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Remodeling a home almost from scratch
When architect David Herring looked at the house at 1706 Putter Lane in the Lake Anne area of Reston almost a decade ago, two features clinched its eventual sale to him and his wife, Darcie Davis.
Although showing natural wear and tear from previously housing two active families, one raising four children and the other raising three, it possessed “good bones and a fabulous site,” Herring said.
The site, in a wooded setting at the end of a cul-de-sac, boasts a 180-degree view of the fifth and sixth fairway on the Hidden Creek Country Club golf course.
The bones of the late-1960s former five-bedroom contemporary allowed Herring --a commercial architect with Herring & Trowbridge Architects (designers of Reston Crescent and the two redeveloped buildings at Isaac Newton Square on Wiehle Avenue) -- to basically maintain the exterior while virtually replacing all interior spaces.
Importantly, its clear-span roof trusses bearing on concrete-block exterior walls allowed for removal of all the interior walls.
Herring, 58, who has lived in Reston since 1988, and Davis, 60, who has lived there since 1995, had been searching for their perfect home for nearly two years. Seeing the possibilities in this house just a half mile from where they lived in a townhouse, Herring immediately began sketching his vision.
That vision, however, was not his alone. A skillful architect and smart husband, Herring, who has been trained to serve client needs, made his wife “the client.”
Renovating a house is stressful enough under the best circumstances, especially when juggling two full-time careers, so “I had to please her,” he said.
Working within the confines of the original skin and a budget, the house they created transformed lots of small, conventional rooms into a few large, interconnecting open spaces with a primary focus on the golf course views.
Since their marriage is a second marriage for both, the needs of other family members were not a major factor in the remodeling. The house, Herring said, “was designed for us.”
In addition to opening up the interior space, the remodeling, according to Herring, included replacement of all exterior and interior doors and windows, new floors, walls, ceilings, bathrooms and kitchen. The house also was rewired to accommodate a digital work environment.
The remodeling further included the addition of a two-car garage plus workshop area, mirroring the shape of the main house, to make the front symmetrical. The expansion created an outdoor entry courtyard, too, resulting in a design that “looks original and not an obvious renovation.”
The design to the rear of the house is a continuous deck that offers a panoramic view of the wooded lot and golf course. And though Herring and Davis don't play golf, they enjoy watching all the activity, including their “critic’s view” of the fifth tee and hikers on nearby trails.
Herring managed the entire design and construction project together with general contractor, Hayes Construction. He said the project took a year to complete.
Reluctant to label the resulting overall style, Herring settles on a description given by a Realtor -- “contemporary and craftsman.”
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