Personalized Exterior Design in Shirlington, VA (and neighboring Fairlington)

The Northern Virginia neighborhoods of Shirlington and Fairlington are increasingly popular places to live.  Close enough to all the hot urban villages of Arlington County to avoid the bulk of the traffic, and a quick hop over the bridge to the heart of DC itself, Shirlington and Fairlington are displaced enough from the bustle to allow for more space in the neighborhoods and a little bit more of a ‘family town’ feel.  They also have the potential to be self-contained; while it’s no problem to hop over to Rosslyn or Georgetown for an evening out, you can also hang closer to home and find a very satisfactory collection of food and culture right in downtown Shirlington.  According to The Washington Post Neighborhood overview, Shirlington and Fairlington are among the most popular overall neighborhoods in Northern Virginia.

What you are likely to find for sale in Shirlington or Fairlington are brick town home style buildings sold either as entire units or as divided condominiums.  Many of the individual communities are governed by HOAs or Condominium Associations, most of whom control the aesthetic of the home’s exterior.  Exterior design and landscaping (with the exception of the small backyard cubicles associated with many condos) are managed as part of the commons, and the goal is usually to keep a consistent look throughout the neighborhood.  What you’ll find most frequently in Shirlington is red brick with black shutters; a very traditional Colonial pairing that gives the neighborhood a humble, dignified ambience.  Due to the shared style of property management, there isn’t much room left for personal creativity when it comes to decorating the exterior.

What you can sometimes do, however, is change the color of your shutters.  You will certainly need to discuss this with your HOA or Condo Association ahead of time, and you will probably find that even if they let you paint them, the color palette they offer is limited – but you would be surprised how far this seemingly insignificant investment in time and paint can go toward making your space original.  Below is a list of the visual effects of several classic colors when paired with red brick on a Colonial-style building.

Black – Classic, Serious, Humble, Businesslike. Black shutters are typical of the Shirlington area, and are one of two colors that works nicely with just about any color of brick.  Black emphasizes the architectural strength of the building and lends it a sense of classic grandeur.

White – Clean, Open, Airy.  White shutters, while less common in Shirlington, are also universally appealing and match just about any tone of brick.  White makes the windows look bigger, which makes the house seem spacious and welcoming.

Maroon – Clever, Subtle, Organic.  Pulling a color out of the brick itself to use for the shutters, if done right, can create a very appealing organic effect.  The shutters create contrast through tone and texture, making the face of the building flow seamlessly into the windows.

Gray – Artistic, Sophisticated.  Gray shutters work very well with red brick, especially if the gray is slightly cool, and the chroma is just a little bit paler than that of the red brick.  The subtle complexity of the contrast creates the impression of a highly sophisticated aesthetic.

Evergreen – Down-to-Earth, Natural.  A deep earthy green can transform an urban town home into a rustic woodland villa, especially when framed by generous landscaping.  Treecover, ivy, and an overall high level of foliage complexity in the landscaping enhances this impression.  Take care that the green has a low enough chroma that you don’t set up the Christmas-colors look: while you might enjoy a home that looks fit for Santa, your HOA might not appreciate it!

The second of our daring color combo specials builds upon the logic of the complementary color scheme, but takes it one step further.  This next strategy is called the split-complementary color scheme.  It employs the same basic strategy – pick a color, and then find its opposite on the color wheel and pick it too – but it adds a twist.  Starting from the color you know you want (which doesn’t have to be your ‘main color’, meaning the one that you want to use on the largest surface area.  The color you start with is just the one you know you want in your composition somewhere: you can build a color scheme up from a desired accent color just as easily as from a main color.), go across the wheel and find its opposite.  Once you’ve found that opposite, it’s time to to add the next step: instead of using the opposite itself, move a few steps away from it on the wheel, first in the clockwise direction, then in the counterclockwise direction, and pick the adjacent colors instead.  You want to move far enough away from that polar opposite to give you two distinctly different colors – but not so far away that the colors no longer oppose your initial color on the wheel.  And you want to make sure that you move an equal distance in each direction; this is critical for maintaining the complementary balance.

What you should end up with at the end are three hues, one on one side of the wheel and two on the other.  Putting these three together, and playing with the value and chroma, is an excellent recipe for a surprising yet harmonious combination.

As an example, starting with blue, you would jump across the wheel and find its opposite, which is orange.  Moving just slightly to each side of the pure orange, you would find a yellow/gold in one direction, and a reddish orange in the other.  Playing with the value and chroma of all three, you have a lot of excellent options.  Lightening the yellow/gold into a buttery cream, for example, could make an excellent main color, trimmed with a burnt umber (the reddish orange with low saturation), and accented by a bright cornflower blue (your original blue) for vivid contrast.

Like complementary color schemes, split-complementary schemes leave a lot of room for you to use your creative discretion.  You get to decide how far to move away from the opposite to get the split-complementary harmony, you get to decide how to vary the value and chroma, and you get to decide which color to use as your main color and which as your trim/accents.  There is a lot of room to shine, but also some risk of a judgment error leading to an undesirable clashing effect.  So, as we’e mentioned before, make sure to really study your final choices thoroughly before committing, and feel free to take advantage of Blue Door Painters’ complimentary color consultation service!

In our final feature we’ll wrap up with a method for incorporating the whole wheel into a balanced color scheme.  Stay tuned for Combo #6: Fractional Color Schemes!

So far, we’ve gone into detail about three color matching techniques (the monotonal color scheme, the monochromatic color scheme, and the analogous color scheme), all of which use the same basic technique to ensure you end up with colors that don’t clash: pick colors that are similar to each other.  This is no coincidence: colors with similar zip codes on the color wheel almost always look good together, and if you know that, you can master the techniques of choosing a home base, and then venturing farther and farther from home.

But what about those color schemes that use completely different colors, but still manage to look good?  What about those color schemes that make you scratch your head, saying to yourself, ‘I would never have put those three colors together, but man, I like the effect!’

Our next three color combo specials focus on those daring techniques for matching colors that involve (drum roll please), jumping across the color wheel.  Leaving behind the conservative, these next three techniques offer formulas for bringing harmony out of chaos, creating color schemes that manage to bring together a much richer cast of complexity and texture.

The first is called the complementary color scheme.  It has been used in the creation of symbols for ages, giving us the red and green of Christmas, for example, or the blue and gold of many sports teams.  The formula for a complementary color scheme is simple: pick a color, and then find its opposite on the color wheel and pick that color too.  Vary the value and chroma of each color to get a subtler contrast than you’d get from two pure tones (going with red and green, for example, a dull maroon and a pale sage will hold the complementary harmony without looking so much like a Christmas card), and voila.

If you need more than two colors, pick a few that are clustered close on each side of the wheel, kind of like you’re creating two complementary monochromatic schemes.  Balancing your maroon with both a pale sage green and a dark earthy evergreen, for example, could increase the richness of the harmony while still maintaining the balance.  Also consider working in some pure neutrals (black, white, gray, or off-white): cream, in this example, could be a good addition to the warm, regal atmosphere of the reds and greens we’ve already chosen.  Be mindful of the tints going into your neutral colors; a cream, in this composition, because it holds red undertones that will resonate with the maroon, would be much more effective than a bluish silvery white with undertones that would clash.

The complementary color scheme requires you use your discretion in the final choices.  While the technique offers a scaffolding for picking good colors, some risk of clashing is introduced any time you jump across the color wheel.  So make sure to really study your final choices before committing, and as we have mentioned many times before, perhaps investing in a few trial quarts to test out in a sample area would give you a better projection of how your colors might look when painted on a large surface.  Blue Door Painters offers a complimentary color consultation service that can help you work out a good complementary color scheme, or just give your feedback and reassurance on whatever you’ve developed.  Trusting your instincts is also important.  With patience and your intuition, you might come up with something so clever and pleasing that you end up featured on HGTV!

In our next feature we’ll add yet another level of complexity to our formula, moving into a discussion of split-complementary color schemes!  Stay tuned!

Detailed Instructions on How To Use a Roller from Washington, DC Area Contractor

Presumably you’ve been following along on our detailed description of how to paint a surface, and you’re now looking at an area with all the edges and corners masterfully cut in with a brush (in accordance with our instructions).  If not, take a minute to check out Painting 101: Anatomy of a Brushstroke, to get you caught up to that point.  If you’re just curious for some advice on how to wield your roller, you’ve come to the right place.

First of all, while there isn’t quite as much variety in rollers as there is in brushes, you still need to take some care to purchase high quality equipment.  The cheap all-in-one roller set-ups will not usually give you the same longevity or smoothness of finish as a pro set-up; and the rip-off is, the pro set-ups aren’t really that much more expensive!  Here is what you’ll need:

1) A good sturdy roller frame. It should be expandable, with bearings at the sides and threads at the bottom, and made of strong, heavy-gauge wire. (Reusable)

2) An extender or thread-ended broom handle to help you reach out-of the way spots. (Reusable)

3) A paint container.  While most hardware stores push paint trays, you can get more use, and better utility, out of a 5-gallon bucket with a vertical bucket-screen mounted inside it.  The bucket can hold a lot more paint than a tray, allowing for less time between refills, it is easier to transport from spot to spot, or to cover if you need to take a lunch break, and the vertical tray draws extra paint off the roller more effectively than the nearly-horizontal tray.  Most professionals use a bucket and screen set-up; there is no reason why you shouldn’t, too. (Reusable).

4) High-quality roller covers that match your paint and substrate.  The general rule of thumb for rolling is, the rougher the substrate, and the more viscous the paint, the longer the roller nap. Smoother surfaces and thicker paint can be rolled with a smoother, short-sheared cover, while rough surfaces and runny paint will benefit from a longer-napped cover.  Good quality covers have a plastic core, rather than cardboard.  Cardboard cores can start to soften after absorbing paint, and the glue holding the nap can dissolve in certain solvents, causing the roller to fall apart halfway through the job.  Each paint you use needs its own roller cover.

Once you have your equipment, load the roller by submerging it halfway into the paint, then rolling it up the screen.  Repeat this motion several times, until the roller is saturated and nearly dripping with paint.

Next: how to actually roll your paint?  There are several competing strategies for creating the smoothest possible distribution of paint with a roller, all of which expand upon the principle of “wet-edge”.  Wet-edge is the theory that a fresh stroke of paint should always be overlapped with the wettest paint from the previous stroke, so that the paint dries to form a continuous film.  With a roller, using wet-edge techniques can avoid both seams and roller marks; two common imperfections of an amateur paint job.  Here we are going to describe the classic ‘W’ technique.

Start from one corner of your surface, about six inches from each edge.  Move your roller up and down to create a large ‘W’ shape, filling in the center of a large section.  Once you have your W, use small strokes to spread out the paint, filling in the remaining unpainted space.  You can leave paint stokes and roller marks at this point in the process, the goal being to get as much wet paint on a large surface area as possible.  Next, reload your roller and move to an adjacent section of your surface, and repeat the process, creating another W and filling it in, overlapping the old section slightly with your small strokes to fill in the margins.  Finally, without reloading your roller, go over both sections together, smoothing out lumps, eliminating roller marks, and making the paint film continuous.

Since it covers so much area so quickly, and since it usually marks the end of a job, rolling is a very satisfying process.  Invest in the right equipment, purchase the right paint, and by the end of this step, you will be ready to celebrate a beautifully coated surface and a job well done!

Detailed Description of the Painting Process From a Washington DC Area Contractor

Many handyman articles will tell you the basics about paint: what it is, what types there are, common pitfalls associated with it.  They will tell you what paint to buy, what colors to pick, what equipment to use, how many coats to apply, and when to apply them.  They will tell you how to know if you made a mistake, how to deal with complications, and what steps to take to fix any errors.  But when it comes time to get started painting your house, you may still find yourself staring dubiously into a freshly opened can of paint, paintbrush gripped nervously in one hand, feeling a little bit unsure about your next move.

So what Blue Door Painters is going to share with you today is exactly how to make that first move: a single brushstroke of paint.

You’re going to start your project with brushing.  That’s true for almost every project; a typical room, for example, will need to have the edges and corners of the paint area cut in with a paintbrush before the larger open surface area is rolled.  For corners in between two surfaces that are going to be painted, the whole corner should be brushed, up to 3 inches out on each wall.  For edges between a paint surface and a non-paint surface, applying painters’ tape on the non-paint surface prior to brushing will make your project easier and less stressful, (though experienced painters with reliably steady hands sometimes skip that step).  The paint surface should be coated up to 3″ from the edge with a paintbrush prior to rolling.  For other surfaces, like trim or stair steps, you may do the entire project with a brush, lacking the surface area to justify a roller (although in some cases a mini-roller will yield a better finish).  For these, if there is a large enough space to distinguish the edges from the center, the edges should still be coated first.

So your paint can should be open, and your paint adequately mixed (if you detect any irregularity in the color, stir thoroughly with a paint stirrer, making sure to distribute the pigment all the way through the depth of the can).  You should have a paintbrush – ideally, one picked specifically for your type of paint and substrate – in hand.  Now it is time to dip your brush into the paint for the first time.  Which brings up an often overlooked – but extremely important – question: how to load your paintbrush.

In order to get a thorough coating, you need to make sure that your paintbrush is completely saturated with paint on the inside.  This means in between the bristles, where you can’t see it.  Paint nested in between the bristles will release slowly and evenly over the course of your strokes, creating an even finish.  You don’t want your brush overly saturated with paint on the outside of the bristles, however, because this extra paint will spread in unexpected directions, and will create drips and sags in your finish that can be challenging to correct.

So in order to load your paint onto the brush in the ideal manner, you should stab your paintbrush gently into the can of paint a couple times, working the paint up in between the bristles.  After repeating this vertical motion your brush will be filled, and you need to remove excess paint from the bottom and outside of the brush.  To do so, first hold it up for a couple seconds so that loose paint can drain.  Once all remaining paint is staying on the brush in spite of gravity,  run the bottom edge of the brush gently along the rim of the paint can or bucket, smoothing off the excess.  If you are cutting an edge, repeat that motion with the face of at least one of the sides of your brush, wiping the paint on the outside of that surface against the rim.  You should be left with a paintbrush that is saturated with paint on the inside, but is not dripping and is, if intended for an edge, cleared off on one face.

Start your brushstrokes at a corner of your surface, so that you can work outward from there is a continuous line.  When you start the stroke, watch how far your paint spreads, and how thickly it is applied.  Some types of paint (like semigloss) will be more viscous than others: DO NOT be tempted to spread this extra-runny paint more thickly to make up for the apparent lack of coverage.  Doing so will lead to drips or paint sagging as the thick, runny paint fails to hold up to gravity for as long as it takes to dry.  The only way to fix sags is by waiting for the paint to dry completely, sanding them down, and recoating that area – so prevention is really the best approach.

When your brush first touches the surface, you only need to press gently, because there will be paint on the outside of the brush.  As you continue your stroke, however, you will need to increase the pressure, so that the paint from the inside of the brush comes out.  The brush should bend gently in the opposite direction of your stroke, squeezing out the internal paint, and your grip should allow maximal control of both the direction and the pressure of the stroke.  Use a full-hand grip for larger brushes, and a pencil grip for smaller ones.  After a few tries, you will learn how your particular paint flows through your particular brush, so that you can perfect the exact right motion to ensure a stroke that is smooth, even, and the desired width.

Your next stroke should start off right where your previous stroke left off.  This is called the ‘wet edge’, and it is a key principle in paint technique.  Matching wet paint to wet paint usually causes two different strokes to blend together into a continuous whole, rather than developing an unsightly seam.  If you find that you can still see a seam, wait until your next stroke is complete and the brush is relatively dry, but the paint is still wet, then lightly brush at the seam with the dry brush until the coat looks even.

When cutting in an edge, place the ‘clean’ side of the brush (meaning, the one you wiped against the paint can) against the edge.  If it is taped, you will be able to press it firmly; if it is not taped, you will need to watch closely to find the perfect placement to give a thorough coating that doesn’t blot over to the non-paint surface.  Working non-taped edges goes a lot more slowly, which is why taping is almost always worth the perceived trouble it causes.

Okay, now you’ve had your ‘next move’ described down to minute detail – and the 500 or so moves you make after that will all be the same until your brushed area is complete (that’s one thing about painting – it is a very repetitive process, and it gets easier as you get more experienced!)  In our next blog, we’ll tackle the anatomy of the paintbrush’s big brother – the paint roller – and you will have your entire paint process laid out before you.

Blue Door Painters Discusses Parts of the House to Use for Accent Colors

An accent color is an essential aspect of any color scheme, and it is a critical element of establishing curb appeal.  A color in your design scheme qualifies as an accent if you don’t use very much of it, and if you put it in a place that stands out in some ways from the rest of the architecture.  A very well-tested design strategy involves using a color that is either unusually bright, or radically different from the rest of your scheme, as an edgy accent.  Across the panorama of Washington, DC construction, there are five frequently found architectural features, visible from the road, that provide ideal spots to host an accent color.  We’ve listed them, along with some suggestions for maximizing their effect, below.

1. Shutters.  With urban roots in very traditional Georgian, Colonial, and Federal-style architecture, Washington DC and Northern Virginia have many buildings that pair plain brick or siding with shutters as the only adornment.  While you need to be careful adding too much bold contrast in your shutters, since they actually cover a fair amount of visual surface area, playing with color in your shutters is an excellent way to manipulate your overall design without expending too much time or paint.  If you have a window that stands out from the rest in any way, experiment with painting the shutters on that window only a more dramatic color to create the ‘eye-catching’ effect used by many realtors to help stage houses.  Also remember that color can be used to contour the space: lighter shutters will make a window seem slightly larger than darker shutters.  Have fun: the cool thing about shutters – and accents in general – is that they are easy to change.  If you take a risk and don’t end up liking the effect, you can always paint over it!

2. Doors.  Doors are a classic candidate for a bold accent color.  First of all, they are centrally located, creating a natural visible focal point for the house as a whole.  Second, they are symbolic: the entryway to a space is automatically assumed, on a subconscious level, to encapsulate its spirit.  (This is why the doorways to many houses of worship are very ornate).  Adding some energy in the door area in the form of a burst of bold but tasteful color shows viewers that the home is lively and engaging, not dull and listless.

3. Cornices.   While most modern construction has a minimal amount of cornicing, many of the historic buildings in the city and its surrounding urban villages feature cornices added for both decorative and functional effect.  The narrow horizontal lines provided by cornices often accentuate certain architectural features, and offer an ideal opportunity to add in a splash of color.  If you do not have cornices, but want to take advantage of that horizontal accent style, you can look into creative alternatives like creating a stripe out of a single line of siding, or even painting your gutter!

4. Chimney.  Many houses in DC have chimneys, primarily constructed out of brick.  Sometimes they are located on one end of the house, and sometimes they come straight out of the roof, creating a little architectural crown.  While you have to take special care when painting chimneys, both to ensure you use the right kind of paint to adhere to the masonry, and to make sure your paint job can withstand the added environmental stress of fireplace smoke, painting chimneys is an excellent way to add a splash of color. You can experiment with both painting the entire chimney, or painting individual bricks scattered evenly throughout.  Just remember that visual balance is essential: strong color on one side of the house should be balanced in some way on the other, and strong color on the roof should be balanced by something (like a detail in the landscaping) lower down.

5. Planter Boxes.  The good thing about planter boxes is: if you don’t have them, you can easily get them!  Planter boxes are an easy way to alter the aesthetic of just about any design, and they are an excellent avenue for adding color.  Living green is an excellent neutral: brightly colored planter boxes filled with blooming flowers or vivid foliage can brighten up almost any exterior, without looking gaudy.

Analogous color schemes provide a classic balance between variety and similarity that is both timeless and universally appealing.  While monochromatic schemes might be the #1 most reliable color strategy for conservative purposes, analogous schemes are a good way to add a little bit of flavor without departing too far from the beaten path of easy-to-match colors.

How is an analogous color scheme developed?  Using a near-identical technique to the monochromatic scheme, good analogous schemes are built upon the foundation of one initial color.  Whether this first color is a personal favorite, or a pre-existing ‘given’ color in the architecture, it will be the color around which the rest of the color scheme pivots.

Working from there, you locate that color on the color wheel, and then take a look at its immediate neighbors.  With blue, for example, green and purple are the immediate neighbors, and hues from the green and/or purple range could therefore be used in any combination to create an analogous color scheme.  With a range of roughly 1/4 of the color wheel available, you are free to pick and choose the hues, values, and saturations that you find the most appealing.  While you need to be aware of how much contrast you are adding to your composition by varying the value and saturation (i.e., using bright colors, versus pastels, versus dull earth tones), you can be pretty confident that most combinations you come up with, provided they are confined to that tight segment of the color wheel, will be pleasing and unlikely to clash.

One of the benefits to analogous color schemes is that it can offer a great degree of internal variation while maintaining a constant mood, tone, or psychological ‘temperature’.  A ‘warm-toned’ analogous scheme can have deep oranges, dull reds, and bright yellows – each underscoring the warmth of the composition in a distinct way.  A ‘cool-toned’ analogous scheme, alternatively, might employ blues, greens, and violets with the opposite psychological effect, but an equal degree of internal consistency.

The analogous color scheme is the first color strategy that we’ve discussed so far that allows for some creative variation, putting the final choice to your discretion.  Using your natural aesthetic instincts is a good way to choose which specific color alignments really click, and which are discordant.  Make sure to envision the colors in the proper proportions, and covering a large surface area, when you are making the final decision. Remember, there is no harm in purchasing a few quarts of paint and coloring in a sample area – sometimes you can be very surprised by how a color looks when spread out over a large surface!

If the choices involved in crafting an analogous color scheme are too much for you, you might want to consider looking into a monochromatic scheme, or turning to our complimentary color consultation service for support.  If, on the other hand, you like the challenge and the creative potential involved in the analogous scheme, and you’d like to learn some techniques that allow for even more creativity, stay tuned for our next Color Combo feature: the Complementary Color Scheme!

A brief history of early Washington, DC architecture, and discussion of how it affects modern remodeling.

Washington, DC is an unusual city.

Most urban centers develop for practical reasons, which can be boiled down to physical terrain: proximity to a port, easy defensibility, accessibility to a natural resource, etc.  From the practical use of the land, urban growth is organic.  But Washington, DC is an exception.  While the conjunction of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, just downstream of the fall line,  (and therefore the farthest upstream port for oceangoing boats), makes it a natural location for an urban center, neither of the two cities that developed naturally in that location were Washington, DC.  Instead, they were Georgetown and Alexandria.  Located across the river and slightly offset from each other, Georgetown and Alexandria thrived quietly until 1791.  Driven by the need of a young, bickering nation, and by the desire of President George Washington to keep everything close to his Mount Vernon estate, Washington DC was forcefully superimposed atop the two natural port towns.  The result is a city whose growth, even at the core, started off strictly choreographed rather than organic.

The modern-day result is a series of historic neighborhoods with architecture that bears the mark of many years of political and symbolic pressure, as well as practical and aesthetic concerns.

Most of the earliest pre-DC buildings in Georgetown are now gone, but some of the initial planned developments remain.  George Washington, as the closest thing our country has ever had to a king, had a huge degree of influence on the architecture of the city.  He dictated that residential development in the District of Columbia be in the form of long, rectangular row houses with contiguous fronts.  The row houses were to be between 35-40 feet tall, built of brick and stone, and parallel to the streets.  Many of these historic row houses – along with more modern replacements that stay faithful to the classic style – can still be found from Georgetown to Capitol Hill.  Their relatively narrow street-fronts and masonry construction offer a unique challenge in exterior design.  Creatively playing off of the neighbors’ decor is important in settings where houses are clustered so closely.  Too much contrast will make a particular unit look tacky, while a lack of contrast makes a street look dull and monotonous.  Typically, each street in historic Washington, DC has developed its own aesthetic “tone” (earth tones, vibrant pastels, natural masonry, etc) derived from the hue, chroma, and value typical of the palette for that street.  So it is important to pay attention to the neighbors, and to the ambience of the street as a whole, when deciding on a design scheme.

Farther out in the city, beyond the dictates of the president’s aesthetic (i.e., on the far side of Florida Avenue), single family homes with larger lots were developed to house wealthy dignitaries with business in the city.  These historical homes attempted to capture a piece of the greenery that used to make the DC area a popular hunting and outdoor exploration area, while remaining publicly prominent and convenient to the seat of political business.  Most of these homes, as well as most of the public buildings, adhere to conservative Greek Revival / Federal style, indicative of the strong builder tradition in DC’s early years.  Typically paired with a muted, conservative color palette, Greek Revival buildings can be painted in historical colors (usually involving low-chroma terra-cotta, gray, beige, steel blue, and sage green) to retain that stately early Federal look.  Many paint companies, including Sherwin-Williams and Banjamin Moore, have a line of historical paint colors that mimic the colors popular (and possible) 200 years ago, but use modern paint technology to ensure improved coverage and durability.

Preserving our city’s national heritage is an important task, and one that every designer, developer, and contractor should be aware of.  Relatively young compared to many European cities, Washington, DC is nevertheless reaching an age where its historical buildings need care, attention, and preservation so that the city can prepare for the exciting new modern age while retaining the signature of its roots.

What does this year’s unusual weather mean for the Washington, DC homeowner?

We’ve all been shaking our heads about the weather this winter in the Washington, DC area.  We braced ourselves for our usual two and a half months of unpleasant cold, windy, and wet . . . that never came.  Instead, we found ourselves sneezing with allergies in late February and snapping photos of the Cherry Blossoms around March 20th.

The upside is – well – four months of Spring.  Complaining about the current cold spell is half-hearted at best; being well past the equinox, we know the cold weather can’t really last.  We’re out of the danger zone: Washington, DC has officially cheated winter this year.

The downside is that our local ecology (and arguably, our psychology as well) is adjusted to expect a period of downtime.  Without winter to make us rest, the flora and fauna of Washington, DC are apt to go a little bit overboard.  The allergy season, for example, came earlier this year, will last longer, and is unusually virulent.  Trees can afford to put energy into generating more pollen that they would usually have to expend weathering the winter.  The bug season has already started, and by early July we are probably going to be shunning our backyards due to the unusually high insect populations we can expect with an extended breeding season.  And finally, the data coming in from our financial markets is skewed.  The local economy usually takes a little dip in the winter, which never came this year.  Which is good for business at the moment – but may mean that we see an alarming slump during summer months when we’re usually booming, and that our selling seasons come at unexpected times.

What does this mean for the homeowner in 2012?

1. The hot home selling season will probably start early.  After over five years of a major slump, there is some tentative evidence that the nationwide real estate market might be starting on an upswing.  Each neighborhood in the DC area is different, but with interest rates low and home prices attractive, there is some reason to hope that 2012 might be a good year to try and get your home sold.  Usually homeowners have March and April to get their remodeling and staging done, and then hit the market with open houses in late May and June.  This year the earlybirds may have already started out of the gate with their groundwork, and be ready to start their open houses in late April.  It isn’t too late to catch up, though; with the blooming season set a few weeks early it could be time to invest in a good landscaper, do a thorough exterior pressure-washing, get your home cleaned and decluttered, throw a fresh coat of paint up on your interior and exterior, and hit the market!

2. You may want to pay extra attention to your indoor air quality.  First of all, allergies are greatly worsened if you inhale the allergens while sleeping.  In addition to making sure you shower and wash your hair before going to bed at night, you may want to take extra precautions like tightening up your windows, pressure-washing the pollen off of the siding and hardscaping on your property, and removing your shoes when you enter your home so you don’t track pollen indoors.  Of course, with the windows closed, it is a good idea to inspect your home for indoor air contaminants like mold or chemical VOCs.  When air conditioning hits this summer, you want to make sure that all interior mold has been mitigated and any remodeling projects have taken advantage of products with low VOCs so that the air you breathe at night is clean.  When flu system hits in the fall, you want to greet it with a healthy and well-rested respiratory system.

3. The battle against the bugs will be long and fierce.  If you have been considering screening your porch, this might be just the right moment.  If the screens on your windows and doors need repair, now is the time.  And if you want extra protection against pests like ants, termites, and cockroaches, you may want to fortify your exterior with added caulking and coatings that contain natural insecticides as additives.  You will probably have to bring out the big guns (read: pesticides) by the end of the summer, but the more effort you put into prevention, the less you will have to resort to chemicals that are expensive, unhealthy, and bad for the environment.

So enjoy the weather, make hay when the sun shines, and don’t forget to give your home a little TLC!

Reasons to Remodel in Todays Economy: Discussion and Links to Remodeling Market Trends from Washington, DC Area Contractor

Just like there are reasons to remodel during the winter, there are reasons to remodel when the economy is in recession.  And the reasons are similar:

1) Few others are remodeling, so it’s a buyer’s market.

2) The economy is generally cyclical.  If you remodel while it’s booming (like everyone else will), you may find yourself in an economic lull a few years down the line when your project is finished and you want to sell.  If you remodel while it’s in a slump, on the other hand, there’s a solid hope that you’ll be ready to sell – with your freshly remodeled kitchen or bathroom – right when the economy starts to pick up again.

Over the past ten years, the nation has seen a significant slump in both the economy in general and the real estate market in particular.  In many neighborhoods in the Washington, DC area, prices plummeted drastically between 2004 and 2010, toppling from the artificially inflated bubble they were perched upon.  However, with today’s low interest rates, mounting evidence that the economy is starting on a tentative upswing (and the nice weather getting nicer), it might be the right moment to catch the start of a fresh wave.  We’re still far enough down that the boom-economy competition for remodeling services hasn’t started up yet – and we’re still far enough down that there’s a lot of upward potential.

While making a move like buying or selling at a time full of economic questions is scary, smart remodeling is a relatively safe alternative.  Investment returns on various remodeling projects in Washington DC have been reliably documented: in fact, you can view specific data on each type of remodeling project and the percentage of costs recouped upon selling.  Whether you choose to stay in your home for a while and watch the market as it changes, or whether you want to sell as soon as humanly possible, remodeling projects like adding closets, finishing basements, or making kitchens or bathrooms more spacious, add such universal value that remodeling is a safe, and clever move.

Take a look at your home and the areas where it could use a little TLC.  Investing the money in sprucing your home up now could be an excellent choice, improving both your quality of life and your investment value.