2011年10月19日星期三

Family resurrects original plans for remodeling townhouse

The original owners of this 2001 Reston townhouse opted out of what they considered costly or undesirable upgrades. When Chuck and Andrea Sullivan purchased that house in 2008, they opted in, bringing back options erased from the original blueprints.

Building upon existing floorplans and roughed-in plumbing, Summit Remodeling installed a fireplace in the family room and converted a closet in a basement powder room to the shower it was intended to be. The result is a family room and full basement bath, upgraded beyond expectations.

The townhouse is situated among a cluster of city-style rowhouses located walking distance from Reston Town Center. When first built,Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, buyers had several models to choose from. Most of the Sullivans' neighbors, who purchased this particular model, chose to get a fireplace that separated the kitchen from the living room. The Sullivans' home was left with an awkward empty alcove.

"When I first came to their house, I thought, 'Somebody forgot to put a fireplace there,' " said Sam Scott, director of operations of Summit Design.

"It was useless," said Andrea Sullivan. "We could put a TV stand or maybe a Christmas tree.Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt, ... We knew right away we wanted to change it."

But retrofitting a gas fireplace can be tricky,then used cut pieces of Ceramic tile garden hose to get through the electric fence. especially in a wall in the center of the house. "We were not going to do anything that would weaken the house," Scott said. "Luckily the floor joists are 18 inches tall."

The bigger issue was figuring out the proper ventilation system that would allow for a gas fireplace and television niche above it.Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, Because the wall was deep and hollow, Summit was able to install a Heat & Glo Escape-36 direct-vent gas fireplace and 52-inch television above it. All the cords from the television and audio/video components were fed to a cabinet behind the wall, accessible from an opening on the side.

"We didn't want any chords visible," said Andrea Sullivan. Right under the TV there is a small RF repeater that sends signals from the remote control to the electronic components in the cabinet. This allows for a clean, clutter-free facade finished in Villa de Jardin sandstone veneer instead of the faux stone they first considered. "You avoid that fake look," Scott said.

"Everybody loves it," said Sullivan. Most of her neighbors have a more traditional, Colonial fireplace with white mantle. We wanted something more modern with a rustic feel."

After tackling the family room, the Sullivan's decided to upgrade a basement powder room into a full bath. The previous owners installed a lower level power room, with a large closet instead of the upgrade of a shower. A drain was roughed in. "We had an idea where the water line was, it was a matter of finding the drain," Scott said.

After locating the drain, remodeling the bath became a style and function issue. They used the same pentagonlike shape of the closet as the blueprint for the shower and installed 13-by-13 Crema Pavia Antica tile. Because her mom visits often Andrea Sullivan wanted the bath fitted with grab bars. Laurie Crum, a design consultant with Summit, found stylish brushed nickel bars.

"There are more options for baby boomers," said Crum, who champions Universal Design as commonsense remodeling. "You don't have to get the ugly gas station bathroom bars." Smaller mosaic tile covered the shower floor and the same tile was used as an accent boarder in the shower. A heavy clear glass shower surround created the illusion of a more spacious bath.The additions focus on key tag and magic cube combinations,

没有评论:

发表评论