A Rambler Grows Grand

A one-story home transforms into a sprawling New England farmhouse.

By Marion Butterworth

Photo by Omar Salinas

This modest one-story home was transformed into a New England farmhouse by the addition of a second floor, dormers and a gambrel roof. The porch floor is tongue and groove Brazilian walnut, and the exterior features more than 40 landscape lights.

Life is full of secrets. To discover them, you have to be willing to do a little digging and then let the story unfold. While some of us are wowed by the brand spankin’ new, magnetized by its sheen and perfection, others exult in combing thrift shops, ever on the hunt for the next big find. They might not know what it is; they just know it’s out there, waiting. Peeling paint and dents don’t dissuade; they sweeten the prize, clues as they are to the story. A love of history fuels these treasure seekers.

Aged to Perfection

So it’s no surprise that when this Falls Church homeowner, a self-described “junker” with a fondness for Americana, decided it was time to move, he went looking for a house with a past.

Unlike many in the housing market, he dreamed not of gleaming granite and polished hardwood, but of random planks with worm holes and stone mellowed by years of wear and weather.

What he found was the serendipitous intersection of location, lot and history. “I fell in love with the land. It’s a little over an acre-and-a-half,” he says. “Plus, Sleepy Hollow,” the Falls Church neighborhood inside the Beltway where the house is located, is experiencing “an amazing revitalization and a new energy. It gave me the same feel of Franklin Park and McLean. It’s five traffic lights from D.C., but its acre-plus parcels give the community a rural feel.”

Another reason for his choice was that he wanted the character of an older home. “I was looking for a good structure that I could build off of; starting from scratch goes against my philosophy that older is better. An old house has character and charm. There’s a romance to it.”

He says, too, that he was invigorated by the uncertainty and challenges of a remodel. “Each project has its own life. No two are alike. Every one offers new experiences, a new cast of characters and opportunities.”

Connected to the Past

As he got further into negotiations to buy the unassuming 2,600-square-foot rambler, he discovered that he had hit the jackpot in more ways than one. “The previous owners had left neat old antiques behind—furniture and memorabilia that intrigued me. The more I researched, the more I found out.”

He learned that the home’s former owner is related to one of our founding fathers. “The seller was the niece of Mr. Murray, who was the great grandson of Richard Rush, appointed Secretary of Treasury by President John Quincy Adams. Rush was also one of President Madison’s closest friends and advisers. Richard Rush was the grandson of Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The seller had an estate sale, and I was able to buy pictures of the family and the house. The house’s history made its purchase even more appealing,” he says.

Farmhouse Informality

He had a clear vision for his new home. “I sketched it out on a napkin at the 7-Eleven around the corner while my offer was being considered. I love New England—Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont. I wanted a New England farmhouse with tons of moldings and bead board.”

While on antiquing forays in the Northeast searching out miniature sailboats and carnival collectibles, he had come to cherish the slower pace of life in New England villages. “It’s different up there. There’s not the hustle and bustle of D.C. With this house, I wanted to create a lifestyle, not just add on,” he says.

Sensitive Stewards

A home with big open spaces that invite gatherings of friends and family, he envisioned a wide welcoming front porch, the lovely symmetry of New England farmhouses and a Dutch Colonial-style gambrel roof were the gracious elements.

“Anyone can build a house, but it takes a sensitive craftsperson to safeguard the integrity of an older home. Every house has a story. I wanted to be a good steward of the story,” explains the owner.

To that end, he engaged the services of Doug DeLuca, owner of Federal Stone and Brick and Federal Home, which specializes in the renovation of historic properties. “Doug has the same affinity for old homes and architectural salvage as I do. His goal is to make new construction look 100 years old.”

Says DeLuca, a third generation stone mason, “We wanted the house to feel old and traditional and stay true to its character.”

They unearthed another unexpected bonanza when the above-grade walls and floors were removed. Double-cross brick against cinder block comprised a super-strong foundation. “The architect, Jorge Pardo, who also has an extensive engineering background, said we could build an amazing structure off that,” says the homeowner.

Over the course of 10 months, they added an 800-square-foot great room across the back and two more floors on top of the existing structure. The rambler more than quadrupled in size: it’s now a 12,000-square-foot farmhouse.

Heavily insulated, the now seven-bedroom, seven-bath house was built using green building strategies, including the installation of a HEPA filter and extremely energy-efficient AndersenÆ 400 series windows.

The house feels like it’s been around for ages, even though it’s outfitted with 21st century conveniences and a completely new infrastructure.

In this unique marriage of past and present, it’s hard to tell where the old house ends and the new one begins.