Early American property blends history, whimsy in Old Town Alexandria
Before one of the designers of the Metro system bought the historical brick house a block from Alexandria's waterfront, and before an early 19th-century trunk maker used the building for a workshop, and before a friend of George Washington's bought the land, an 18th-century oyster shack stood just beyond what today is the Duke Street house's backyard.
Fast-forward to the 21st century, when the backyard was dug up for a small heated pool and patio, unearthing oyster shells, likely discarded from the oyster shop in the 1770s. Homeowner Martha Peterson bleached and painted the shells, hanging them in a frames above the quartz countertop in a kitchen where custom pocket doors conceal Miele appliances, a built-in coffee maker, wine cooler and other equipment not dreamed of when the house was built in 1800.
'The ground was just full of oyster shells, and my mom had the idea to keep some as a kind of tribute to the history of the place,' said Peterson's son Chase Whitely, who lives in the house and has helped renovate it with her. They are both interior designers.
The house was originally about half its current size. Transportation engineer Alan Voorhees, whose work helped shape both Washington's subway and the U.S. interstate highway system, bought an empty lot next door in the 1980s and expanded the house to cover both properties. Three years ago, Peterson built another addition, which includes a second living room, a back staircase, guest bedroom with balcony, and front and back porches. In all, the house has five bedrooms, four bathrooms and five fireplaces.
'Every corner, every inch they touched, but they were amazing at keeping the charm of house, including some original floors and fireplaces, keeping the historic look and adding modern touches,' Compass real estate agent Stefanie Hurley said of Peterson's and Whitely's work on the house.
One of Whitley's favorite renovations is the first-floor powder room where swans swim on bright pink Gucci wallpaper and are reflected in the ornate mirror above a custom curved marble vanity. Gold leaf covers the ceiling.
Another gem for Whitley is the transformation of the soaring entry way.
'What sold us on the house was the foyer. When we bought it, it was just a wood floor and painted walls, so we added a heated marble floor, redid the stairs and put in paneling. We really wanted the space to be like 'wow' when people walk in,' he said.
Whitley and Peterson added a hand-painted mural by artist Suzanne Harter of a pastoral scene that wraps around an arched doorway in the main-level hallway. They converted an upstairs bedroom to a dressing room off the primary bedroom. Both rooms have fireplaces.
The home's crawl space has been converted to finished storage space that spans the entire house. 'It had been just a pile of dirt. In a lot of historic homes, you don't get a lot of storage space, so this is a huge perk of the house,' Hurley said.
Many historical elements remain. In addition to the fireplaces and some of the wood floors, the exposed brick in the kitchen marks where the original house ended. The original front door to the house built by trunk maker Ephraim Mills in 1800 still faces the street. When the house was expanded another front door was added as the main entryway, but because it has two doors, the house appears as if it's two separate residences.
Outside, the pool's temperature can be controlled by an app, and residents have even used it when it's snowing, Hurley said. A narrow putting green abuts what had been Whitley's stepfather's office with a door to the outside. Whitley recalls him taking phone calls while putting.
'The house has been evolving since we bought it about 10 years ago,' Whitley said. 'As an interior designer, you're often giving clients things you might not necessarily do in your home. So, this has been fun for us and it's made us happy.'
$5.8 million
109 Duke St., Alexandria, Va.
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