Nestled on 10 wooded acres in McLean, a modern dwelling designed by renowned DC modernist Hugh Newell Jacobsen caught the eye of a young couple, who at the time opted for city life in DC’s Kalorama district. Ten years, two sons and a daughter later, when ready for a roomier roost they discovered that the 1971 gem was still for sale.

“It was love at first sight,” recalls photographer Courtney Parrie. “We bought the property from the original owner. It had been on the market so long because he wanted to sell it to people who appreciated the architecture and the land and would keep it alive—not knock it down and subdivide it. I said, ‘We are those people.’”

The home strikes a low profile against a backdrop of majestic trees on a hillside sloping down to a stream. In signature Jacobsen style, the structure has a prominent double chimney and strings together pure-white, gabled pavilions that distill a rural vernacular. Rimming the perimeter, abundant windows and 19 glassed-in bays bathe the interiors in light and play up views of nature.

“We appreciated the home’s beauty and bones, but it needed some love,” Parrie recalls. From a cramped kitchen to outdated infrastructure, a flurry of red flags vied for attention. Architect Wouter Boer, who’d revived the owners’ 1914 DC row house, joined forces with Alair Homes Arlington to update the structure while preserving its iconic design.

The home’s 1970s-era building techniques had taken a toll over time. Synthetic stucco applied onto the wooden exterior had trapped water and caused the framing to rot. Given to condensation, the existing, single-pane windows had to go. The main floor was out of level. And rust had overtaken the steel frames of the window bays, which were sinking.

“It would have been easier to tear the house down and start over,” admits Alair regional partner Chad Hackmann. “But despite tons of challenges, we went through the process of repairing and fixing it. Everyone involved was keen on keeping it as close to the original architectural intent as possible.”

This meant stripping everything down to the studs and rebuilding. While the home’s footprint remained the same, a few game-changing moves were made. Walls dividing the galley kitchen and dining room came down to create a large, unfettered space devoted to cooking, entertaining and family time. A small bedroom gave way to an airy primary bath. And barriers were removed or expanded, often exposing new outdoor vistas. “There were many more doors than were needed,” notes Alair partner Jason Chaney. “We created larger openings so the interiors would feel more fluid and flow nicely.”

A revamped glass entry ushers guests into a hall traversing the width of the home. The living room is straight ahead, while the kitchen, dining area and butler’s pantry occupy a pavilion on the right. To the left, the hall leads to a front pavilion containing three kids’ bedrooms, two baths and a laundry room, and a rear pavilion housing the primary suite and a library. The passage culminates at a pavilion added on by previous owners and now used as a playroom. A small basement space was converted into a darkroom for Parrie.

To reflect the home’s aura of calm and serenity, the team honed in on a minimalist aesthetic. From wide-plank white oak floors to walls sheathed in plaster, an organic material palette prevails. Slabs of Calacatta Monet marble and sleek, custom cabinetry define the kitchen and adjacent mudroom. “I didn’t want the interiors to take away from the beauty of our surroundings. So we chose a neutral palette and lots of natural textures to highlight that,” explains Parrie, who also curated furniture selection.

Spare surfaces play up the power of Jacobsen’s crisp geometry. As Chaney remarks, “The whole house is trim-less. There’s no baseboard, no window kicking and no door facing.” Instead of traditional grills, supply vents are thin, rectangular channels. And plaster-in recessed lights keep the ceilings pristine.
But no challenge received more attention than the window bays. “The bays really give the house character,” notes Boer. “It would destroy the feel if they were chunky or heavy.” So instead of settling for one of today’s bulkier solutions, the Alair team painstakingly salvaged and retrofitted the old, rusty frames to accommodate thicker, double-pane glass. “It was a ton of work,” declares the architect. “We’ve got to give the builders huge credit for working through all those details.”

In the end, client and team amplified what they all loved about the project. “We saw this as a careful renovation rather than putting our own stamp on it,” say Boer. “Hugh Jacobsen is a really important architect for DC. He created his own sort of language, which is, I think, still relevant today.”

Courtney Parrie concurs. The now-single mom fondly recalls settling into the completed home with her children. “The house itself is an art piece and the window bays are like little portals to the outside. You step into one and feel encompassed by what’s around you,” she marvels, “whether it’s deer or foxes running by, or my kids playing tag. There’s always a new little still life to admire.”