Having not found anything they liked on the market, Micah Stein-Verbit and his husband, Scott Mikolajczyk, were about to build a home when they came across this Colonial in the Country Club Hills neighborhood of Arlington.
“It was one of those homes where you walked in and you just felt good,” Stein-Verbit said. “You could tell that there were so many years of happy memories here.”
Stein-Verbit and Mikolajczyk, who were the second owners of the 1963 custom-built house, knew they were taking on a major renovation project. Before they closed on it, they met with Bethesda-based GTM Architects and Jeff Lewis, star of Bravo’s renovation and real estate show, “Flipping Out.”
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“Micah and I have always been huge fans of Jeff’s, so we reached out and spoke to [Lewis’s business manager] Gage Edward,” Mikolajczyk wrote in an e-mail. “From there, we decided to have him consult on the design and inspiration on the house as it was similar to the house that he was renovating (for the second time) in the Los Feliz section of Los Angeles.”
The Los Angeles-based designer flew to Washington with his design associate Vanina Alfaro.
“He told us the reason why he chose this house was, because by looking at the pictures, he could tell it had great bones,” Stein-Verbit said. “He just felt a connection to it. He made it clear he really saw something special in this house.”
After looking at the house, Lewis helped the couple source many of the finishes and furnishings from local stores.
“We had a whole agenda for him, starting when he flew in, because we knew we only had him for a couple days,” Stein-Verbit said. “It was also exciting for him to come here because apparently it was his first, and as far as I know, only trip to the D.C. area. He was fascinated that within minutes we could be in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland. He just couldn’t get over that fact.”
(Photo by HomeVisit) The kitchen has a walnut-topped island with apron sink, Christiana cabinetry and a Waterworks backsplash.
Lewis worked with the couple to pick out tile, flooring and fixtures. He convinced them to go with Christiana cabinetry in the kitchen and wave wallpaper in the powder room.
“Some of his choices forced us to go out of our comfort zone, which was a good thing,” Stein-Verbit said.
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Lewis’s work on the Arlington house ended up influencing his design decisions on the Los Feliz house. Fans of the show may recall the master bedroom in that house had an exposed brick wall, similar to the one in the basement of the Virginia home.
“That was inspired by his visit to our house, which was pretty cool,” Stein-Verbit said.
(Photo by HomeVisit) The brick wall in the lower level of the Arlington house was the inspiration for the brick wall in the bedroom of another house Jeff Lewis renovated.
Stein-Verbit and Mikolajczyk, who are planning to move to McLean with their son, Eli, have made many happy memories in the home.
“It’s been a great house,” Stein-Verbit said. “It’s great for parties. It’s great for an active 6-year-old boy.”
The four-bedroom, five-bathroom home is listed at $1,875,000. An open house is scheduled for Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.
Listing: 4630 Dittmar Rd., Arlington, Va.
Listing agent: Heidi Ellenberger-Jones, Washington Fine Properties
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