A Modern House Addition

Starting in the late 1940’s architect Charles Goodman and builder Robert Davenport teamed up to build 450 homes in Hollin Hills, Virginia a different kind of a subdivision south of Alexandria. The neighborhood was completed in the 1970’s, the homes are modern with a capital “M,” strict architectural covenants are enforced, design awards are routinely bestowed and the crowd continues to go wild.

“I’ve known about it since high school days when we used to drive through with my buddies and I’d say, ‘one of these days I’m going to own a house there,’” says Steve Labas, account exec with MOI/Knoll. The Labas dream came true in 1992 after he and his wife, Cathy Salerno, a territory manager for HON furniture and self described “Retro Gal” drove by a particularly troubled property.

“After we bought it the neighbors kept coming up and thanking us,” says Salerno, “it needed a lot of work.” The couple made some initial improvements but a few years ago, Labas couldn’t stand it anymore. “We told the architect to design an addition around a king-sized bed,” he says.

Up until the addition the couple had been sharing a double. To provide Labas with enough room for his heart’s desire the couple tapped rising arch star, Ben Ames, Principal, Amestudios of Alexandria, Virginia to lead the charge towards spaciousness.

Any changes to the exteriors of houses in Hollin Hills has to be approved by the local architectural review board but a radical makever was never in the plans. “We had a vision of continuity,” says Labas, “and we basically saved up till we could do the whole thing at one time.”

The entry way itself is defined by a monomithic slab of concrete bordering one edge and a frosted glass awning above. A desirable landing pad rests on the flag stone patio sequestered in between the home’s wings and ringed by landscaping. Twin four-place tables are fequently pushed together to accommodate large alfresco meals.

After-work martinis manufactured by Labas, have been known to find their way to the patio. The cocktails are typically concocted in the new utiluty room that also hides the lauundry, the mechanicals, a sink and fridge. The whole room itself then hides behind a custom fabricated pocket door just off the entry way.

To deal with setbacks the addition angles off towards the rear of the lot which updates the front façade without distrubing the original character of the house. To keep the low-profile roof lines from going squirrely, Ames had to run some of the HVAC ducts under the floor.

The new den is tucked behind a wall of mahogany cabinets that define the space and also serves as a free standing coat closet but it was supposed to be something else. “That was supposed to be an art wall,” says Ames, “bit the cabinetry became the thing to look at.” A glass partition with embedded leaves in the cabinet helps lighten the mass while bringing a dash of the outside in.

Put two designer types in a room with an architect may result in some creative fur flying but eveybody on this project seemed to enjoy the interaction. “It was fun,” says Salerno, “there was some givea and take, some push and pull, but the resolution brought us to common good.”

Ames adds that linquistics wasn’t an issue in this case. “I’ve had difficult clients, including my own mother, but this was nice because we all speak the same language.”

The kum-ba-ya momnets were crucials since the renovation lasted far longer than anybody anticipated. When the homeowners applied for a variance the county showed a road running through the property that didn’t really exist. Naturally the county needed proof that there was no road.

Labas got his king-sized bed, and Salerno got more living area while respecting the past. “It’s great to have the extra space, plus it feels and looks like it’s been here a long time,” she says.