After more than a decade in Alexandria’s Fort Hunt neighborhood, the Merchant family was ready to take on an extensive addition to their circa-1970s colonial-style home.
“Our remodel started on a cocktail napkin. During Friday night cocktails, Brent and I mapped out how we envisioned the space and our needs,” says Anne Merchant, who shares the home with her husband, Brent; their two sons Keller, 17, and Carter, 13; and a beloved family beagle named Wahoo.
Redesign Wish List
The Merchants’ wish list included a larger, updated kitchen with an eat-in area and pantry, a home office for Brent, a mudroom, a small butler’s pantry, a laundry room, and an expanded primary suite.
“What the family was really looking for was a little more room and more functional space, with storage options, especially on the main level. They wanted a home that would help them stay organized in their busy lives,” says Justin Olewack of Vienna-based Bolt Builders. He collaborated on the addition with architect James Finn.
Tearing down a dated carport on the left side of the house allowed for the integration of 1,176 square feet into the footprint of the now five-bedroom, 2,924-square-foot house. The redesign made space for both a new primary suite upstairs and a series of functional spaces downstairs.
The upper level now features a brand-new primary bedroom and walk-in closet. Other spaces were reimagined from existing ones: The former primary bedroom became the new primary bathroom (along with an additional smaller bedroom), and the former primary bathroom became a laundry room.
With an added side entrance, the family can now enter the main living space via a stylish mudroom that features herringbone brick floors, tall cupboards, an integrated bench, and a built-in desk for Anne.
“Most of the built-ins were custom designed for the boys. The floor-to-ceiling cabinets hold baseball equipment with mesh-fronted lower cubbies to store shoes and cleats,” says Olewack. “We also did a built-in desk and shelving for Brent’s home office directly across the way from the mudroom.”
Room to Entertain
The Merchants love to entertain in true Southern style. “Our goal was to combine our formal entertaining space with a fun, flowing kitchen and family room,” says Merchant.
The formal spaces are at the front of the house. Bolt Builders added chair-rail architectural detailing to the living room and a pair of French doors to separate the formal dining room from the new kitchen and eat-in area in the back of house, which is open to the family room and porch outside.
“The kitchen features a custom-designed hood and panel-ready refrigerator, all finished in the same soft white finish. It is a beautiful space. I love the traditional light sconces integrated into the cabinets on either side of the sink window. It is such a thoughtful touch,” Olewack says.
For the interiors, Merchant drew from her Southern heritage, combining family antiques and heirlooms with newer pieces into a graciously livable home. The house is primarily painted in Benjamin Moore White Dove, lending a seamless, expansive feel, but Merchant also incorporated a soft palette of greens, blues, and corals. “As a design enthusiast, I had a vision of what I wanted our home to represent. It all started with my parents’ North Carolina home and dog-eared copies of Southern Living,” Merchant says.
Individual, Connected Spaces
Among the notable aspects of the remodel is that the house is not an open floor plan but is instead a series of more intimate, connected spaces, defined by different functions and features.
“While some homeowners prefer to open up the entirety of their floorplan, we value and prefer the charm and coziness of keeping some smaller spaces,” says Merchant.
For example, the dining room, which did not change much in the redo, is anchored by a Gone with the Wind–inspired Schumacher wallpaper. The room also contains Anne’s mother’s mahogany Henkel Harris dining room table, as well as her great-grandmother’s corner cabinet commissioned in Richmond in the early 1900s.
Though open to the kitchen, the family room also remains a room unto itself. It features custom built-ins on either side of the fireplace and a wall-mounted TV. The adjacent kitchen features a vintage pine dining table and Chippendale-style bamboo dining chairs and barstools. The butler’s pantry is another intimate space, with small-print wallpaper, a walnut counter, and a beverage fridge.
“We are over the moon with our reimagined home. You likely wouldn’t recognize the house we bought in 2015, but it has been worth every penny to get to this point,” Merchant says. “It is our forever home. We feel rooted in this community and grateful for everyone who helped us get here.”
Feature image by Robert Radifera for Stylish Productions
This story originally ran in our May Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
