Best New Listings: From Kensington to the Queen Street Corner Store

• June 26th 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

This week’s Best New Listings features a LEED-ready house in Kensington, an accessible house in North Michigan Park, and a converted corner store in Old Town Alexandria.

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A Mix of Reclaimed Materials in Kensington

Designed to LEED Platinum standards, this Kensington house incorporates a mix of reclaimed materials throughout its interior and exterior, including maple flooring sourced from a school gym. The living room has a modern fireplace above a stone ledge and built-in shelving bookending either side of a trio of steps up to the dining area. The bright kitchen has accordion doors leading out to a screened-in porch with access to tiered deck areas and gardens, and an accordion window above the kitchen sink also opens to access an outdoor bar ledge. The roof deck is off the owner's suite, and a solar panel array here can provide 90% of the house's consumption needs; the house also has a rainwater cistern and a carport.

• Full Listing: 3505 Kent Street (map)
• Price: $1.2 million
• Bedrooms: Five
• Bathrooms: Four
• Square Feet: 3,136
• Year Built: 2011
• Listing Agent: Lisa LaCourse, RLAH Real Estate

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A Corner Store-Turned-Political Pied-à-Terre

Previously owned by political consultant power couple Mary Matalin and James Carville, this converted corner store in Old Town Alexandria is an UrbanTurf favorite. The 19th-century commercial space was originally retrofit by architect Mark McInturff, who played up the original 20-foot-tall ceiling and added a series of eight-foot-tall windows to the façade with sliding parchment partitions for privacy. The sleek kitchen with granite countertops and a breakfast bar island sits at the center of the open main level, with a double basin sink across from the integrated cooktop beneath hood and stacked ovens; the living room beyond enjoys a fireplace. The spacious owner's suite has a deep walk-in closet and an attached sitting room with a fireplace between built-in cabinets, built-in shelving flanking two window seats, and three doors providing access to a shallow private balcony. Cedar paneling surrounds the brick gas fireplace on the spacious lower level, which also has a bonus room and full bath.

• Full Listing: 314 Queen Street (map) 
• Price: $2.095 million
• Bedrooms: Two
• Bathrooms: 4.5
• Square Feet: 5,116
• Year Built: 1880
• Listing Agents: Mark McFadden, Cameron McFadden, Compass

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An Accessible Three-Bedroom in North Michigan Park

This semi-detached North Michigan Park house has a ramp installed for additional access to the front porch. The traditional interior has tiled floors along the entry hall, and the living room has double exposure and a brick fireplace. The dining room also has double exposure courtesy of a picture window and a chair rail. The one-wall kitchen has a ledge along the wall facing the cabinetry, and a tin press-style side splash sits beneath the window and next to the stove with hood. The owner's bedroom has double exposure and an archtop desk alcove, and a bathroom upstairs has mint green tiles that tier up the walls framing the shower/tub. The lower level serves as a rec room or bonus room with full bath, and an enclosed mudroom off the kitchen opens onto the steps to the backyard with patio area. The house also has a detached parking garage.

• Full Listing: 1333 Varnum Street NE (map)
• Price: $625,000
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: 2.5
• Square Feet: 1,818
• Year Built: 1935
• Listing Agents: Iosif Gozner, Keller Williams Capital Properties

Photo courtesy of HomeVisit.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/best-new-listings-from-kensington-to-the-queen-street-corner-store/17001.