Dreaming of Home

Creating your ideal home is possible, but only if you’re equal to the task.

By John Frye

©Judy Davis/HDPhoto

Building the perfect home is a fleeting dream for most. It requires more than ample funds and loose ideas. The ideal house must be a product of its owner’s heart, much like any other work of art. And of course, like a deftly plotted novel or a masterfully produced painting, the devil is definitely in the details.

When a D.C. Metro-area couple decided to relocate to rural Montgomery County to find solace from the heavy pace and close quarters of city life, they set out to build a home with which they would be perfectly happy for the rest of their lives. They were prepared for challenges such as fine-tuning room dimensions mid-build and adding architectural details to balance ideas that looked complete on paper, but other more complicated issues popped up in the process as well. Reflecting on their finished home, the homeowner is proud of the feeling that she and her husband are living in a masterpiece. But they never could have created it alone.

Finding the Foundation

The couple contacted Natelli Custom Homes and Renovations after they had an idea of the home they wanted. They had chosen the site, a pleasantly spacious seven-acre property well west of the city. The homeowners had worked with Natelli before, and they knew that the company’s reputation for quality craftsmanship and personal service was well founded.

Once Natelli came on board, with Project Coordinator John Stebbins and Superintendent Greg Pittenger leading the way, building began in earnest. The design of the house was drawn by architect Glenn Fong, with plentiful input from the homeowners.

“We wanted a very distinct style,” the homeowner remembers, “and we wanted to be sure it worked.” She and the architect worked in tandem to find a balance that would work well and give thematic symmetry to the entire construction. “We decided on a combination of English and New England Shingle styles,” she explains. “They went well together because they’re both a product of the same era. The architect dubbed it ‘Shinglish.’”

The understated, shingled gray façade achieves a dramatic and attractive contrast with the rust-colored window details. This provides the foundation for the rest of the design of this home–one that is always beautiful but never ostentatious.

Defining a Space

One of the homeowner’s most important decisions–and one of Natelli’s most important contributions–came in the new kitchen. “Our previous home had a very open kitchen that spilled right into the next room,” the homeowner says. “We wanted something tighter with a more definite transition. Natelli’s finish carpenters were a huge help to us. They modified the kitchen details to our specifications on site and tightened the wall beyond the original design.”

The new opening is more than a meter wide, but it adds an element of separation that is exactly what the homeowner was looking for. Pittenger helped to coordinate this and many other adjustments that were seemingly made on the fly. “[Greg] was great. Anything that came up, he brought it to our attention so that we could all decide together,” the homeowner recalls. “And we did our best to make quick decisions.”

Natelli’s builders were just as appreciative of the homeowners. “They were a great couple to work with,” Stebbins says. “They made our job easy. All we had to do was build exactly what they told us to. They knew exactly what they wanted, and that’s a huge help.”

Beaming with Appeal

The kitchen empties into a living room with a high vaulted ceiling, and this offered Natelli’s team an opportunity to create an aesthetically pleasing architectural detail that was not in the original plan.

“The beams in the ceiling are nonstructural,” Stebbins explains. “They just enhance the visual appeal of the room and make it unique.”

“The high ceilings would have looked a little empty without the beams,” the homeowner agrees. “They make the room feel closerÖ somehow cozier.”

Despite the ceiling, the most interesting element in the room is probably the chandelier that looks like a piece out of a da Vinci design book. It’s one of those objects you can’t help but look at, and it’s easy to imagine there might be a host of untold stories behind it.

“It’s something I saw on a trip to the Washington Design Center,” she says with a chuckle. “I just liked it.”

Sometimes it doesn’t matter whether you plan it or stumble across it. The chandelier adds even more charm to an already appealing setting, a detail that makes the room remarkable and perfect.

Making a Getaway

Ironing out these details of the home carefully and correctly is what made the finished home an actual “dream” home. For instance, the homeowner was very particular about the outdoor living areas of the home. Spending time outside was of vital importance in their new rural paradise. “We wanted a patio we could just walk onto, a space where we could just sit, with a place to eat if we felt like it,” she says. “And we wanted no more than two steps down from the house, front or back.”

The result is a graceful stone patio that seems like an extension of the living room, a place with a peaceful view of their expansive property and a clear sky that is free from the pollution of the city lights. “The star-gazing is incredible,” she admits.

The patio was not the only outdoor retreat the couple wished to attach to the home. “A very important aspect to me was to have a spring porch that didn’t seem like an afterthought,” she explains. “So many are added on years after the home is built; I just wanted to have one that was as much a part of the home as anywhere else.”

The finished porch accomplishes just that, feeling like a relaxing outdoor wing that is the perfect spot for reading or drinking that first cup of coffee in the morning. Walled on three sides by screens, it offers a breezy retreat from the sun and a comfortable way for the couple to enjoy being outside in the sweltering D.C. summers.

Through the Finish

Many other details needed to be executed correctly to make the home perfect. One of the most basic came early in the design process. “I love watching the sunrise, and I wanted to be able to see it from the bedroom in the morning, regardless of the season,” she explains. That required examining the plot of land to determine how the house would rest down, to the degree. And that was only the beginning.

The master bathroom needed to be large and comfortable, but not palatial. The tub is clawfoot, in keeping with the architectural style of the home. There are separate vanities, and the shower has two heads, a detail she adds was of utmost importance to her husband. The bathroom also has radiant heat in its tiles, ensuring that her feet are never cold, no matter what the temperature might be outside.

In the bedroom, the size of the walk-in closets was determined by measuring the length of the homeowner’s hanging clothes. “It makes a big difference, having planned spaces,” she notes.

The angle of the house allowed for an upstairs office with a great window overlooking the garage and driveway, something that allows the homeowner to work in peace while maintaining a vantage over the property. The workspace also has an innovative desk that collapses into a faÁade of white-faced drawers.

The garage, with its doors perpendicular to the front entrance, is actually built with illusion in mind. “You only see the two doors on this side, but it’s a three-car garage,” the homeowner explains. “There’s another door around back. We just didn’t want the three doors side by side; we wanted to keep it subtle.” The wooden doors were also chosen because of their color, which complements the gray faÁade.

Colors were perhaps the most important of the finishing touches. In keeping with the home’s tasteful style, elegant, soothing colors were used. Beige, white, and brown dominate the interior. The walnut floors were chosen specifically for their dark brown hue.

By the Book

Natelli’s final contribution may have been its best. Along with the keys to the home, they turned over a book that details every aspect of the construction, from the type of paint used to the brand of floor tile and where they got it. It offers instructions should the homeowners ever need to replace or service any part of their home, and it is tabbed by category. In an undertaking as complex as their home, the homeowners find the book to be the ideal reference.

Of course, the gripping question is, were the homeowners and Natelli actually able to create the perfect home? “Well, I only have one problem with it,” she begins with a smile, her eyes following her excited puppy–a truly gargantuan golden retriever–as he darts past, ruffling a bit of carpet and stumbling across the hardwood floor, his nails dragging along the surface. “Walnut floors aren’t the best with a huge dog.” Thatís close enough to perfect for these happy homeowners.