Merit Award, Whole-House Remodeling Under $250,000: Watergate Revisited

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Watergate Revisited

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Watergate Revisited

http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/1424036415_WatergateRevisited-Treacy%26Eagleburger_1_tcm17-1529987.jpg

600

Before: The cozy apartment in the Washington D.C.'s Watergate was functional but dated.
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/107942022_WatergateRevisited-Treacy%26Eagleburger_2_tcm17-1529995.jpg

600

Alan Karchmer

After: Knocking down the kitchen wall and widening the doorway from the entry hall definitely updated this cozy home.
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/707446993_WatergateRevisited-Treacy%26Eagleburger_3_tcm17-1530003.jpg

600

Before: The apartment's living room was entirely functional...just has it has been for decades.
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/281368136_WatergateRevisited-Treacy%26Eagleburger_4_tcm17-1530012.jpg

600

Alan Karchmer

After: The "prairie dog unit" that separates the kitchen from the living room is an island that allows communication between the cook and guests and opens up the home with a more contemporary feel.
http://www.remodeling.hw.net/Images/461717070_WatergateRevisited-Treacy%26Eagleburger_5_tcm17-1530020.jpg

600

Alan Karchmer

A close up of the prairie dog unit, so called because an individual's head can clearly be seen from the other side...like a curious prairie dog peeking from its hole out in the wild.

Priorities

Update the apartment’s look
Create a more open feel in the cozy space
Highlight the home’s curvilinear shape

Solutions

Whatever your political leanings, the word Watergate has a variety of connotations, most of them negative and all of them rooted firmly in the 1970s. The same was true for the one-bedroom apartment at the end of a curved hallway that received an update from Tracy & Eagleburger Architects, in Washington, D.C.

The most drastic change was eliminating a wall that separated the living room from the kitchen. In its place is what the architects call a “prairie dog unit” kitchen island. That means that only the heads of the people working in the kitchen can be seen from the living room. This resulted in a much larger entryway from the foyer, giving the apartment more openness.