In 2005 Jane Adams and Scott Galupo purchased a lovely two-story Arlington colonial built in 1947 that had retained its original boxy configuration even as changing lifestyles had forced newer homes to offer larger living areas. When they welcomed a second child two years ago, they decided their house needed to expand with the family — but the family needed to stay put during the process.
So Moss Building and Design built a two-story addition, giving them more space but keeping that warmth and charm that had attracted them to their quaint colonial in the first place.
| Resources |
| » Moss Building and Design mossbuildinganddesign.com |
“The third bedroom was so small, like a lot of Arlington homes are,” Adams said. “We thought, yes maybe we could raise a child in a bedroom the size of a closet. But we didn’t want to.”
They considered selling and buying something larger but they loved their neighborhood, schools and the location; walking distance from the East Falls Church Metro station.
Adams, a lobbyist, and Galupo, a freelance writer, moonlight as musicians in a band they call Blame It On Jane. The part-time rockers tolerated the tight quarters, but had also grown tired of the many awkward features in the house.
“When you opened the front door you looked right into the kitchen at the stove,” Adams said. “The kitchen had one drawer and three cupboards you couldn’t reach.”
There was no bathroom on the main level and just one bath on the second level.
Moss had remodeled the basement a few years earlier. With this new project, workers framed the addition and erected a two-story temporary wall before beginning demolition.
They used flush beams, some as heavy as 1,000 pounds, to extend support from the existing structure to the addition. These beams, a variation of steel and wood, were attached to floor joists to maintain the structural integrity of the house. They insulated the temporary wall so that the family could live in the house during the entire process.
“The majority of our clients stay in the house during the remodeling process. So we put up temporary walls,” said Ryan Petit, the project manager who supervised the addition. “We were demolishing the brick while the 2-year-old slept in her bedroom.”
The first floor of the addition included a new kitchen and family room. Although designed like a galley, the kitchen has a large island with an overhang bar that opens to the family room.
White Bertch Legacy cabinets are topped with Bahia gold granite countertops. Red oak floors were installed to match existing floors. An office nook took up space occupied by the old kitchen and a powder room was installed beneath the stairs.
Her favorite feature: “the windows. I wanted lots and lots of windows.”
They first planned to extend the kitchen cabinets all the way down but by stopping short, they were able to have windows on all sides, which created a sun-room effect. It also gave them a sunny eat-in area.
In the family room, Adams chose a pair of disguised recliners from Lazy Boy in bold red-leaf fabric to accent two beige sofas. A large built-in white wall unit anchors the room and balances the wall of white cabinets in the kitchen.
Upstairs, most of the addition was used to give the couple a true master suite with large walk-in closets and luxury bath.
“I finally have a walk-in closet,” Adams said. “It was nice to have some mommy and daddy space. I know people make due with a lot less. Families live in small apartments so we don’t want to sound greedy.”
“But it was a huge upgrade in quality of life,” Galupo said.
