It's Getting Hot In Here

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Our spirit animal.

As any DCer knows, we are in the midst of a heat wave - the last two weeks have been brutal and it is about to hit triple digits this weekend. It has been HOT in the city . . . and it is hot (like, so hot) in our house.

We may have mentioned before that the awesome house we spent all our money on didn't come with central air.  While this was an inconvenient truth confronting us at some future time when we closed back in February, we're now sweating our way through summer with no real end in sight.

We really have done well. For a while, the thick old walls of the house actually kept the interior cooler than it was outside; we were impressed and proud of the obviously superior quality of Victorian building. But those days are gone and now the interior of the house has collected the heat and is refusing to let go. For example, on Friday night it was 78 outside and the inside of the house was 88. 

Yes, our spice rack is located beside our thermostat.

Complicating matters further, many of our windows, if they open at all, lack a screen, so if we open them wide to let a breeze come through any manner of combative insects come with it.  Just this weekend we trapped and released an unidentified monstrous flying beetle and two different wasps waiting to sting us in our sleep.

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Us every night.

We held out until the end of June before buying a window unit. We only got one because we reasoned that we didn't want to waste money since we will be installing a HVAC eventually. We decided to place the window unit in our bedroom, which has become our oasis in the sticky, humid swamp that is our home.  As the summer has progressed, we've gone from hanging out in there from time to time, to promising ourselves that we're only eating dinner in bed just this once and only because it's still so hot and muggy outside, to taking up residence in our bed as if we are the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It's all fun and games until you spill pasta sauce on your comforter. 

We have to keep reminding ourselves: we love our house!  It is super cool (but not cold)!  We are so lucky to be here!  But for now, two showers a day minimum. And hey, if you have an extra AC unit, please send it our way. - J&K

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House Tour: The Stairwell

The center of our home is dominated by a grand stairwell, which curves up three floors (and down one) in a central column. A skylight (that is in need of replacement at the moment) filters light down the shaft and throughout the house.

It is an impressive work of art - a Victorian masterpiece (everyone is saying) - but it is also a design dilemma because it takes up a significant amount of precious square footage on each floor of the house. Its location also unfortunately means we can't fit a powder room on the first floor.

While the lack of powder room is a true tragedy, we knew the minute we saw the house that we were keeping the stairwell. And many a guest (at least those who don't get vertigo) has been enamored by the staircase too. It has lasted for 142 years, and has proven to be very sturdy - a few weeks back we met a former tenant who recalled getting drunk with his roommates and belaying down the center of it. While we don't plan to belay down it anytime soon (at least until we break out the tequila), we are excited to restore the stairwell to its former glory and expect it to last at least another 142 years.  

How Suite It Is

Last week we solicited your opinion on what to do with our third floor - suite or study? No need to tally the responses - not a single person was on team study; everyone was on team #treatyoself.

We sincerely appreciated the input -- it was especially helpful hearing from parents (thanks Emily and Abby!) who all seemed gung-ho about placing children about as far away from the master bedroom as one can get away with short of violating child endangerment laws (how early is too early to start free-ranging your kids??). 

Having heard your opinions, we sat down last week and thought through the options and considered whether there were any good compromises. We think we came up with a solution that splits the baby, as they say. Take a look at this: 

In the spirit of making a master suite, we are taking over the entire hallway between the two rooms and making it into a closet. You'll come up the stairs and immediately be in the Master suite - all of it will be our space. The vestibule area will be a walk in closet, but think wardrobes or built-in's - you won't be walking straight into clothing. This should hopefully fix the lack of closet space that was a problem with the more conservative option design we showed you last week.

Importantly, this design also lets us get a full bathroom AND still allow for a small room where we can store a baby or desk (or expand to a comically large closet space at a later date). There may be a tweak or two left, but this is essentially the final design. We are pretty excited about it, but what do you think? 

- J&K 

Master Suite or Study? We need your advice!

Hello hello, after a little break we are back. What can we say, summer arrived and Shaw is too much fun - who wants to be inside blogging when there are so many places where you can get a drink outside (shout out to our neighbors at Dacha)? The temptation has been too strong. Also, let's be real, not a ton has happened on the house front since we last checked in. 

Well, there have been some developments. For example - our contractor backed out of the project!! While it was disappointing, ultimately, we are in the early stages of the renovation process, so all is not lost. We are now going to work with our architects to bid the project out and see what happens. 

Speaking of architects, we are close to finalizing a concept design!! We will reveal all later on, but for now, we are soliciting opinions on what to do with the third floor. We have four bedrooms in the house, two on the second floor and two on the third floor and we're planning to have our master bedroom on the third floor. For the past month we have been convinced that we wanted to take a more conservative approach to the third floor by taking over only some of the second bedroom as a bathroom while maintaining a large-ish bedroom, but over the last week we've started to ask ourselves if we should make the third floor a full on master suite. 

For your consideration:

The Conservative Option

As you can see, this design leaves a fairly large second bedroom on the third floor (the "study"). It puts a closet where the bathroom is currently and moves the bathroom down to take up some of what is currently the second bedroom, while maintaining a good sized study (or, by some stroke of misfortune, nursery (jk jk)). 

Pros: 

• Maintains a second bedroom, which means our house stays a 4 bedroom home.
• Gives us a place to put a baby should one make it's way into our home.
• Gives us a place to have a study if we end up with both bedrooms on the second floor occupied (either by children or due to future issues with hoarding).

Cons

• The bathroom will be small and future buyers may expect more from a master bathroom (those jerks).
• The toilet does not have it's own water closet, which is something a few friends, family, and other assorted germaphobes have mentioned is a must. 
• The closet is small. 
• There are a lot of doors.  Like, a lot. 

The Luxurious Options

These designs would mean that the entire third floor would be our little oasis.

Pros:

• Master suites are pretty... sweet (get it?).
• It would feel luxurious and give us lots of closet space.

Cons:

• Having a master suite would mean that we would be making our 4 bedroom home into a 3 bedroom home, which could affect its resale value. (On the other hand, what buyer can resist a master suite?).
• If a child made its way into our home, it might have to sleep below us on the second floor when it is very young.  It is our understanding that young children are fragile and need supervision. 
• If the second floor bedrooms end up occupied by kids or mementos we cannot bear to let go (see above re: hoarding), we may be left without a place to put a desk or have an office.

Simply put, the future is a big mysterious thing - it's hard to anticipate what it may hold.  Trying to finalize a design that captures the myriad of possibilities is difficult.

We need a little bit more time to assess these designs and see what else we can come up with. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Master suite or study? Can we live without a luxurious closet? Are we hurting resale value by getting rid of a bedroom? Is there some middle ground? 

Check back next week and we'll let you know where we end up! - J&K

So Hot Right Now: Big Green House Plants

IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @homepolish (2) @amberinteriors / Bottom row: (3) @mydomaine (4) @methomemag

If you're looking to spice up your house but don't have a huge budget for new furniture, then a big house plant may be a temporary solution to change up the vibe in your home. I have recently noticed a theme of big green house plants in living rooms, dining rooms, and even bathrooms. I get the allure - they brighten up a white space, are visually interesting, and add life to a room. Instagram seems partial to the fiddle leaf fig for interior design, though I have also seen some examples of olive trees and yucca plants too. As long as they are easy to keep alive, I'm in.  

IMAGE CREDITS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: TOP ROW: (1) @elledecorationse (2) @myinterior / Bottom row: (3) @homepolish (4) @sarahwidman

Architect Update

Big news for all the rowhouserevival heads out there - we have design concepts from our architects!  We met with Eric from Hill & Hurtt on Saturday and walked through a number of different concepts for each floor of the house as well as the backyard.  As you can see from the picture above, lot's of choices left to be made but we could not be more excited to decide on a plan! Right now we are thinking through all the options that H&H have shown us and then will go back to them with our thoughts. They will then put together another version of the design based on our input - the end result will likely be a composite of the designs you see above.

In terms of design, we are facing two big questions. First, we are considering extending the house about 10 feet, which all of our neighbors have done. This would mean a longer permitting process and require a bigger construction budget.

Second, the bigger question we're still facing is whether to remove the stairs to the basement and make the basement a stand alone unit.  On the one hand, it would likely allow us to squeeze in a powder room on the first floor and create a wholly separate rental unit downstairs.  On the other hand, it would involve some additional work and expense (you have to separate out all utilities, include fire separation, and maybe install sprinklers), expose us even more to the whims of the permitting process, and keep that space out of reach if we wanted to reclaim it in the future.  We have been going around and around on what's best - do we think we want a playroom in the future, or do we think it's best put to use to help pay our mortgage? Input welcome!

- J & K

So Hot Right Now: Black and White Geometric Carpets

Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @interiorhints; (2) @lonnymag / Bottom row: (3) @meandmybentley (4) @homeyohmy

Another week, another trendy interior design item on Instagram. This week it is black and white geometric carpets (and sometimes pillows!). I feel like I've seen versions of these carpets everywhere. I've included a few beautiful examples in this post, but I'm ultimately not sure I'm sold on the trend - white carpets seem dangerous to me. Also, some of these carpets are shag, which no amount of trendiness will convince me to purchase. What do you think? 

- J

Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @archdigest; (2) @westelm / Bottom row: (3) @insideanswers (4) @Elledecorationuk

Image Credits from left to right: Top row: (1) design by @carisselynelle, photo by @fluxi (2) @lonnymag / Bottom row: (3) @homeyohmy (4) @meandmybentley

House Tour: Pre-reno Kitchen

Next up in the house tour: the kitchen.

Not to be missed, the bright turquoise floors are the original floors from 1875! JK, JK, the floors, along with Christmas lights you'll see lining the room in the pictures below, are a design choice of past tenants.  We've left them in place to try to maintain some of the festiveness.

While the floor color is a more modern innovation, the windows are an older vintage.  These single pane beauties only somewhat work in their current 2017 state, but provide stunning light throughout the day. (One of the two windows even still opens, a big win in our book.)

The kitchen is at the back of the house and, at the moment, it's a little closed off from the hallway and main stairwell. The yellow wall you see is the wall to the living room and you'll notice the front door right at the edge of this photo.

You may have also noticed the washer and dryer. While it's not ideal, we have found that having laundry in the kitchen isn't as bad as it seems, but we hope to be able to move it upstairs once renovations get underway.

The fireplace in the kitchen is also original, although it isn't currently functional. Our neighbors tell us that underneath all the paint is a white marble front, which we still can't get over - who paints over marble?? I mean, seriously.

The kitchen was updated in the past few years, so we are lucky to have well functioning appliances. However, the kitchen poses some real challenges as we begin to think about renovation.  

Most importantly, we will really need to consider storage solutions. The cabinets above account for pretty much all of the storage space in the room as currently constructed.  As a result, we have a lot of kitchen wares that are just chilling in boxes in our basement. The other quirky thing is that the internet/tv cable to our home only exists in the kitchen. It comes in through the kitchen window, up behind the stove (seems safe, right?) and into our kitchen cabinet. You can see the internet modem sitting in the cupboard to the right of the stove (a traditional location for cable modems).

Lots to think about in revamping this space.  Feel free to share your ideas.  More to come later!

-- J&K

Moths!

The tenants over the years didn't quite treat this house with the love or care it deserves, so it is not surprising that we have some fluttering friends around the house. We have been in our home for about two months now and, since day one, have been dealing with moths. Like, a whole lot of moths.

Friends, the moths are finally getting to us.

You open a closet, a moth flies out, You open a kitchen cabinet, a moth flies out. You host a house warming party, and moths are flying over the heads of the guests. Enough already, moths - we get it, this is your home too. But also, seriously, enough already. 

The moths are slow moving and easy to kill with your hands - we have become experts at hand-to-hand moth killing - but it isn't enough.  We are averaging 3 moths killed per day (3 mkpd) to little or no effect.  It's time for a more permanent solution.

But that's not to say we have one.  Soo, like, does anyone have any ideas? We know you can buy moth balls, but we aren't ready or willing to smell like moth ball people (although time will tell).  We've read that lavender may work and we've heard we need to vacuum a lot but, anything else? I've read that if you can see the moths, then they aren't the type that eat your clothes, so I'm hoping that our clothes will not fall victim, but I cannot promise we won't show up to work with holes in our sweaters. 

We are taking any and all recommendations and remedies and promise to update everyone if we find something that works! - J & K

So Hot Right Now: Round Mirrors

Image credits from left to right: Top row: (1) @hannahblumenthal (2) @more.modern / Bottom row: (3) @amberinteriors (4) @cathy.pyle

Until we bought the house, looking at real estate was our obsession. We jumped every time a new listing came up on MRIS or Redfin and would call each other to discuss the pros and cons of each house (the basement looks like a dungeon, but what a location!). Now, we (and by we I mean I) are obsessed with interior architecture and design.  

We need ideas for our house so I have been active on Pinterest, Houzz, and Instagram lately. Where we once exchanged house links we're now exchanging bright white minimalist interiors (we are pretty predictable and one note, you guys). 

Needless to say, when you research as much as I do you start to notice patterns. This week everywhere I look there are mirrors; round mirrors. Judging by my Instagram feed, round mirrors are a must have for any fashionable contemporary home. Don't you even dare submit your latest kitchen photo to r/roomporn if you don't have a round mirror over the hearth.

if Instagram is to be trusted, then round mirrors are perfect for entry ways, bathrooms, and living rooms (and also a perfect way to rack up those ever-elusive likes).

Round mirrors, so hot right now. What do you think - do you like the trend?  

- J

Image credit: @hannahblumenthal

Image credit: @tessaneustadt / Design by @katherinecarterdesign

Image credit: @kapitomullerinterior

Image credit: @consortdesign

Image credit: @more.modern

Image credit: @theshopaccra

Image credit: @witanddelight_

Image credit: @homepolish

Image credit: @amberinteriors

Image credit: @grapevine_designs

Image credit: @onekingslane

Image credit: @cathy.pyle

Image credit: @witanddelight_

Image credit: @mirror_decorart

The Octagon's Camellia Bush

We have a flowering camellia bush in our back yard. The blooms are just about done so we had to share a photo before they are gone.

We learned from W&R, our nextdoor neighbors and the former owners of the house, that the camellia bush was originally from The Octagon House in Washington, DC. In 2005, the building was renovated and as part of the renovation they uprooted a lot of plants. W&R saved the bush by placing it in their car and dragging it (literally, the roots didn't fit in the car) back to the house. They planted it and the next year the bush only had one flower.   Look at it now!

A little background on The Octagon that I learned from Wikipedia for any of you non-Octogonians out there (I know there aren't many). The Octagon was the home of John Tayloe III and his wife, Ann Ogle Tayloe. During the War of 1812, Ann Ogle Taylor was afraid the house would be burned down by the Brits so she rented the house to the French as a diplomatic residence. Dolley Madison, the First Lady, fled the city as the British approached and, according to Wikipedia, sent her pet parrot to the Octagon, which was at the time a French consulate and therefore safe. Later, President Madison and Dolley Madison moved into The Octagon while the White House was being rebuilt.

According to another website, today the Octagon is haunted, including by the ghost of Dolley Madison herself, who the website assures is "a very popular ghost in Washington, DC" (it's unclear what constitutes popularity in the spectral world).  We will let you know if we ever see Dolley tending to the camellias.

- J

House Tour: Pre-reno Living Room

Welcome to our living room!  Maybe our favorite room in the house, it is defined by the the floor to ceiling bay window that makes the room bright and inviting. The windows really make the room. In fact, we're lucky they are so old because the floor to ceiling length is grandfathered in.  You'll notice they extend all the way down to a few inches above the floor - in our more enlightented times, the building code stops building windows from extending that low for safety reasons (what if someone kicked the glass? what if someone fell out of the window? nanny state, amirite?).  

Because of the age of the windows they are single-paned. As we are finding out, they are not the most energy efficient, but on the plus-side, we can hear conversations from the sidewalk in our living room!

If you're wondering about the ugly grey rectangle with holes above the radiator, let us assure you that it was all part of our current design concept (that counts as shaggy chic, right?).  A huge shelf used to be there that jutted out into the room at eye level and took up a lot of visual space. Although what remains is an eye sore, trust us when we tell you that removing it right away was actually a great improvement.

You may be asking yourself, what is up with the big white spot on the wall above the fireplace (I know we certainly did), and why would this blog share a picture of some odd shelf above the living room doorway?  Well, previous tenants saw fit to put a projector over the door and hold movie nights displayed over the fireplace. After much discussion, we may be going in a different direction for our own entertainment needs. For now, however, the projector shelf stays.

Finally, the other side of the room - the one we don't focus on that often because it is just a big, blank wall. Behind the wall is the stair case and beyond that, the kitchen. As it is right now, the wall just serves to cut the living room off from the rest of the house and it has got to go. We are exploring ways to open up the space to give it a more modern feel while still maintaining the room's definition. 

😍😍😍

That's all for this week folks! J&K

We Have Architects!

Once we purchased our house the magnitude of the renovation quickly became clear. This is no DIY project -- we needed professional help.

In addition to getting help to think through the design and layout of the home, we want to make sure we are true to the history of the house. While we like modern design, this house calls for a marriage between traditional and contemporary (putting a glass staircase in the center of this house would be a travesty). We aren't planning on entirely stripping out the interior, but we need help thinking through how to make the space feel more modern, while also acknowledging its Victorian-ness.

With that in mind, we talked to a few architects and ultimately hired Hill & Hurtt, a young, local firm that focuses on renovating rowhomes. We met with Eric and Josh for a few hours in February to discuss the project and immediately felt like they understood our vision and priorities. 

Hill & Hurtt provide an array of architectural services that help drive renovations from concept through permitting and then beyond permitting by helping with interior finishing choices and project management. For now we have engaged them to help us through the permitting stage and we could not be more excited to work with them. 

Last week, we kicked off the design process when Eric and Josh came over to measure the house from top to bottom. They spent about 4 hours at the house - Josh with a measuring tape and Eric sketching the house and capturing all the information with a red pen.

While we wanted to leave them to their work, it was hard not to listen to them discuss the house and its quirks. Needless to say, even this initial step has us excited. It was so cool to see our house's floor plan captured on paper and to have some of our questions answered, like, how tall are our ceilings? (11.5 feet!)

In a few weeks, Hill & Hurtt will come back to us with concept drawings for each floor that show options for how we could re-design the home. Check back here for updates ;P - J & K

House Tour: Pre-reno Entrance

Before we tear up the house, we want to make sure to document it in its pre-reno state. So please, come on through the door - welcome to our home! 

This is what you see when you enter the house - a closed off living room to the right and a stairwell and kitchen up ahead.  

The home served as a boarding house for much of its history, and the house definitely feels as if it has been lived in. The floors are scuffed beyond repair and seem constantly dirty, though we have cleaned them ad nauseam. The taupe/grey floor paint is a color choice that has not aged well, particularly with all the scrapes.

In the ceiling right before the kitchen is the hallway lighting fixture, which elicits both fascination and concern on the part of all guests who enter. Come, take a closer look: 

That's right, the ceiling lamp is plugged into a multi-outlet plug in the ceiling, much like a normal lamp plugged into a regular outlet in the wall might be. Don't ask us why, we have no answers. The electrical socket is surrounded by patched ceiling and dried leak spots, which we have been assured are OLD leaks and not anything we should be alarmed about now (electricity and water go well together, right?). 

Finally, one of our favorite things about the house is something you see upon leaving - the EXIT sign! The exit sign is another of the last vestiges of the property's boarding house history. Luckily, it still lights up! We are pretty sold on keeping it and work it into our design - what do you think? 

Check back next week for more touring - J & K.

We Found Our House on Craigslist

"Did you see the email I just sent?"

"No, I've been in meetings."

"I think I found a house on Craigslist..."

"That's not legitimate.  Stop it."

.....................

Here's the thing that no one tells you - searching for a house, while it is one of the most exciting times in your life, can also be one of the most disheartening (#firstworldproblems, I know).  After searching for houses for a few months with no success, fatigue sets in.  Hours of aimless scrolling and clicking on Redfin and Zillow begin to numb your mind.  

Can I see myself in this neighborhood?  Is that enough square footage?  Can I live without parking?  Should I instead focus on creating some kind of Ponzi scheme to increase my potential down payment?

As they say, desperation breeds ingenuity (they say that, right?).  In December 2016, after feeling like we had run out of options, I did something novel: I went on to craigslist.  Among a sea of ads for houses in various suburbs or vacation locales, I found something promising.

Julia, obviously, was quite skeptical.  She agreed to go on one condition: we bring as many people with us as possible.  Who knows what horror may lurk behind a Craigslist ad?  

The showing was defined by chaos, but tenants' dogs (very good boys, btw, would pet again), cleaning ladies, and a dying Christmas tree in the front window could not mask what was unmistakably a one of a kind house.  (As it turns out, the house next door has the exact same layout, but you get the idea). 

So here we are only a few months later, homeowners of an 1875 Italianate rowhome in Shaw, and it's all thanks to Craigslist (and our neighbors who actually sold us the house, but we'll save that for another post).  It needs some significant work and we intend to document the trials and tribulations of home renovation right here for your entertainment and edification.  We could not be more excited to start and share the whole process! - K