Porter Street Bungalow

The Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C boasts some of the most beautiful and well maintained bungalows of the late 19th century. Residential streets are distinguished by the most significant craftsman icon, the front porch. Porter Street Bungalow was different. The stucco walls on the right and left side elevations were the first indication of an original bungalow form. Yet the swooping roof, so characteristic of the period, was terminated at the front by a first floor enclosure that had almost no penetrations and presented an unwelcoming face. Original timber beams buried within the enclosed mass provided the only fenestration where they nudged through. The house, known affectionately as ‘the bunker’, was in serious need of a significant renovation and restoration. A young couple purchased the house over 10 years ago as a first home. As their family grew and professional lives matured the inadequacies of the small rooms and out of date systems had to be addressed. The program called to significantly enlarge the house with a major new rear addition. The completed house had to fulfill all of the requirements of a modern house: a reconfigured larger living room, new shared kitchen and breakfast room and large family room on the first floor and three modified bedrooms and master suite on the second floor. Front photo by Hoachlander Davis Photography. All other photos by Prakash Patel.