Working in partnership with Manassas-based Alkams Construction, Cook removed non-structural walls to open up the interior and replaced vinyl flooring on the main level with red oak. In place of the previous kitchen, a serene space emerged with gray laminate Poggenpohl cabinets, Caesarstone countertops and open shelving.
Next, the architect turned his attention to the master suite, where earlier renovations had left a jigsaw puzzle of compartmentalized spaces and doors.
“There were really too many rooms—like five or six rooms in the bedroom area,” he says. Reconfiguring the floor plan, he ripped out most of the walls, integrating the bedroom with a spa-like master bath. “I proposed we hide the water closet and keep the rest of the space open, which they loved,” he explains.
Six months later, the work was finished and the spirit of the original midcentury modern design was restored, albeit with a 21st-century sensibility. “We wanted the house to realize its full potential,” Payling says, “by taking it back in time but also by taking it forward in time.”
–Scott Sowers
Neighborhood:
Saigon Road
Originally built:
1965
Remodeled:
2015-2016
Previous square footage:
6,000
New square footage:
6,000
Architect:
Cook Architecture, cookarchitecture.com
Contractor:
Alkams Construction