From an Arlington Rambler to an English Cottage

This family had a problem with space and with curb appeal. They loved their neighborhood, and loved their yard, but didn’t like how their one-story house looked or functioned. They were going from being a couple to a being three-generation family, and suddenly they needed bedrooms. They were concerned that the work be done in an environmentally responsible manner. They came to us for help.

The new configuration provides family living on two floors and a basement. The flat-roofed area to the south has become an in-law apartment — connected to the main house, but private. Instead of adding an entire second floor, which would have made the house out of scale with its neighbors, we added a steeper roof, and tucked second floor bedrooms into gables and dormers. On the inside we rearranged the first floor rooms so that a relocated, large, bright kitchen visually connects to the dining room, living room and den. At the second floor, we fit in a master bedroom suite opening onto the green roof, and two additional small bedrooms.
The addition is the first renovation project in Arlington certified by the Arlington Green Home Choice Program. It also won the 2007 NVBIA Monument Award for green building, and was featured on Bloomberg TV’s Muse Program.

This project, completed in 2006, was one of our very first whole house energy retrofits. Some of the sustainable features include:

• Dismantling and recycling roof framing and shingles, interior wall framing, insulation, cabinetry and trim, cutting the amount of materials that went to landfill by roughly 75%
• Extra sealing and insulation measures
• Use of permeable paving materials
• High efficiency heating and cooling equipment
• Energy Star appliances
• Water-saving plumbing fixtures
• Engineered wood framing and sheathing
• Recycled rubber “slate” shingles
• A vegetated (green) roof at all flat roofed areas
• Low VOC paints

The house was featured by Resource Efficient Homes Across America.