What an exciting weekend! Marcie is going to hold our second new listing open. It’s a cool mid-century modern house with tons of space (5 bedrooms, 3 full baths, huge family room and screened porch) in Bradley Park. Come see – we just prepared some pretty cool handouts… If this is your style, you will just love it!  Listed for $799,000.

It’s an exciting weekend for the House Smarts! We have two great new listings coming on the market. Here is number one – stay tuned for the other, as well as a little more info!

Catarina Bannier | Evers & Co. | (202) 487-7177 7818 Stable Way, Potomac, MD Sophisticated Suburban Living With An Easy Commute And GloriousViews Of the Woods 6BR/5+1BA Single Family House offered at $1,295,000 Year Built 2000 Sq Footage 4,335 Bedrooms 6 Bathrooms 5 full, 1 partial Floors 3 Parking Unspecified Lot Size 7,638 sqft HOA/Maint $270 per month DESCRIPTION Classy brick colonial with an abundance of space and sweeping private views of parkland. The large home, built in 2000 in the final section of the River Falls community, has 6 bedrooms and 5 full and one half bath. Many built-ins and upgrades as well as surprising bonus features give this home its special appeal.River Falls offers the best of suburban living: wide streets with side walks, mature trees and a community center with tennis courts, park and award-winning pool club that has been the neighborhood’s hub for nearly 40 years. There is easy access to shopping centers and the Beltway. The commute to downtown DC is made quick by a reversed rush-hour one-way system on Canal Road. River Falls is part of the Whitman high school cluster area.First Floor:- Bathed in sunlight, the deep two-story foyer welcomes you into this gracious home. It features a coat closet and several nooks and crannies for stashing your mail, or hanging artwork. - French doors open to the bay-windowed formal dining room, overlooking the front garden. - The formal living room – currently used as a library – features beautiful built-in bookshelves. Originally a separate office and living room, the rooms have been combined to create one large space with green views. The super-sized family room with gas fireplace, built-ins, arched openings to the kitchen, a wall of windows and glass doors leads to a deck deck and patio that are set against the serene backdrop of the woods. A second stairway from the family room offers easy access to the 2nd floor. - The sleek kitchen sports Corian and granite counter tops, handsome maple cabinetry, stainless Viking 6-burner range and oven, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a built-in second wall oven and microwave. An adjacent breakfast room opens to the deck as well. - Nestled between the kitchen and the 2-car garage are a large, walk-in pantry and a mud-room with closet – perfect for trips home from the grocery store. 2nd Floor: The large master bedroom offers a sitting area with vaulted ceilings and glorious views of the woods. Two (!) walk-in closets. Spacious master bath with travertine-style tile, double vanities, walk-in rain shower and a separate, deep Rocaille bathtub with tree top views. Bedroom #2 overlooks the back yard and has its own en-suite bathroom with tub. - Bedroom #3 features a large, windowed walk-in closet and a Jack-and-Jill full bath with two vanities, leading to bedroom #4. - Laundry Room with linen closet, utility sink and space for folding table - Hall linen closet Lower Level: Accessed from the main hallway, the basement offers up a surprising abundance of additional space. -A large, tiled recreation room opens to a covered patio area with steps to the back yard. -Bedroom #5 features its own full bath and closet and overlooks the back yard area. -Bedroom #6 also faces the back yard, and has a large closet. An additional full bath is accessed from the rec room - Two huge bonus rooms – one of them with closets and built-ins – can serve as gym, home theater (or even a tricycle course for rainy days!). - Utility closet - second laundry hook-up Potomac see additional photos below
PROPERTY FEATURES - Basement - Bonus/Rec room - Breakfast nook - Dining room - Family room - Laundry room - Library - Living room - Master bath - Mud room - Office/Den - Pantry - Storage space - Walk-in closet - Dishwasher - Dryer - Garbage disposal - Microwave - Refrigerator - Stove/Oven - Washer - Balcony, Deck, or Patio - Garden - Lawn - Ceiling fans - Central A/C - Central heat - Double pane windows - Cable-ready - Garage – Attached - Fireplace - Granite countertop - Hardwood floor - High/Vaulted ceiling - Tile floor COMMUNITY FEATURES - Clubhouse - Playground - Swimming pool - Tennis court
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Front elevation Library Kitchen Family room off kitchen Kitchen Family room Dining room Powder room Master bedroom Master bath One of the bedrooms Extra space on lower leve Lower level rec room One of the bathrooms Bonus room #1 Bonus room #2 Rear of home Deck off kitchen and fami View of backyard from fam
Contact info: Catarina Bannier Evers & Co. (202) 487-7177 For sale by agent/broker

Posted: Apr 17, 2013, 8:30am PDT

Delightful 1918 Center Hall Colonial

In the Town of Chevy Chase

Featuring the best of early 20th century architecture combined with the desirable amenities of the 21st century, this elegant home has been thoughtfully expanded and renovated and is ideal for both every-day living and large-scale entertaining. The gracefully proportioned house offers 6 bedrooms, 3 full baths and 2 half baths, a screened porch, handsome stone patio and mature gardens. (Scroll down to bottom for a map.)  –

First Floor

Large living room with wood-burning fireplace
Elegant dining room with chair rail and ample space for large dinner parties
Butler’s pantry with swinging door to dining room
Powder room
Screened porch
Large kitchen with fresh tile and paint, GE Profile double convection oven and stove, and oversized KitchenAid refrigerator
Family room overlooking garden and side yard
Mudroom with slate floors and coat closet

Second Floor

Master bedroom suite with his-and-her walk-in closets and reclaimed hardwood pine flooring
Custom designed master bath with oversized soaking tub & double sink
Four additional bedrooms, one with en-suite half bath
Hall window seat with shelving
Top-of-the-line hall bath with 2010 renovation featuring rain shower
Linen closet

Third Floor

Reclaimed pine flooring in home office (6th bedroom), featuring window seat, built-in book cases and large closet
Storage Room (also housing HVAC)

Lower Level

Recently renovated walk-out rec room
New windows throughout
Music room
Wonderfully renovated bath with shower
Laundry and storage room with front-loading washer and dryer
Sump pump
2 water heaters

Features and Amenities

9’ ceilings on the first and 2nd floors
Gorgeous hardwood floors throughout
4 phone lines and wired speaker system
High efficiency central air, 2-zone HVAC
Ample space for future garage
New carpet in the basement and stairways
Window treatments convey

Exterior

Large 10,800 s.f. lot
Pretty stone entryway
Parking for a crowd
Handsome stone patio
Wooden deck with access to family and mudroom
Fully fenced back yard
Lush and lovely landscaping
Less than a mile to Metro and the shops of Bethesda/Chevy Chase

Legal Information

Lot P35, Square 4
Year Built: 1918
Lot Size: 10,800
Tax ID #160700465883
Estimated Taxes 1st Year of Ownership: $15,455
Heating: Gas hot water (forced air option)
Cooling: 2-zone CAC

Recent Improvements:

Landscaping 2011
New iron fence
New wooden fence
Stone Patio
Basement finished/bathroom renovation
2nd floor hall bath renovation
Air condition replaced in
Chimney reline and fan replacement
Driveway repaved
Stonewall
Complete basement foundation rebuild and water remediation
Deck replaced
Water heater
TV/electric system
Lighting
Exterior house painting
Carpeting
Insulation

Disclosures will be e-mailed upon request.  Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

This 1927 Sears “Woodland” Kit House in Silver Spring, MD, was customized to incorporate features and design elements of the smaller but popular “Fullerton”

There’s a lot of discussion in the historic kit house community about custom built kit houses, and the difficulty they pose when it comes to authenticating a mail-order home. “Custom kit” sounds like a misnomer, but it actually isn’t. The customization was done not on site by the builder but before shipment by a Sears (or Lewis or Wardway, etc.) staff architect, and the kit was then cut, sorted and packaged according to those changed specifications.

All the major mail-order house companies, including Sears and Lewis, the  most popular brands in the DC area, offered such options to the consumer. In fact, national kit house expert and historian Rosemary Thornton (“The Houses That Sears Built”) believes that 30 percent all all ordered kit houses came with some kind of customization.

Some of those customizations were upgrades (like brick veneer instead of wood siding), others had to do with lot restrictions or a family’s size requirements (making a house a couple of feet wider or narrower, or working extra additions like sunrooms or pantries into the  floor plan).

And then there were the ones for the more picky kit house buyer, who just couldn’t find the perfect model in the 135 or so page catalog. The ones that wanted a “Martha Washington” portico on their “Rembrandt”  or different windows, or liked one model but preferred the staircase location of another.

In some cases, the result was a hybrid of different models of the same mail-order catalog. One of those just came on the market in close-in Silver Spring, MD. It’s a 1927 Sears “Woodland” (by dimension, structure, footprint and architectural detail), but received the facade, smaller entry area and stairs of the  (overall much smaller) “Fullerton” model. Obviously, someone did not want to waste space on a useless, if stately, reception hall!

It’s a pretty house, and many other modifications have been made since (such as a powder room in the former first-floor closet or the transformation of one bedroom into a master bathroom). Some of the origins can still be traced nicely–as in the sturdy kit house window trim or the original built-in “medicine case”–, other elements–such as all the door hardware–have been obliterated. You can see excellent pictures of the listing here. The 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath house is offered by Re/Max Plus for $699,900.

As always, if you’d like to tour this “Woodland” or any other DC/MD home on the market — kit or contemporary — just let us know!

If you’d like to learn more about the historic 20th century mail-order homes, or if you think you live in one and would like help authenticating it, check out some of our other kit house blogs and posts.

And if you’re thinking you would like to live in an original Sears catalog home… maybe even a Woodland, please get in touch with us.  We are constantly scouring the marketplace for authentic catalog homes, and would be delighted to help you find one of your own.  Fill out the form below, or simply pick up the phone and give us a call.

It’s not often that I have dogs at my open houses.  Franky is the exception.  Generally, he’s a mellow old soul.  Today was a little different.  He decided to greet everyone at the door, sniffing away, barking occasionally.  No one seemed to mind much.  Sadly, he does not come with the house.  And it’s a mighty fine house.  If you care to see it (or Franky), give us a call.  Or click here for a sneak peek.

]]> http://dchousesmarts.com/2012/11/what-about-the-dog/feed/ 0 http://dchousesmarts.com/2012/11/a-pretty-and-almost-pure-puritan-for-rent/ http://dchousesmarts.com/2012/11/a-pretty-and-almost-pure-puritan-for-rent/#comments Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:49:36 +0000 Catarina Bannier http://dchousesmarts.com/?p=1708

For Rent in Shepherd Park: 1924 Sears Kit House with open kitchen and fenced-in backyard

Cute rental houses with a little yard, on a sweet block and in walking distance to the Red Line metro are hard to come by in Northwest Washington DC these days, let alone at a reasonable price. Thus, we have no doubt that this charming 3-bedroom, 2-bath Sears “Puritan” will be snatched away quickly. It was built in 1924 and just hit the market for rent in Shepherd Park for $2,500 per month.

It’s a smaller model, though perhaps not as small as it seems, but it seems to have been extremely popular. We’ve come across nearly a dozen of them between Takoma Park and Bethesda.

There are currently no MLS pictures online of the Dutch Colonial-style frame home, but when I saw the house last year, it pretty much still looked like in this 2006 photo tour.

Click on the thumb print of the mail-order catalog pages above to see a larger PDF version.

While the house has been adapted to a more contemporary life style (the kitchen has been opened up at some point, and sliding doors off the dining room now give access to a deck), many details have been preserved. Most doors still have the original “Strathmore” hardware; the front door and many windows as well as much of the trim are intact as well.

“Star Garage” No. 13043 as seen in the 1922 Sears catalog

A charming touch, at least for those of us in the know, is the garage — accessed from the alley — that comes with the house. It was also ordered from the Sears catalog — check out the characteristic 5-piece Sears eaves brackets and the little window above the door. It was offered in several different sizes and with then-high tech tri-fold doors (which didn’t survive).

Wondering why there are two of those garages? Well, the house right next door is a Sears “Fullerton” built at the same time, but in rather sad shape today. Surely, they either had the same builder, or the owners coordinated their efforts.)

As always, if you’d like to tour the “Puritan” or any other DC/MD home on the market — kit or contemporary — just let us know!

If you’d like to learn more about the historic 20th century mail-order homes, or if you think you live in one and would like help authenticating it, check our some of our other kit house blogs and posts.

And if you’re thinking you would like to live in an original Sears catalog home… maybe even a Puritan, please get in touch with us.  We are constantly scouring the marketplace for authentic catalog homes, and would be delighted to help you find one of your own.  Fill out the form below, or simply pick up the phone and give us a call.

1928 Beauty- an authentic Sears Winthrop

Painted bright yellow with sky blue shutters, you won’t want to miss this little time capsule of a home, located in the Crestwood section of Bethesda… within walking distance of downtown Friendship Heights. .

The exterior of this particular Winthrop could be lifted directly off of the Sears Kit House catalog page.  The shutters look to be original.  The porch is pristine and still sports the same thin beams.  The front door looks like it might have changed, but the arc of the entryway is spot on, as are the dormers and the chimney.  Inside are a bunch of markers of Sears homes… such as the famous junction blocks at the  stairway trim, the plain-bottom, back band window moldings, the “Narcissus” door knobs or the “Colonial fireplace” the home was endowed with –check out the catalog and real-life pictures below. (Also, you can see the MLS pictures here.)

What really caught my eye, however, were the markings under the basement stairway.  It’s a good thing that I’ve been dieting lately, because I had to squeeze behind the furnace to get a good look.  Why I didn’t think to send my elfin partner Cati in for the task speaks to my reckless enthusiasm upon discovering the markings!  This is the first house where I’ve seen an actual catalog number written in grease pencil on one of the beams.  So, hey- this is an authentic Sears catalog home!

Built in 1928, the original house offered up 2 bedrooms and one full bath. Today it has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths, thanks to an addition in the back.

On our way out of the house we ran into the owners.  They bought it from the son of the fellow who originally built the house. They actually had heard it was a Sears house, and had even tried to find images, but were unable to identify the house. (Well, actually, if all the kit houses we have here were as easily identified as this one…) The owners told us the house hadn’t been in the best of shape when they purchased it. They tried to preserve as much as they could but the siding unfortunately was beyond repair.

The “Winthrop” is available for $699,500, or you can rent it for $3,125 per month.

Bedroom door knob (upper left) from the house, and pictures from the1928 Sears catalog

If you’re thinking you would like to live in an original Sears catalog home… maybe even a Winthrop, please get in touch with us.  We are constantly scouring the marketplace for authentic catalog homes, and would be delighted to help you find one of your own.  Fill out the form below, or simply pick up the phone and give us a call.

Most of the time, however, there’s a blank. We can only speculate (and we often do!). More often than not, current kit house owners have no idea their home was built from a kit, and sometimes they have no idea what that even means. (We’ve been asked whether that meant it was “kind of manufactured” or “prefabricated.”) Other people, however, who have heard of kit homes and are excited about them, frequently have come to believe their house is a kit when in fact it’s not.

That said, it’s always delightful to come across a real kit house history, like the one that’ so lovingly documented on this little website. The Troyers of Kansas are telling the almost 100-year old story of their Sears “Concord,” complete with lots of pictures. Gee, I love this. Really.