On Saturday, October 7, Modern Architecture + Design Society (MA+DS) returned to the DMV for their fifth in-person DC-Metro Modern Home Tour, where 350 participants visited eight select homes across the region for an exclusive tour. Homes on the tour are typically occupied by their owners, so this glimpse inside was truly special.

MA+DS began their tours in 2010 in Austin, TX, and is holding their 125th tour this weekend in San Diego. Their DC event is sponsored by listModern, a modern homes branch of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty that convinced MA+DC to come to the region.

“Sometime in early 2017, Steven Mangas at listModern reached out to me,” says Ken Shallcross, Vice President of MA+DS, “He had heard about our tours and asked how we could make that happen in Washington, D.C.”

Shallcross explained that MA+DS has been hosting these events for so long, all they really need to come to a region is “a vibrant modern architecture/design community, including architects and homeowners who are willing to share their creations and spaces with others.” The rest is taken care of by his team, which has a system down to execute a well-run event.

Five Virginia Properties Featured in DC-Metro Modern Home Tour

The News-Press visited the five Virginia homes on the tour, all unique in their own rights, and joined Shalcross, Mangas, other partners, and ticket holders at an impressive finale house for a reception just across the Chain Bridge in the District.

The first home we visited was an Alair Homes rebuild in the Penrose neighborhood of Arlington, which had been fully renovated within the same footprint, but with a second and third floor added to accommodate the owners’ growing family. The result was a four story modern home that, thanks in part to interiors decorated and furnished by BraePark Design, still felt practical and livable.

Next on the tour was an updated home by Paola One Design in Lyon Village in Arlington, where an addition expanded a modest 2-bedroom brick home into a three-story home with plenty of space for an active family of four, featuring dramatic open floor plans and an enviable loft and rooftop terrace.

A second project by Alair homes followed, where architect Luther Weber and Iona Todorova Designs awaited to share the details of their creation: a second story addition to a 1948 colonial, situated on a (very) steep street in the Cherry Hill neighborhood of Arlington, which provided a primary suite with an abundance of windows — resulting in an enviable bathtub view of the backyard garden. A retractable wall and indirect light illuminating the vaulted ceiling contributed to a spacious and open feel.

Our fourth stop was a behemoth model home in McLean by Green Building Group, which did not allow interior photography but boasted over 11,000 square feet, an elevator, and a gourmet kitchen with custom black cabinets and perfectly executed matching panels seamlessly blending appliances in with the ambiance.

The final home on the Virginia portion of the tour, a mid-century modern revival in McLean by Sagatov Design + Build, deceived visitors with its deceptively understated street view. Once inside, visitors quickly lost use of their jaws, which invariably (and often audibly) dropped as the space — an entertainer’s dream — expanded before their eyes.

The soaring great room — featuring a unique glass-enclosed staircase in the center leading to the basement — serves as the heart of the home, complete with a dining area, a kitchen (sporting side-by-side refrigerators and a natural-edge wood island) with a second eating nook, a living area with tasteful quartz backsplashes and a dramatic wood accent wall. A spiral staircase incorporated into the adjacent screen-enclosed sunroom leads down into a screened kitchen and grill, which opens to an incredible lanai by the pool and fire pit. Inside, the basement continues to wow with a home theater, exercise room, and games area.

The reception was held at a 7,800 square foot modern home by German architect Roland Broll, desirably situated along Potomac Ave just past the Key Bridge, in the Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Floor-to-ceiling windows add to the soaring open feel of home (and resulting in a truly impressive primary bathroom), which was presented by TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and listModern and is currently available for sale, and a heated black bottom ionized pool compliments a zen garden in the backyard. The show-stealer for the home, though, is a custom Italian staircase that seems to float in the air as it leads on a journey to each of the home’s four stories.

Highlights of the home’s basement include a game room, media room, 2,000 bottle wine cellar, and safe room.

Owners, architects, or interior designers interested in showing off their creations in a future tour should contact MA+DS via their website, mads.media. Readers that missed this year’s tour can look forward to the event’s likely return in early October 2024.