A Look at Home Additions and Renovations in Vienna
Back in the late 1950s and mid-1960s, Northern Virginia sustained a lot of growth, especially in a sleepy little town named Vienna. While it continues to grow today and is one of the busiest commercial suburbs of Washington, DC, many of the homes built during the ’50s and ’60s are now beginning to show their wear. Some of the linoleum kitchen floors, tile bathrooms and open carports have been renovated over the years, but many of them are just now being replaced by natural stone, hardwood floors and two-car garages.
Vienna is just one example of the changes that homes are going through in Northern Virginia and Fairfax County. These are homes that were built with sturdy construction materials and crawlspaces or basements. They are split-level, Colonial and split-foyer homes that have beautiful brick bases with colorful aluminum or vinyl siding on the second and third stories.
What’s interesting about many of these homes is that they are three- and four-bedroom houses that have stood the test of time and are now receiving fashionable whole-home makeovers to make them twice their size, since they are built on larger lots than the homes of the ’80s and ’90s. One of the more common Fairfax County home additions and renovations is converting the single carport into a two-car garage with a finished room overtop. Also popular is a large second-story deck addition which connects to the rear of the kitchen, and two-story wings for extra bedrooms built on to the back or side of the existing home. Finished basements offer many choices in additional bedrooms, home entertainment centers and playrooms.
Many of the streets in Vienna are one lane in each direction that were never intended to carry the traffic that now travels on them every day. The solution for homeowners with steep, single-lane driveways attempting to pull into busy traffic is the creation of a circular driveway. This offers a simple and safe way to pull in and out with clear visibility and less stress. Ornamental features such as wishing wells, statues and low-lying plants and bushes decorate the central area of these horseshoe-shaped driveways.
One common feature that once held back homeowners from making additions on their Fairfax County homes is the existence of a steep grading in the back yard. While some homeowners have chosen to fill it in over the years, the clay soil through much of the area makes this hard to do. Instead, the latest and quite successful trend is putting in graduated outdoor steps by the side of the house. This is a landscaping addition that beautifies the yard and creates a safer way for kids and guests to enter the back yard without falling or sliding down or avoiding it altogether and walking through the house. These steps are made of durable green materials that can hold planters, creating an attractive, environmentally-friendly and user-friendly enhancement.
If you would like to talk about ideas for remodeling or renovating your home in Fairfax, Mclean, Springfield, Woodbridge, Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church VA, reach out to us at Foster Remodeling. Call now for a free consultation!
