REMODELING
The house bore the dated stamp of its
last renovation, which took place in the
1980s. Stiles, a mortgage branch manager,
hired KUBE Architecture to design a
major renovation in the style he preferred.
“I’ve always had a contemporary sensibility,” he says. “I wanted to go a little more
classic because of the style of the house,
but my taste kept leading me in a very
contemporary direction.”
Because of the home’s historical status,
the front façade would have to remain
untouched save for a new layer of creamcolored paint. Architect Richard LoosleOrtega also retained such original interior
elements as the door and window moldings and exposed brick accent walls—
though he gutted the whole first floor to
create an open plan that flows towards
a wall of windows, beyond which is an
elevated rear deck with a courtyard below.
“In DC, we blend the bones of an older
BEFORE
The sleek new staircase (top) has a steeland-glass rail; a paneled structure beneath
it conceals a powder room. Loosle-Ortega’s
design is a far cry from the home’s previous
incarnation (above and below).
RENOVATION ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN: RICHARD
LOOSLE-ORTEGA, RA, principal in charge; ANDREW
BALDWIN, associate, KUBE Architecture, Washington,
DC. CONTRACTOR: DARREN KORNAS, Think Make
BEFORE
Build, Washington, DC. MILLWORK: ANDY GREEN,
Potomac Woodwork, LLC, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
118 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 • homeanddesign.com
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