What happens when an architect designs his own renovation? Sean Mullin, managing director for design-build firm Anthony Wilder, found out when he and his wife, Denise, undertook the renovation of their 1962 split-foyer home that’s tucked on a corner lot in Falls Church.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do my entire career, and this is the first time I’ve ever done something this substantial to our house,” says Sean, who has worked on 250 projects for other homeowners. His firm and its home improvement arm, Wilderworks, completed the renovation.
First, he came up with plans for a large addition off the kitchen. That’s when the architect learned something about creating his own design. Denise told him the addition would make it feel as though they had an old house and a new house, and it didn’t solve the family of five’s big problem: functionality. “I felt bad because it’s hard when you’re married to the designer to be like, ‘I love your plan, but I’d like you to rip it up and start over,’” she says.
Sean then started over with a plan for a smaller addition for the 2,100-square-foot home, roughly a 6-foot bump-out of about 110 square feet, and an interior revamp that essentially turned into a whole-house renovation. It included expanding their small horseshoe kitchen, adding dining for 10 and putting in a 30-by-14-foot Trex deck off the kitchen, updating two full baths and one half-bath, refinishing hardwood floors with Rubio Monocoat wood finish, and improving the exterior with new paint, a portico, and flagstone walkways.
Life Inside and Outside
The kitchen and dining area with the adjacent deck gave Sean what he wanted: a six-burner Monogram stove with a griddle in the two-toned, navy-and-white kitchen.
“Outside I did a ridiculous grill,” he says, adding that it is directly hooked up to the home’s gas line and has a light overhead. “We use it constantly.”
For Denise, who works from home, the sink mattered, as did functionality and storage. They put in lots of cabinets and a large island. The couple splurged on a Shaws fireclay farmhouse sink, but another amenity is one of their favorite new touches.
“I didn’t know how much in my life I needed/wanted an instant hot water dispenser. I love it,” she says. The family uses it for making tea, French press coffee, and oatmeal.
They tucked the microwave into the island, but with its easy access came something unexpected. “Our dogs are like ‘Thank you for putting the food at my face level.’ Any time you open the microwave, you get one on each side,” Denise says of the Labrador retrievers.
The addition of 24-inch-wide island refrigerator drawers turned out to be one of their smartest decisions, Sean says. They placed them on the side near the deck for easy drink access when they entertain and for their kids, who are 13, 11, and 9, to use as a grab-and-go center.
“It’s become the kids’ refrigerator, where they have their drinks and snacks. They put their lunches there. They don’t have to go in and out of the big refrigerator,” Sean says. “They can make a mess [in the drawers] and it’s easy to clean.” By adding the drawers and opting for a 36-inch refrigerator, rather than a 42-inch, they saved space.
“Six inches in this house goes a long, long way,” he says. The extra space went to the mudroom where the children have cubbies, one of Denise’s favorite parts of the remodel. “When all of that little stuff is in order, you do feel a little more relaxed,” she says.
The kitchen dining area and deck gave the family the space to hold large parties and spend more time together.
“I love the outdoor living aspect that we have,” Sean says. “That deck, when it’s nice out, really just makes it a great place to hang out, relax, have a cup of coffee, read a book. We have a TV hookup out there. … It is definitely a good hangout space.”
Bumped Up Curb Appeal
From the street, you can’t miss the house. Gray paint covers the original brick. An added portico, bright yellow door, and clear cedar treated with tung oil make it stand out.
“You don’t see anything like this in the neighborhood,” Sean says.
The couple changed the type of front door from a traditional one with windows on each side to one with one window. The change may seem small, but Denise says it made a big difference at the tiny landing just inside the door. “We had more space by that front door,” she says.
To make the home easier to visit, they replaced a meandering concrete sidewalk and put in a wider 5-foot flagstone walkway.
And they changed the house numbers. Sean says he wanted to make sure people could find the house, which is why the extra-large numbers are backlit. “It looks like the entrance to a hotel or to a restaurant. It’s super fun. It’s whimsical, if you want to call it that.”
Feature image by John Cole Photo
This story originally ran in our January issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
