What is it about stone houses that makes them so compelling? Is it because they’re so solid, so sturdy, so permanent? Take the Pierce Still House, for instance. This beauty was originally built in 1796. The house was once part of a 1,600-acre plantation owned by Isaac Pierce, a Quaker from Pennsylvania.
Fast forward to 2009, and the colonial, listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, still stands. The original stone barn, which is now a museum, and Pierce Mill, one of the last eight mills in Washington, DC, (both are maintained by the National Park Service) stand nearby.
In 2007, Tom and Maggie McCullough of McCullough Residential, L.L.C. bought the property and renovated it, working with George Myers of GTM Architects on the meticulous restoration. Not only did they repair and restore the existing exterior stone and original wood plank doors, windows, and shutters, they added a wing that includes a gourmet kitchen. They also converted a former liquor storage room into a private guest suite with a full kitchen.
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With a warm stone-and-cedar exterior that contains allusions to Tudor-style architecture, this new home in Forest Hills clearly aims to set an inviting mood for its future owner.
But how to create “cozy” in nearly 8,000 square feet?
A carefully designed layout offers the answer here. No cavernous rooms present a decorating nightmare under the guise of an “open plan”; instead, well-proportioned rooms offer discrete spaces that nevertheless knit together for an entertainment-friendly flow.
The details are as thoughtful as the floor plan: there’s nothing cookie-cutter about this new home by McCullough Residential. Custom woodwork by those builders in nearly every high-ceilinged room– including columns, corbels and coffered ceilings– complements the choices made by GTM Design. Bespoke moldings, chunky baseboards and doors that eschew the tired six-panel format are other touches that give this house architectural detail many new homes lack.
The sights and sounds of Chevy Chase are not far from the custom colonial situation on Brennon Lane. Cul-de-sacs, Cummings Field, community parks and country clubs surround the stone and cedar home designed and built by Tom and Maggie McCullough of McCullough Residential, L.L.C.
Maggie McCullough said they began with a cozy lot housing a rambler with no basement. From there, they envisioned and built a three-story residence with a grand foyer reminiscent of Potomac homes and five bedrooms on two levels.
“We wanted to build a home that looked like it had always been there,” said McCullough. So they incorporated distressed, Old World-style fixtures and hardware both inside and out, while adding a standing-seam copper roof along the portico and accents of stone against the cedar siding. A Grand Manor roof tops the exterior where a flagstone walkway leads to the porch.
This new 7,000-square-foot Victorian home at the corner of MacArthur Boulevard and Chain Bridge Road in the Palisades offers six bedrooms on four finished levels, an elevator, five full bathrooms and much more.
The large stone-and-shingle home at 2500 Chain Bridge Road has a first-floor powder room, three fireplaces, several light-filled sitting rooms, a central vacuum systems, a sprinkler system and 81 windows.
The brochure notes that it “reflects the extraordinary combinations of old-world styling without sacrificing any of today’s modern amenities.”
It is the second of four houses designed for this tract and is being constructed by McCullough Residential, L.L.C. The first home, once belonging to the Sherriers, was rebuilt at 4949 Sherrier Place around the original stone exterior and foundation.
