HOME REMODELING
HIGH SUMMER SOLUTION
Michael Nash Design Garners Top Home Remodeling Prize | By John Byrd
An expansive rear elevation solution that combines a top-tier grilling deck and dining pavilion with an open-air lower level patio that boasts a full bar, TV and billiards has won a “Contractor of the Year” (COTY) award for Michael Nash Design Build and Homes.
The design solution – in which a rear deck has been replaced with a two-tier accommodation that offers a wide-range of outdoor entertainment components – was introduced into the home of an Ashburn couple who had purchased the property several years ago.
The project was named metro Washington’s “best exterior” by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s metro DC chapter.
In accepting the prize, Michael Nash president and founder Sonny Nazemian was quick to acknowledge his company’s high performance design team, which grappled with several site and interior design challenges.
“Developing a more satisfying relationship between a house and its setting is increasingly a top priority for local owners as they continue to occupy their homes,” the remodeler observes. “Northern Virginians love the temperate climate and rich green surroundings, so finding functional, aesthetically-pleasing ways to connect the house with what’s just outside the door is a strong local interest – especially as spring turns into summer.”
The owners of the nearly 5,000-square-foot residence were mainly seeking a flexible indoor/outdoor solution that would better rationalize the relationship between the house and an in-ground pool added last year.
The plan called for organic ways of segmenting outdoor play areas from several formal and informal dining zones.
“We were looking for a solution that will work well for six or seven months of the year,” Nazemian adds. “This is the real essence of effective indoor-outdoor design today.”
Aesthetics being a major consideration, the design team exercised notable care when combining colors and textures into elevations and surfaces that complement the natural setting.
“We were looking for a solution that will work well for six or seven months of the year. This is the real essence of effective indoor-outdoor design today.”
– Sonny Nazemian
Best Exterior. A two-tier outdoor living solution to a home in Ashburn has been named the area’s “Best Residential Exterior” by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s metro DC chapter. The project garnered a “Contractor of the Year” (COTY) award for Michael Nash Design Build and Homes. The plan was designed to complement an existing in-ground pool and features a dining pavilion and grilling deck on the top level. One level below, there’s a covered patio with a 5-seat bar, plasma TV and a billiards table.
The shaded lower patio offers a pub-like ambiance complete with a beer tap, seating for six, a plasma TV and a professional caliber billiards table; the upper level features a dining veranda linked to the kitchen and an open-air grilling deck. And to add elegance to an open air setting, designer Oliver Nazemian proposed Doric columns with recessed panels. The unifying motif continues to the open air grilling deck.
The Michael Nash solution presents an architecturally-appropriate complement to the existing house in a well-integrated floorplan that features carefully defined activity zones. A custom-made wrought-iron spiral staircase provides direct access to the back yard and poolside decking. Photography by Greg Hadley
The deeper satisfaction for the owners, though, is the beautifully articulated indoor-outdoor design with its many well-defined, cleverly-integrated activity zones, to wit:
- Design to complement an in-ground pool, the plan features a dining pavilion and grilling deck on the top level. One level below, there’s a covered patio with a five-seat bar, plasma TV and a billiards table. A wrought iron spiral staircase facilitates traffic between the two tiers.
- The shaded lower patio offers pub-like ambiance complete with a beer tap, seating for six, a plasma TV and a professional-caliber billiards table; the upper level features a dining veranda linked to the kitchen and an open-air grilling deck.
- A flagstone-rimmed planter displays azaleas and other spring flowers. Stone is now the integral component that marries the remodeled exterior to new hardscaping that wraps the pool.
- Doric columns with recessed panels add elegance to open-air setting. The unifying motif continues to the open-air grilling deck. Flooring is wood-patterned porcelain tile. The sliding glass door segues into a family room with a hearth.
- The built-in bar is equipped with an under-counter fridge and a bar tap. The spiral stairway facilitates access from the top tier. The pearl-tone porcelain tiles provide a tonal complement to the knotty gray stain ceiling – softly illuminating the scene, even on rainy days.
- The wrought-iron spiral staircase also offers direct access to the back yard and poolside decking.