Patricia and her husband, Roger Moskowitz, turned to Rob Morris, president of Morris-Day Designers and Builders in nearby Arlington, Virginia, for a dose of reassurance and reality. "Rob immediately said, ‘We can turn this box into a house you'll love,' Patricia remembers. When I told him I wasn't convinced, he promised to make this home look 'non-split foyerish'—and I knew we'd found the right guy."

The architect is a huge fan of Franklin Park, a tiny corner of McLean that's filled with a mixture of houses from the 1890s and split-levels from the 1950s and '60s. "We enjoy working on projects in this neighborhood because it allows us to rebuild newer homes in a style and manner compatible with charming turn-of-the-century places," he says. "Patricia and Roger's house was an ideal opportunity for us."

Because the house was built on a hillside and had a partially submerged basement, Rob designed a flight of steps up to a new porch that eliminated the ungainly two-level entry. "Building a front porch gave us flexibility because we could then change the massing of the facade and the entire roof—and that automatically changed the way the house looked," he says.

With Patricia's encouragement, the builders then gutted every inch of the interior, with the exception of the kitchen, laundry room, and a small breakfast room addition. Rob followed the original floor plan in his redesign, keeping public spaces to the left of the front entrance and bedrooms off to the right.

"We were forced to change some of the rooms in the old house slightly, but the budget was tight and functional issues were a priority, so we didn't spend the clients' dollars on completely redoing systems and the floor plan, says Rob." We worked hard to use existing assets wisely."

The Architect added a bay to the original dining room at the back of the house to bring in extra light and space. Then he placed a large family room and bay window at one end of the house and balanced this new construction with a master bedroom suite at the other end. Roger and Patricia wanted a new mudroom and garage to replace the existing attached carport, so Rob designed a two-bay garage that he tucked underneath the master suite.

Patricia was thrilled—sort of. The plans exceeded her expectations in all areas but one: "I grew up in North Carolina and I've always been fond of breezeways. Unfortunately, it seemed there was no place in our new plans for one. When I asked Rob about it, he told me, ‘You can have a double garage and no breezeway or a single bay garage and the breezeway you want. It's up to you.' "

That was all Patricia needed to hear. She went for the space she now says is one of her favorite places to sit and read in private. "Our front porch is a nice place to relax, but I love my breezeway."

Rob finished off Patricia and Roger's house with cedar shakes because they're found on so many of the older homes in Franklin Park. And the owners chose red shingles for the roof, one of the original colors offered when asphalt shingles were first introduced in the 19th century.

Today the couple share their Franklin Park cottage with two kids, one dog, and Patricia's mom. "My husband still says, ‘I couldn't live through that renovation again'—it was such a big undertaking. If we need a bigger place we'll just have to move.' But then we look at each other and agree we can't imagine leaving our house. It's kind of sentimental for us both."