A Netflix Renovation: DC Firehouse Turned Home Gets a Made-for-TV Makeover

• August 24th 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

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For several years, UrbanTurf has followed the story of an historic Shaw firehouse at 931 R Street NW (map). Now, the firehouse-turned-home has undergone a made-for-Netflix makeover.

Stay Here is a new Netflix series where the hosts offer marketing and design help for Airbnb rentals around the country. In a recent episode, hosts Genevieve Gorder and Peter Lorimer visit the R Street firehouse to help transform it into a high-demand short-term rental.

At the time, owner Michael Abbenante was listing a three-bedroom apartment at the rear of the property at a rate of $200-$250 per night. However, the unit included some windowless spaces and wasn't emphasizing the building's history as a firehouse, which includes a firepole in the center of the hallway. Abbenante lives in a one-bedroom loft at the front of the property, taking advantage of the soaring ceiling height and 15-foot original archtop windows. 

Gorder and Lorimer's proposed expanding Abbenante's one-bedroom loft into a family-friendly three-bedroom and using the front of the property as the rental, converting the rear of the building into a one-bedroom where Abbenante would live.

Gorder and Lorimer recommended drawing attention to the history of the 19th-century property by taking advantage of the impressive front windows, exposed brick and original fire pole. Salvaged pipes were used to assemble a built-in bunk in one of the bedrooms, while a den was converted into a "firehouse lounge" with themed decor.

The building's status as the first all-Black firefighting company in the District is celebrated through a printed timeline decal superimposed on a window and a muralized photo taken by photographer Gordon Parks.

The work seen during the episode was filmed over the course of 4-5 days; in order to complete work on the unit, including updating two of the three bathrooms, Abbenante retained contractors for another 1.5 months.

The three-bedroom loft unit featured on the show is currently available for $600 per night on Airbnb; three other one-bedroom units are also available in the building.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/r-street-firehouse-gets-a-made-for-tv-makeover/14352.