Stephenson House

Project Desciption

The Stephenson House, located in the Chevy Chase neighbourhood of Washington DC, is a remodel of a unique modernist house built-in 1962. The clients were searching for a modernist dwelling in a predominately traditional neighbourhood and asked for an update to an existing house, fostering an indoor-outdoor experience. With its traditional silhouette and neutral colours, the house is in dialogue with colonial houses in the neighbourhood, yet its design and detailing are contemporary and modern.

The volume of the house is a three-story, charcoal-coloured stained brick, mahogany siding, and glass structure. Inside, the kitchen opens into a light-filled living space and out to the backyard featuring a fire pit and a screened patio. Upstairs, the master bedroom and bathroom overlook the outside deck to the south, while the two bedrooms flank the east and west side yards. The basement contains a family room and the gym which spills into the back yard featuring a meandering pathway comprised of concrete pavers connecting the front and back of the house.

The open floor plan along with extensive use of glass floods the house with natural light and allows the interior space to extend its modest footprint into the landscape. The instalment of skylights above the staircase brightens up the entryway and reflects the light off the warmth of the wooden floor. The exterior screened in porch gives the owners an opportunity to connect with the landscape while protecting them from the elements of the region.