent rooms. This posed a safety issue for our clients, as well as their future children and aging parents. These two quirky design issues and a dated kitchen created the need for a first-floor renovation.

The BOWA Solution:

BOWA’s In-House Design Team’s first step was to create a level, safe and updated floorplan. The floor was raised in the back rooms to create safer passageways to each room, with the den left slightly sunken to leave the tall ceilings intact. The powder room was moved to the opposite side of the hallway to enlarge the kitchen’s footprint. This move also created the opportunity to build a wet bar in between the newly connected living room and sunken den. These changes in layout allowed the design team to straighten the originally slanted home and update other unique quirks along the way. The kitchen now features a larger, more modern design with plenty of storage and high-end appliances.

Project Highlights:

• New bay window in the kitchen looks out on updated patio.
• New trim work throughout first floor living room, kitchen, mudroom and dining room.
• Updated mudroom in between garage and kitchen.