Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Traditional Maryland Home Gets a Modern Makeover
An open floor plan, floor-to-ceiling windows and a raised roofline help bring in views of the surrounding woods
The red entry doors open into a new open-plan living space, with exaggerated openings overhead that compress and demarcate spaces in specific areas — what Loosle-Ortega refers to as an “old Frank Lloyd Wright trick.” After several 3D studies, the team was able to convince the homeowners to go with the Sherwin-Williams Bohemian Black paint, which provides a bold contrast paired with the same paint company’s Pure White.
The kitchen, off the great room, has doors of stained ash that open to the pantry, powder room and formal dining room. Loosle-Ortega designed the cabinets, which were fabricated by Mersoa Woodwork and Design. The kitchen island has a Caesarstone top.
In the great room, the designers lifted the roof to extend the fireplace up the wall. It’s clad in horizontal strips of Viroc, cement-bonded particleboard, which is also used on the exterior of the house. The wood box along the floor is made out of blackened steel. Windows on both sides of the fireplace pull in views of the forest. Another vertical element was created by bringing a ribbed wall of Macassar ebony up from the floor to wrap beneath and over the balcony’s glass railing. The red oak floor was bleached three times to achieve its bright, reflective surface.
Tucked beneath the balcony is a study with a sliding door, desk and cabinets made of ash. Black ash was used as decorative trim for the cabinets. Thin floating shelves of black steel hold a collection of books.
The second-floor landing features breathtaking views of the surrounding woods. The design team created the staircase out of painted white steel for the treads and panes of glass for the railing. The built-in bookcase is Macassar ebony.
The minimalist master suite is on the second floor. Existing vertical windows balance privacy and views. Articulated LED sconce lights are attached to the wall on both sides of the bed.
The master bath’s wet room area includes a deep tub with a view, and shower walls clad in glass subway tile. Porcelain tile covers the floor. The custom-designed vanity, with a white lacquer base and a Caesarstone top, floats off the floor to add to the space’s airy feel.
The new double-height roof over the great room allowed for large vertical windows on both sides of the new fireplace. The exterior also received a face-lift, which included new siding in Viroc and Hardieplank. What was old is new — modern, functional and stunning.
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple with two college-age children
Location: Potomac, Maryland
Size: 3,500 square feet (325 square meters)
Architects: Richard Loosle-Ortega and Andrew Baldwin of Kube Architecture
When these homeowners went shopping for a new residence, they had every intention of buying a modern home. Instead, they bought a traditional home in a neighborhood they loved, knowing they would renovate. The overall goal of the renovation was to “break open the box,” architect Richard Loosle-Ortega says. The design team accomplished this by raising the roofline and adding floor-to-ceiling windows to create expansive views of the surrounding wooded lot.
For the front of the home, the design team removed a bay window and window shutters, and straightened the formerly curved top over the garage to streamline the home’s appearance. The team also introduced a steel trellis and framework that connects the garage to the front door.