PORTFOLIO
B
y the time a couple with three
teenage daughters contacted
Bethesda architect Jim Rill to
design a renovation, they had
spent almost 20 years living in a home
that he calls “dysfunctional.” Though the
owners had remodeled the house 15 years
earlier, they were still contending with
a number of shortcomings. The house
lacked a connection to its idyllic backyard.
In addition to its cramped rooms, lackluster galley kitchen and awkward flow,
the “quirky” home even had two separate
staircases leading to the basement, where
they met at the bottom. “It was really
bizarre,” the architect recalls.
Rill and his team devised a plan that
would open up the interiors to the
property’s glorious landscape, update the
RENOVATION ARCHITECTURE: JIM RILL, AIA, Rill
Architects, Bethesda, Maryland. INTERIOR DESIGN:
ERIN PAIGE PITTS, Erin Paige Pitts Interiors, Gibson
Island, Maryland. RENOVATION CONTRACTOR:
DAVID CLARK, Woodhaven Contractors, Ijamsville,
Maryland.
The rear elevation shows the abundant windows that flood the renovated home with natural
light. On one side, the family room opens to a flagstone terrace (top) and on the other, a
screened porch (above) with a flagstone floor and fir ceiling.
46 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 • homeanddesign.com
Port.indd 46
10/9/13 4:43 PM