SIZING UP
CITY DWELLERS LOVED ROWHOUSE, BUT IT WAS TOO SMALL, SO THEY DOUBLED IT
WA SH INGTON • When Roshni Ghosh and Alaap Shah found their 1,400 -square-foot (130- square-metre) row house in 2009, they were drawn to the 1892 details: high ceilings, six stainedglass windows and four fireplaces. The small rooms in the two-storey house felt cosy.
A few years later, they found themselves with a toddler and two busy careers, running out of closet space, office space and outdoor space. The outdated plumbing and electrical systems were wearing out and could not support modern appliances and technology.
Tired of tripping on toys in the living room and having only one full-size bathroom, they contemplated moving farther out. But real estate searches elsewhere made them realize they couldn’t bear to leave their walkable neighbourhood.
When they bought the house, Shah s ays, t he y weren’t thinking of raising kids there, but eventually they changed their minds. “We love the vibrancy of the arts and music scene in the area, as well as the diversity of the population,” Shah says.
Ghosh says, “We finally decided we wanted our dream house in the house that we already loved, but we knew we’d have to use every little part of the place to get what we wanted.”
After a renovation by architect Carmel Greer of District Design, the couple, now with two boys and two dogs, have a smart, kid- friendly home that has doubled in size and is full of modern, grown-up amenities.
Instead of a first floor with chopped- up rooms, there’s a big open space. The front door opens into a living area, followed by a sleek kitchen in the centre of the home, defined by an 11- foot (3.3-metre) island, and then a dining table at the end. Greer had the dingy crawl space dug out to add a family room, wine room, full bath and office.
By adding a third storey, Greer was able to put in a master bedroom and bath, a home office, generous storage and a small roof terrace with views over the city. The reconfigured second floor holds the bedrooms of Rivan, six, and Talin, one; a guest room; and two full baths.
The house checks all the boxes for comfortable family living. Laundry areas were designed on two floors. Stor- age cubes made of reclaimed crossbeams from the house renovation are hung on the exposed brick wall just inside the front door to hold keys, dog leashes and shoes. Two offices on different floors give each parent a space to work in. Ghosh, 41, is vice- president and chief medical information officer at Premier, and Shah, 39, is a lawyer at Epstein, Becker & Green. Having their own places to retreat to helps “accommodate the work- life balance,” Shah says.
Other features express the owners’ lifestyle and passions. Child- and dog-friendly features include durable quartzite counters and a matte finish on the floors to help protect against scratches from little hands and paws. Cooking and entertaining are always on the menu. Under a kitchen counter is the Urban Cultivator, which looks like a wine fridge but is an automated indoor garden that grows herbs and microgreens. On a recent visit, they were growing sunflower greens, sweet pea shoots, mustard greens and micro- basil. The wine-loving couple had a temperature- and humidity-controlled wine room installed on the lower level to store the bottles they pick up on trips to vineyards. The floor is made up of 1,500 wine corks they have been collecting for 15 years.
Shah and Ghosh are thankful they could stay in the house they love. “We are tremendously grateful we could build our dream house in Washington,” Shah says. “We are so blessed we were able to stay.”