This Week's Find: One of a Kind in Cleveland Park

• May 18th 2015

by Lark Turner

This Week’s Find is a complete renovation of what its owner calls an “eclectic colonial-Mediterranean mashup” of a home.

Jennifer Noland and her husband Steve McBee had almost given up their home search back in 2009 when they stumbled upon a house in a quiet section of Cleveland Park.

“It was love at first sight,” Noland told UrbanTurf.

They bought the house for $2.275 million and decided to embark on a renovation with designer Darryl Carter, combining two elevated lots, tearing down a garage in the front of the house, putting in two additions and excavating underneath the home to expand the basement and add a drive-in garage. They preserved the home’s historic exterior, but replaced the windows.

Inside it was a different story.

“There was nothing that we felt could be salvaged,” Noland said. “We moved the location of the stairs, we completely changed the layout of the house, and we put in new systems.” Following an 18-month renovation, Noland and McBee moved into the house with their sons in January 2011.

The house is full of functional spaces cleverly designed to conceal appliances and clutter. The kitchen is hidden behind cabinets and is full of subtle touches like foot pedals that operate the sink and an automatic paper towel dispenser. The family room has an antique table wired to charge electric devices in its drawers.

In the study, an art piece designed by Margaret Boozer is attached to a pulley system that hides the TV. In shaping the aesthetic, Noland said she wanted to preserve the character of the home while living in a clean, modern space.

“The dining room has wood paneling, but it’s pared back to its most discreet form,” she said. “And there’s crown moulding, but we worked really hard to design crown moulding with a modern look.”

Downstairs, the children’s playroom is designed to withstand the impact of the couple’s three boys — literally. The couple put in impact-resistant drywall, special flooring and a basketball hoop.

The couple loves their home so much that as they embark on a move to San Francisco, they’re enlisting Carter’s help in designing the new home, too. “I wouldn’t do another renovation without him,” Noland said.

Here are more photos and details of the property:

• Address: 3420 36th Street NW (map)
• Price: $6.5 million
• Bedrooms: Five
• Bathrooms: Six
• Square Footage: 4,242
• Year Built: 1914, renovated 2011
• Listing Agents: Margot Wilson, Washington Fine Properties

Photos courtesy of HomeVisit

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/this_weeks_find_a_gut-renovated_century-old_house_in_cleveland_park/9900.