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| | | Lincoln Park row house full of light | | October 16, 2009 | | | | Staff Writer | | If homes were songs, Realtor Peter Grimm knows the tune for this circa-1909 bay-front Victorian: “The Sunny Side of the Street.”
“We call it the snow-melting side” of East Capitol, Grimm said of the south-facing home. The façade also recalls the jingle: golden yellow pops against neighbors’ red brick.
Inside, some features will brighten home buyers’ moods immediately: Original bits that have disappeared from many similar homes are intact here. Miraculously, chunky moldings and hefty baseboards have never been painted. Some wavy glass remains in the one-over-one bay windows.
Many Capitol Hill homes have lost their tiled foyers, but this one is intact, complete with a stained-glass panel listing the home’s address.
Also original are curtain rods spanning the interior doorway. Drapes were used to trap the front room’s heat in winter without closing the still-smooth-gliding -- pocket doors, Grimm explained.
A large mirror in the hallway is also original to the home, Grimm believes. “I’ve seen that in the same place in similar homes,” he said.
Not original is a huge built-in china cabinet in the wainscoted dining room. There’s ample storage space here, and lit glass shelves offer display space for favorite items.
A powder room waits between the dining room and the kitchen. The latter has gotten some recent updates, including granite countertops and some new appliances, but renovation-minded buyers will find room for improvement here.
Changes could be as small as painting the solid cabinetry or as significant as taking away some of the powder room to open the space up to the main house.
Beyond the kitchen waits a deck that overlooks a brick patio below. Mature plants including hydrangeas, boxwood and ivy climbing the opposite wall give definition to this quiet garden. There’s room here for outdoor lounging or dining furniture -- it’s ideal as a dinner-party spot.
The basement level is “mostly finished,” said Grimm. A tiled floor has been installed in the finished portion, while unfinished storage space lies beyond a wall.
Two exits mean the spot could feasibly be a rental if a kitchen and bath were added. The floor would also need to be lowered somewhat, said Grimm. As is, the well-lit space would make sense as a family room or home office.
The home’s center stair “is great because it doesn’t break up the foyer,” said Grimm. At the top of those stairs are the home’s three bedrooms and two remaining baths.
The master bedroom includes the bay window, which offers expansive views of the tree-filled neighborhood. Lincoln Park is steps away, and winter views of the Capitol dome may be possible, Grimm said.
The master bath, with a walk-in tiled shower, is unusually situated here at the top of a few steps. The location was chosen to avoid intruding on the stairway, noted Grimm.
A second bedroom and washer-dryer closet precede the floor’s second bath, which combines white tile and wood wainscoting. Brown marble tiles line the floor.
A final bedroom here is a surprise. Now used as a library with extensive built-in wood shelving, the walls here are upholstered in a cozy chocolate corduroy. Two-over-two windows let light into the space, which is perhaps better used as a library or office since it does not have a closet.
A screened porch is another restful spot here and overlooks the garden below.
The three-bedroom, 2.5-bath home at 1308 East Capitol St. NE is offered for $769,900. Contact Peter Grimm of Prudential Carruthers’ Smith Team Realtors at 202-270-6368. | | | | | Log in to comment on this article |
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