Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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A Crisp & Classic House Tour

This house crashing adventure in Northern Virginia had us drooling over materials and finishes, especially in the kitchen and the bathrooms. Talk about a gorgeous place to come home to. And here’s Melissa The Homeowner now, so let’s go in.

Hc Meet Owner

Her house was actually built in 1940, but she and her husband Jim added an awesome addition to the back of the house in 2009 which included a new kitchen. And it just happened to be one of the most amazing ones we’ve ever been in. So we’ll cut right to the chase. You can see it down the hallway near the front door…

Hc Kitchen Hall

… and it’s glorious. Is it not? Everything from the thick crown molding and the vintage-esque lights over the island (from Amazon) to the crisp subway tile and gorgeous glass fronted cabinets had us at hello.

Hc Kitchen Shot

We also really loved the black honed granite counters paired with the white cabinets and the stainless steel appliances. And that hood was amazing. Jim actually made it. Yes, it was fantastic. And the pot filler was snagged for around $75 on clearance when Home Depot Expo closed. I think hoods and pot fillers like this are what dreams are made of.

Bc Range Detail

The kitchen opens up to a family room on the other side of the large multifunctional space. And yes, you can watch TV on this flatscreen while cooking. Life is good for Melissa. We especially loved the striped tone-on-tone drapes (from JC Penney) and the cozy gas fireplace. This is one of those awesome family homes where people really live (see the toys tucked into that corner on the right and all the books on those built-ins on the left?).

Hc Family Room

The back of the house shows the 2009 addition that we mentioned (the kitchen and that family room were added along with a main bedroom and bath upstairs). Which means Melissa and her husband got to create this gorgeous back patio with nice wide steps leading out to a grassy play area for their son and daughter.

Hc Back Patio

There’s also a more formal living room in the front of the house, and the fireplace was especially lovely thanks to the crisp lines of the mantel.

Hc Living Room

Here’s another little stolen detail, just a quick shot of a frame arrangement on the stairs leading up to the second level (she got the M at Ross for $6). So personal and sweet.

Hc Stairway Frame Collage

Here’s their son’s room which had custom floor to ceiling built-ins that Jim actually made himself. Talk about getting tons of function out of one wall. And the rocking horse was DIYed by Jim’s father (handiness runs in the family).

Hc Sons Room

And here’s their daughter’s room with a charming cherry branch mural on the wall (from ebay) and a DIYed nightstand by Melissa (don’t you love the large white stripe down the center?).

Hc Daughters Room

Their main bedroom is airy and welcoming with a nice peaked ceiling and lots of windows.

Hc Master Full

The bed even had sort of an exotic vacation vibe going on. Ooh la la.

Hc Master Bed Detail

But that bathroom is really what brought me to my knees. Look at that gorgeous giant sink vanity topped with more black honed granite (just like the kitchen countertops). And the floors. They killed me.

Hc Master Bath Full

Here’s a closer look. Marble basketweave (from The Tile Shop). I was in heaven.

Master Bath Detail

There’s also a basement with a giant playroom that was in progress when we crashed. But it has since been officially finished and it. is. awesome. Check it out here. And here’s the sweet little basement guest room (complete with a headboard that Melissa DIYed and bedding from JC Penney)…

Hc Guest Room

… and an equally charming and cheerful guest bathroom (with towels from Bed Bath & Beyond and art from Target).

Hc Guest Bathroom

So thanks a million to Melissa and Jim for inviting us in and letting us snap away! There’s not much that we love more than snooping around a lovely house like hers! And since we definitely didn’t capture every detail (or even every room) be sure to head over to Melissa’s blog for more photos and details. Hooray for hump day house crashings!

Psst- Wanna virtually poke around a ton of other awesome casas? Click here for eye candy galore.

Comments

  1. Giulia says

    What a lovely house. You guys are lucky, most people need to wait for open houses and you get invited to check them out :)

    If in Ottawa, Canada, you are welcome to our place…a little far I know, but we drove down to Virginia last summer for our vacation, so you never know ;)

    Reply

  6. Emily says

    AMAZING! The sophistication combined with warmth combined with beautiful color combined with a sweet family vibe…ayayay! This classic/traditional look has never been my personal taste but seeing this house makes me want to convert! You know you nailed it when lovers of everything “modern” want to run out and score an antique or three…:)

    Reply

  11. Maggie Rose says

    Beautiful – the kitchen is what dreams are made of. Hoping Melissa can share where she got the towel rack (above the toilet) in the guest bath. I was JUST thinking about getting one yesterday after seeing the same style in a magazine (with no source).

    Reply

  13. Jenny says

    I’m with Sherry on the bathroom. I kept thinking what a perfect house…lay out, lighting, windows…and then the bathrooms. Love it! I wish I still lived in the South or on the East coast where house have such great character!

    Reply

  15. Michele says

    Just beautiful. I just love seeing how people with gorgeous houses like this one splurge on some things like flooring while buying other things like artwork at Target. I have the same bird print! That’s my favorite part of house crashing, seeing how people blend pricier elements with bargain buys and DIY projects.

    Reply

  16. Jim MacGregor (HomeOwner) says

    Thanks to YHL for the crash, we loved meeting you and Melissa has been talking about you guys since you left. Also, thanks to all of you for the nice comments about the house. Melissa puts a lot of time into making our house a home and I think she is remarkable. Without her I would be eating off a TV tray and sitting on bean bags. For those of you with questions in your posts I know Melissa will answer every one of them but right now she is on a plane coming home after a long business trip.

    Thanks again to YHL and (shameless plug for the woman I love) for more on our house and Melissa’s design ideas check out her blog at http://houseography.blogspot.com

    Jim

    Reply

  17. Kimberly says

    I want to live here. I love it when a place is gorgeous and yet homey at the same time. It’s as if the home is working with the inhabitants, instead of the owners living there in spite of the gorgeousness.

    Mmmmmmmmm.

    (No really, I’m close to being inappropriate over the kitchen and the built-ins in the basement.)

    Reply

  21. Kristi says

    I’m dying to know about that ottoman in her living room. I’m looking for one just like it. I live in town, Melissa, if you ever want to change it out… :)

    Reply

  26. Kate says

    That house is amazing! I love Melissa’s style and clean aesthetics! The real question is: Where does she put all her stuff!?! Everything is SO neat!

    Reply

  30. Rachael says

    I just love this house. No detail is left unfinished and the palate is so welcoming. It looks so cozy and live-able, but straight out of a magazine also. If I could live in a house just like this.. :)

    Reply

  31. Paula/adhocmom says

    I am in total agreement that black grout is a wise choice with white subway tile. We went that route. People thought it was weird. . but I was like white is GOING TO GET DIRTY PEOPLE! I stand by my choice and am glad to see that I’m not alone.

    Reply

  33. Hilary @ My So-Called Home says

    So warm and cozy, definitely a well loved and well lived-in house. The marble basketweave tile is stunning, and I love the white kitchen cabinets with the dark counters. Maybe when/if we close on our house (fingers crossed) you can come crash ours! Central Jersey too far?

    Reply

  34. Jen Migonis says

    Thank you so much for posting your fabulous house crashing adventures, I’ve had a blast looking at all of them… This one was definitely one of my faves.

    Reply

  37. Shelley says

    One of my absolute favorites of your house crashing adventures! I am in love with that house! I would never leave that kitchen/family room area! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  38. Lori @ Richmond, BABY! says

    Great house crash! And Melissa, I LOVE your home! You and I have very similar taste and the front of our houses are almost identical, haha! (Although ours was built in 1937 and is down in Richmond- plus no beautiful addition- boo!) I’m drooling over your kitchen and pretty much everything else. Beautiful job!

    Reply

  40. Jen @ The Decor Scene says

    Gorgeous!!! The whole house is just gorgeous!!! And I’m in love with that master bathroom. That is some eye candy!!! Thanks for sharing with us. Melissa, you have a gorgeous home….thanks for sharing it with all of us.

    Reply

  49. Sarah says

    After reading all the comments mentioning the Target bird print, I had to scroll back up and check it out. Imagine my surprise to see that I too have that print in our bathroom. I can’t believe I missed it during my first couple of views. Too funny!

    Beautiful home. I love the house crashing posts!

    Reply

  50. Hannah says

    First, thank you for doing this website – love your ideas and those of your house crashing hosts.

    Second, Melissa’s daughter’s bedroom is really similar to my daughter’s and I would love to get a cherry branch mural like hers. I searched on Etsy but wasn’t sure I was looking at the right thing. Is this a vinyl cling “sticker”? If so, was it pretty easy to apply and should it be pretty easy to remove? Melissa, do you recall the source?

    Thanks!

    Reply

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