This Week’s Find: A Treehouse in Forest Hills

• June 18, 2014

by Lark Turner

This Week’s Find is a midcentury modern house in Forest Hills that bolsters the neighborhood’s reputation as a place to find high-end contemporary homes.

In 2009, a family bought the midcentury home at 4550 Broad Branch Road NW (map) with plans to lightly renovate the property.

“The house was in disrepair,” listing agent Kathleen Eder told UrbanTurf. “They were just going to do a nice update, and once they dug into it, it turned into a much bigger project.”

The project turned out to be a full-scale renovation by the husband-and-wife team Studio CrowleyHall. In addition to all-new systems and the installation of geothermal heating, the renovation included “removing interior walls, vaulting the ceiling, and adding a 20-foot-wide retractable glass door” to the rear of the property, according to the architect’s website. The glass door folds, accordion-style, into the home. Concrete floors with radiant heat add to the main level’s modern feel.

There are two bedrooms, and an open concept living and dining room on the main level. Downstairs are four more bedrooms and doors leading to a patio overlooking Rock Creek Park.

The family wanted to make the home energy-efficient, so in addition to installing the geothermal heating and cooling, they also selected different types of insulation to fit each space.

They also added one whimsical element once the renovation was finished: A custom-built two-story treehouse-like structure with a swing and the ability to attach a zipline. “I can’t take my kids over there,” Eder said.

Here are the details and some more photos of the property:

• Full Listing: 4550 Broad Branch Road NW (map)
• Price: $2 million
• Bedrooms: Six
• Bathrooms: 3.5
• Year Built: 1959
• Listing Agents: Kathleen Eder, Towne Residential

Photos courtesy of BTW Images.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/this_weeks_find_a_gut-renovated_midcentury_modern_with_a_treehouse_out_back/8630