Best of Arlington 2024: Home

dm2-4255 — Handy Manny’s co-owner Manny Bonilla (Photo by Denise Van Photography)

Reader Pick
House Painter

Handy Manny’s Painting

Call Handy Manny’s for a paint job and the first person you speak with is likely to be co-owner Chrissy Bistline-Bonilla—which is sort of nice, since you’re probably a woman, too. Women make up about 80% of callers, says the Arlington small-business owner, whose husband, Manny (the operation’s namesake), is usually out on job sites with his crew. “It’s nice to talk to another woman and not feel like you’re going to get mansplained,” she quips. Bistline-Bonilla is no stranger to hustle. She can count on one hand the number of days she and her husband haven’t had work for the four painters they employ. The company has had zero worker turnover since it launched in 2019. –Susan Anspach

Other top vote-getters: Merrifield Paint & Design, MyPainter, Williams Professional Painting

Reader Pick
Interior Designer

Mira Jean Designs

“I feel like my home is the best version of my home—my home, but better,” gushed one client after hiring designer Kate Hougen to give her place a refresh. Hougen, the talent behind Mira Jean Designs, chalks it up to her collaborative and budget-minded approach. Rather than scrapping everything and starting over, she often finds ways to incorporate a client’s existing furniture and art into the redesign—though the designer’s own spirited lines of wallpaper and textiles (picture fields of pink tiaras, Bernese mountain dogs or delicate cherry blossoms) often make their way into the homes of those with an affinity for color and pattern. Hougen offers one-hour consultations that make her services accessible to anyone interested. Lately, she says, the work-from-home trend has sparked demand for bedrooms that double as functional workspaces. “The work I do is not just about a pretty picture,” she says. “How are they using that space?” –Susan Anspach

- Advertisement -

Other top vote-getters:

BraePark Design, KPH Studio, Manlove and Co. Interiors, Samara Interiors, Susan Sutter Interiors, Whittington Design Studio

Defalco Welsh Interiors — A home by DeFalco Home Design (Photo courtesy of Welsh Interiors)

Reader Pick
Architect

DeFalco Home Design

Other top vote-getters:

- Advertisement -

Case Architects & Remodelers, FitzHarris Designs, Moser Architects, VanderPoel Architecture

Reader Pick
Real Estate Agent

Michelle Sagatov

Michelle Sagatov doesn’t just know her market. She lives and breathes it, having resided in 11 different Arlington County neighborhoods over the past 22 years—a side effect of being married to a builder/remodeler who likes to live in the houses he is transforming. So it squares that 80% of her business is in Arlington, though any slice of the pie would be a generous one. The agent for Washington Fine Properties can claim $300 million in lifetime sales to her name, as well as a list-to-sold price ratio of 100.1%. Sagatov is often sought after as part and parcel of the team she comprises with her husband, Yuri. “When you hire me, you get him, too,” she says, referencing her spouse’s ability to offer a third-party opinion on a home inspection report, or to advise on a home’s remodeling potential—including estimated price tags—whether the wish list involves a screened-in porch or kitchen renovation. –Susan Anspach

Other top vote-getters:

- Advertisement -

Patty Couto, Donna Hamaker, Liz Lord, Keri O’Sullivan, Lauren Reardon, Natalie Roy, Eli Tucker, Katie Wethman, Dawn Wilson