Located in upper northwest Washington D.C., this 1920’s bungalow sits on a street lined with a variety of single-family homes with a view overlooking the tree-lined slope that plummets down to the Potomac River and across to Virginia. The front porch of the original house was still intact, but the house behind had been chopped into two separate dwellings, with a later rear addition that bore no resemblance to the character of the bungalow and effectively cut the house off from its rear yard. A young couple with two children wanted to restore the house to its original character, while enlarging it to accommodate a growing family.

The solution called for removing the rear addition and constructing a new one that mirrored the basic form of the dominant front gable, accommodating a new kitchen, family room, and screened porch on the main level, bedrooms above, and walk-out basement recreation room to reconnect the house to the newly landscaped rear yard. The details and configuration of the front porch and original front rooms were restored and strengthened. A study was added at the third-floor level, balancing in the valley between the two gables.  Barely visible from the street below, the study takes full advantage of the unique site, looking out over the roof below, across the Potomac River below and westward to Virginia.