Category — Design

Not many rooms or windows for that matter, allow spectacular views. In this case, Natelli Homes removed a traditional arrangement of windows with millwork panels between an upper roundtop window and a lower fixed picture window. We installed broad spans of full height glass with only a small structural division between the two windows. Using engineered custom Marvin windows with Kynar clad exteriors and tempered 1″ thick glass was a necessity.

The photo really does not depict what the view allows after the installation. To see the full tree, from the base to the crown, is striking.

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Everyone loves a bay window for the obvious reasons. It punctuates the room and brings the outside in, but what a difference this bay window renovation will make.

From an ordinary bay window above that we have seen in thousands of homes, to the inspiring full height, floor to ceiling, Marvin window in this breakfast room to the right. I’ll show a photo of the finshed exterior in a couple of weeks.

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Natelli Homes is pleased to display one of its newest product lines in Arlington this weekend.  The Ashley model is designed and developed for narrow lots in areas such as Arlington and Bethesda.

The original home was demolished in the latter part of 2010 and we are already getting prepared for the Owners to move in their new home.  This hand-crafted home was constructed to the same standards as the ultra-custom homes that Natelli Homes builds throughout the Washington metropoliotan area.  With four finished levels, five full bedrooms and an expansive recreation room and den in the basement, there is a surprising amount of room for families.

Please join us this Sunday, May 15th between 1:00 – 3:00 p.m at 1909 N Quebec St in Arlington, VA.  This will be a one- time opportunity to see the most current new home design and quality from Natelli Homes.

Feel free to contact me with any questions at  Bob@Natellihomes.com

Having handmade, custom cherry bookshelves in your home would tend to draw someone to the home office just for the ambiance they create.  Design elements of bookshelves can be beautiful, functional and intriguing.  With a little creativity and some master carpentry, we found a way to have a secret passage in our homes.  Bookshelves can be placed anywhere; in an office, a hallway, or outside a bedroom perhaps.  The fun part is making a functional door through the cabinets that is not apparent but can provide some utility and mystery in the home. 

In this case, the cabinets are installed at the top of a cantilevered, custom, handmade walnut staircase, but are also accessible to another room through a hidden doorway designed into the bookshelves.  The bookshelf design features floor to ceiling columns,  full caps and bases with adjustable shelves that are certain to be filled. 

On one side of the hidden door you see the bookshelves.  On the other side, the door face will match the design of the solid core doors used throughout the home. 

Feel free to e-mail me with your questions and comments.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website www.natellihomes.com.

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

We have seen and heard this phrase for decades, perhaps centuries, and I really doubt anyone questioned its meaning because it is so obviously true.  Whether conceived by Frederick R. Barnard in the publication, Printer’s Ink, in 1921 or it truly evolved from a Chinese proverb (“a picture is worth ten thousand words”) or perhaps it should be added to the many credits of Confucius, it needs no explanation.

With that in mind, tell me what you think:

Before & After

 Feel free to e-mail me at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website www.natellihomes.com where valuable coupons will be available through the month of February.

Arguably the most important rooms in a home are the kitchen and family room.  Families tend to congregate, eat, play, laugh, argue, watch TV and use computers in these rooms.  Dining Rooms are used a couple of times a year and Living Rooms almost have no purpose at all.

For this property owner in Bethesda, like the vast majority in the Washington, D.C. metro area, they needed an affordable expansion of the kitchen, family room and breakfast room.  This project included a family room addition about 20 feet square that adjoined the kitchen and breakfast room.  The family room connects to the kitchen through an open counter-top and two cased openings as you can see in the adjacent photo.  The breakfast room is large enough to house a generous table and will include a wall-mounted TV and wireless computer connections.

This project is ready for the finishes.  The drywall has been installed and primed, the sub-floor has been screwed and prepped to receive the wood flooring and equally important, the home is clean and safe.  A clean project is a safe project.  The windows are ready to be trimmed with casing and stool – this project is ready to continue on its speedy schedule.  Check our posts in a week or two - I will be sure to include some photos of the completed cabinets and trim.

Feel free to e-mail me at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website at www.natellihomes.com.  We have valuable on-line coupons for kitchens, bathrooms and windows that will not be available for much longer.

Lots of people pause about renovating a home because they worry about how long it might take, interruptions to their family and perhaps the cost.  One of the easiest additions is over an existing garage.  If the existing home was constructed properly it should support the new living space.  There is a lot of foot-print to work with and the demolition is minimal.

In this project located in Potomac, MD, we removed the existing roof and had the new room built in a manner of a few weeks.  The Owners were concerned about disturbance during the forthcoming holidays, but good planning and project management got the job under roof well before the deadlines.

There is a lot of room over a garage.  A Master Suite with closets and a large bathroom will easily fit in the space.  Alternatively two bedrooms and a shared bath would work as well.  The living spaces can easily be enhanced with dormers and vaulted ceilings.  This is truly one of the most logical additions one can make if added bedroom space is a necessity.

The bottom line here is simple.  Don’t overlook the obvious.  There is easy inexpensive space over a garage.  I’ll talk about the inside improvements in a future post. 

Feel free to contact me at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website at www.NatelliHomes.com

 Most people enter their homes through the garage; simply press a button in the car and quickly get into the home. It’s simple, effective and we hardly give it a second thought. But the vast majority of the people, even our good friends, usually come to the front door when they visit.   The front door and a covering / portico can be the first impression for a visitor.  Not only are they a measure of the appeal of the home but they provide a needed function by giving shelter from rain and snow.  The covered area lends itself to kicking the elements off our boots and catching our breath after running through a downpour.  Although I don’t have a photo included in this post, one of my favorite views of homes is in the evening when the cone of a downlight or the reflection from a well placed sconce accentuates the architecture of a portico.

Transforming the entrance to a home is not easy.  One needs to consider the existing architecture, overall mass of the home, the owner’s preferences and the materials to be used.   In the example on the left located in Potomac, Md., the home did not have an apparent entrance.  The front door is almost hidden in the fascade and the shrubs block the entrance.  The walkway is not even visible.  Visitors might actually have been confused as to where and how to approach the home.  We all want to feel invited, but in this case a visitor does not know where to start.

Construction on this project was significant but the results speak for themselves.  The driveway was changed from asphalt to pavers, new landscaping was installed, stone knee walls frame the walkway and a new concrete foundation with local flagstone paving was built to support the covered portico with stained rough-sawn cedar posts. 

What results is an architectural invitation and an obvious arrival court.  The materials all complement one other.  The textures of the stone paving lead to a natural expectation of the look and feel of the cedar posts and the copper roof will fade to an earthy patina.  Finally there is a single focus, an obvious arrival point;  the invitation to the home we were always looking for.

Feel free to e-mail me with your questions and comments.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website www.natellihomes.com

Natelli Homes recently completed a kitchen renovation to a home in Potomac, MD.  We used custom WoodMode cabinets, Kashmere Gold perimeter granite countertops with antique honed finishes and professional grade Wolf, Subzero and Dacor appliances – all high-end components that would make any kitchen stand out.  The Woodmode cabinets with a distressed Cottage White finish on the surrounding wall and base cabinets make the rich wood-tones of the island stand out.

The existing kitchen was limited in width so the client made some creative decisions to make the island the most notable feature in the project without harming valuable space.  The cherry cabinets in the island are a rich Burnished Tuscan Sun finish from WoodMode’s array of custom options and finishes.  At the end of the island is a maple butcher block that the client found in an antique shop.  We studied the butcher block with our WoodMode kitchen designer and made a custom base that would look as if they were both designed with the original cabinets. 

The most challenging part of the project was the custom zinc top.  Knowing that zinc is a soft metal that can scratch and stain unless properly cared for, we debated for several weeks with the client about that choice of material.  Finally after much discussion on the pros and cons, we carefully measured for the top and made a template for the zinc manufacturer.  Even in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, not many firms are experienced or qualified to make a zinc top, so we ended up using a firm in Texas.  The separation from DC to Texas was not very comforting as all dimensions and details had to be confirmed over e-mail or the phone. Obviously the top came out great.  It is a beautiful, completely unique feature in what could have been an outstanding but somewhat typical kitchen renovation. 

Credit goes to the client for knowing what they wanted, researching the issues and sticking to their instincts.  We are pleased to have been a part of another beautiful kitchen renovation with different challenges and such notable differences in the finished product.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.  I can be reached at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website at www.natellihomes.com

Next in our series of possible bathroom design options we look at adding a couple of feet to the back of the room and creating a shed dormer.  We want to manage costs so the expansion will be minimal but still develop the necessary space.  The sketch on the right is the same starting point we have for our other design options.  Now let’s see what happens with a few extra square feet positioned in the right place.

We will incorporate a tub, full shower, two vanities and a toilet compartment in this expansion.  The tub is generously sized with ample room on the deck for towel storage and decorations.  The shower has a large seat and potential for multiple heads and there is room for a private area for the water closet. Having his and her vanities makes sense for many couples.  The complement of quality cabinets on either side of the room, such as the WoodMode cabinets we feature, not only allows symmetry in the space but creates a focal point to the tub and window above.  The added window could be the most valuable component.  Large amounts of natural light flowing in the bathroom through a round or elliptical transom makes the room feel more connected to the outside.  The ambient light in a room often negates the need for illuminated lights.  Finally, look at the closets.  They have more than doubled – something every family could use!

So now you have three functional options to the standard bathroom in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.  Each one has different priorities but none come at significant expense because they are designed and constructed in a logical and practical manner.  With these designs you can bring your home from the 1940’s quickly into optimum design standards for your lifestyle today.

Feel free to contact me by e-mail at Bob@NatelliHomes.com or visit our website, www.NatelliHomes.com