Landis Architects | Builders
Landis Architects | Builders
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars43 ReviewsView Profile

Addition to Historic Chevy Chase Maryland House

We completed an addition and whole-house renovation on this brick center hall colonial in the Somerset neighborhood. The 1937 house still had the period trim and molding details. Our clients wanted to expand the two-story house to create a comfortable home for the family with plenty of entertaining space. Given that the house is in a historic district, we looked at the historic setting and decided the best approach would be to make best use of the existing footprint. Therefore, the first floor plan was completely reconfigured to accommodate the family’s lifestyle. However, with the reconfiguration, the homeowners felt they needed additional space for which we utilized an attached non-historic addition. In doing so, we addressed the owners’ most pressing need, which was the size of the garage. Both the garage and driveway were only 9-feet wide which rendered them almost unusable. Our design included widening the garage, and along with that, building a three-story addition with the garage as a base. With guidance from the Montgomery County Historic Commission, a 16-foot side, facing-front addition was approved. This is unusual for a historic district, but the Board agreed that this was the only option to accommodate the family’s needs and still fit with the other historic homes in the neighborhood.