Tour the House

This beautiful 1925 Spanish bungalow was completely renovated and expanded with a second-story addition in 2009.  Many 'green' features were added to the house, including energy-efficient windows and appliances, spray-foam insulation, on-demand water heaters, and radiant floor heat.  The house stays warm in winter and cool in summer, and the utility bills stay low all year round. 

Most of these architectural glamour shots were taken by a professional photographer in September 2009.  [Photo credit: Greg Hadley Photography.]  You may notice that some of the accessories -- lamps, vases, flowers -- seem to shift around in different shots of the same room, or move from room to room. They call that 'staging'.  Just for the record, my favorite flowers are NOT yellow chrysanthemums. OK, on with the tour...

If you were walking to the house from the Metro (subway) station a couple blocks away, here's the view as you approach the house.

Here's the front view-- plants in the front are much larger now

The front porch is very welcoming. A lovely place to hang out when the weather is nice.

Welcome! Here is the front door, which is original to the house.

From the entryway, you can see through the living room to the dining and family rooms.

The living room has a working fireplace and built-in bookshelves.

Dining room and kitchen

Kitchen from dining room. Solatubes provide natural light in kitchen.

Another view of the kitchen from the family room.

Family room, with door to back yard.

Main level/guest bathroom

There are two bedrooms on the main level: a guest bedroom adjacent to the bathroom, and another one used as an office. The photographer didn't provide photos of either room, but here are a couple non-professional photos.

Guest bedroom.  Connected by private hallway to bathroom above.

The other main level bedroom can also be used as an office or playroom

 The stairs are one of the main focal points of the house, with handmade tile from California.

Upstairs, there are three bedrooms (including a master suite), two bathrooms, and a laundry room.

Front upstairs bedroom, with balcony doors open.

Closet doors in back upstairs bedroom.

The master bedroom, with built-in shelving and window seat.

The master bath, with dual sinks, soaking tub, and large steam shower.

The upstairs bathroom has a pocket door separating
the sink area from the toilet and tub/shower

Rear view (before garage & driveway were added)

The garage was built in 2010 and the driveway extended to meet it.

Large garage with carriage doors and side entry.

Long driveway provides plenty of off-street parking

Private back yard with brick patio and landscaping.

Here is a floor plan of the house to help make sense of how the rooms are laid out.

 Most of the 'green' features of the house are hidden. Down in the basement, you can see the hot-water recovery system. As hot wastewater from the shower, washing machine, or dishwasher drains out through the big pipe, it heats clean water in the copper pipe wrapped around it. That water goes to the on-demand water heaters, which have to use less energy to heat it the rest of the way to 120 degrees. The green plumbing pipe is also 'green'. This super-efficient boiler heats the water for the radiant floor heat throughout the house (and small radiators in the basement), which keeps the house very cozy in the winter.
Here's a short video about the neighborhood -- the location can't be beat!