Owners of a D Street SE rowhouse desire to renovate its interior and to increase living space with an addition.
The lot is long and narrow – 17’ 6” wide and 170’ deep.
Being a row house with party walls on both sides, the interior towards the front is 15’4” wide by 29’ deep, and at the back 11’ 2” wide by 17’6” deep.
The first floor has a living room with fireplace, dining room, small toilet room and kitchen. The second floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom. Each floor has approximately 660 SF.
Adjacent to the back part is a 3’ wide side court which provides light into the dining room. Two pre-existing windows which would have provided light into the back part had been filled with solid, opaque material and covered over with framing and GPDW on the interior of the kitchen and small toilet room in the back part.
The front elevation has existing and oddly sized windows.
From several design options prepared by NSA and subsequent discussions with the client, the following ideas are being developed.
- Replace the existing and oddly sized windows on the front elevation with period-appropriate, energy-efficient windows.
- Add some form of cabinetry on both sides of the fireplace in the living room.
- Replace the existing double pocket doors separating the living room and dining room with a wider, cased opening without doors.
- Add soffits on three sides of the dining room ceiling to accommodate HVAC ductwork. On the ceiling between the soffits, add ceiling coffers.
- Relocate the small toilet room from the east side to the west side of the back part.
- Reconfigure the kitchen to include opening the two window openings and installing new, period-appropriate, energy-efficient windows.
- Add an addition to the back of the rowhouse for a Family/Sun room. The primary issue to resolve is securing approval of the 16’ addition desired by the client through the Special Exception process, since the current limitation is 10’.
- Reconfigure the second-floor bathroom and closet/storage for the existing front bedroom.
- Reconfigure the existing second bedroom as an office/nursery with its own bathroom.
- Relocate the second bedroom in the addition of the second floor with its own bathroom and walk-in closet.
- Select an option to develop for the elevation of the addition.
From the exterior elevation options prepared for the proposed new addition in the rear, the client selected features from several to create his own composition. The client wanted plank or lap siding rather than panels, full-height windows to flank the center double doors and transoms at the first floor, and a symmetrical Juliet balcony at the second floor.
