West Coast Style Home for Virginia Clients

We would like to give you a sneak preview of our Walker Road house, a new project that is nearing completion in the Great Falls area of Virginia, a suburb of Washington D.C.

The three-story house sits on five acres, atop a small hill at the end of a winding driveway. The clients were familiar with Marc’s West Coast work and wanted his talent for framing vistas brought to their view of treetops and distant valleys. They also wanted an economical, modern house of a certain size, and left Marc to design a floor plan that was simple, beautiful, and livable.

The area features mainly traditional homes, but the site being so large, with no close neighbors, the clients felt free to build a fully modern home with lots of glass through which to enjoy the spectacular sights of the changing seasons, and those changing seasons were a consideration in the design. Unlike building for the West Coast lifestyle, steps were taken to provide for the harsh climate - hot and humid in summer, lots of rain and snow in winter. Dual-pane high efficiency glass was used throughout, and a geo-thermal heating and cooling system was installed. Due to the cold, frost line foundations were deeper and all structural systems were strengthened to accommodate a snow load on the roof.

The 5,800 sq. ft. house is organized around a central volume that the solid walnut staircase spans - from the main floor up to the master suite, and down to the two teenager’s bedrooms on the lower level. Due to the sloping grade, the house is entered from the street side onto the main level, but exited on the lower level at the back of the house, onto the patio and pool area - what is called a “walk-out” basement. There is also a guest bedroom on the main level at the back of the house.

In the spring we will be able to take photographs and will be back with lots of details about the materials and products that were used in the construction of this home.