Page B-4 FAIRFAX COUNTY TIMES Friday -Sunday, DECEMBER 23 - 25, 2016 Keeping cool in winter is the goal for homeowners who love fine Recent Fairfax project shows how remodeler Michael Nash adapts cellars, challenging spatial configurations

B Y J OHN B YRD SPECIAL TO THE FAIRFAX COUNTY TIMES Most people don’t worry about keeping cool in the winter. But for a wine enthusiast, “a slight chill” is one of the essentials for storing prized . Or so says Sonny Nazemian, president and founder of Michael Nash and , a firm that has installed wine cellar of every size and shape throughout Northern Virginia for PHOTOS BY GREG HADLEY over 15 years. “Interestingly, the market Michael Nash Kitchens and Homes created this 13-by-12 wine storage facility for a - for wine cellars has remained owner in Fairfax. The accommodates 1,400 bottles on lacquered mahogany racks pretty constant locally,” Nazem- and is spacious enough for a wine dinner seating 10 to 15 guests. A dedicated thermostat ian observes. “Consumption of keeps wines temperatures at 58 to 62 degrees Farenheit. fine wines has grown steadily in Fairfax County for decades. At perfect match for the wine dinner cific foods.” shrimp and cheese, sampling char- the same time, there is much more you’ve been dreaming about for But not every is opti- donnay, comparing tasting notes. interest in gourmet cooking and, years. mally configured for a full-func- As the dream’s details co- of course, pairing fine wines and “Temperature control is criti- tional, state-of-the-art wine cellar. alesced, however, a practical foods.” cal to keeping wines drinkable A Fairfax homeowner Nazem- question emerged: could the A wine cellar like the one over the years,” Nazemian ex- ian recently serviced originally homeowner’s two-level center Nazemian and team recently plains. “If wines are not kept thought he wanted a wine cabi- colonial accommodate a wine cel- completed in a spacious home in properly, they can go bad. One of net, and had researched several lar, and if so how? True, the home Fairfax, however, is not so much the satisfactions for collectors is refrigerated options before boasted a spacious lower level— The unfinished square footage converted into the wine about storage as maintaining an procuring fine wines before they deciding that there is just no sub- partly finished—that featured an cellar had previously been used for utilities. A hot water environment where temperatures mature. When wines are cellared stitute for a real wine cellar. Then, exercise area, a billiards parlor are consistently 58 to 62 degrees. heater, and sump pump occupied most of the properly they age into a perfect ex- he decided he wanted a room spa- and a handsomely- appointed bar. The goal for the owner is to al- available space. Designer Shawn Nazemian’s detailed pression of their best characteris- cious enough for the occasional It even made sense to have the ways have a sublime , in schematic rerouted several appliances – working around tics. This is when a wine becomes soiree – enough room for 10 to stock, appropriately aged-- the units that had nowhere else to go. an exceptional complement to spe- 15 guests, for instance, dining on See HOMES PAGE B-5 Clifton.Great Falls.Springfield. CarrHomes has all the right moves. Luxury townhome and award-winning single family living in premier Fairfax County locations

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CarrHomes.com Friday - Sunday, DECEMBER 23 - 25, 2016 fx FAIRFAX COUNTY TIMES Page B-5 THE TOP TEN SALES IN FAIRFAX COUNTY Worth the wait

MCLEAN MCLEAN VIENNA VIENNA RESTON averaged roughly $17,000 Homebuyers from September to Novem- 7024 STATENDAM CT, 6719 LUCY LN, MCLEAN, 608 GIBSON CIR SW, VI- 1717 DREWLAINE DR, 2244 COCQUINA DR, save thousands ber. Given these findings, MCLEAN, VA 22101 VA 22101 ENNA, VA 22180 VIENNA, VA 22182 RESTON, VA 20191 homebuyers this fall and $739,000 $2,647,000 $610,000 $1,346,000 $325,000 in the off-season winter can expect to have an 4 bed, 3 bath 6 bed, 6 bath 4 bed, 2 bath 6 bed, 5 bath 4 bed, 2 bath advantage over sellers, even Timing is everything, with record list prices. even in real estate. Buyers in fall may also Homebuyers in the na- have leverage in terms of tion’s densest metro areas selection. Realtor.com fore- could save thousands by casted the median age of purchasing a home in the listings in September at 77 off-season, according to a days, five days more than in new analysis by NerdWal- August. With listings longer let. Sale prices fall an aver- on the market (and less buy- age of approximately three ers to compete with), those RESTON FAIRFAX FAIRFAX CENTREVILLE CENTREVILLE percent, or by $8,300 on a purchasing past the peak median-priced home, Sep- summer season could have 11342 WOODBROOK LN, 11311 POPES HEAD RD, 8803 GLADE HILL RD, 14915 CARLBERN DR, CENT- 6109 RIDGE HAVEN CT, tember through November, the upper hand in negotia- RESTON, VA 20194 FAIRFAX, VA 22030 FAIRFAX, VA 22031 REVILLE, VA 20120 CENTREVILLE, VA 20120 the analysis found. tions. $896,000 $405,200 $805,000 $375,000 $705,000 Sale prices, as well, tend 4 bed, 3 bath 2 bed, 1 bath 4 bed, 3 bath 4 bed, 1 bath 5 bed, 4 bath Mortgage interest rates, to keep tracking downward additionally, remain low - through January and Febru- though the Federal Reserve “A thermally-efficient mem- to fixed utility units through a ary. NerdWallet’s analysis, hinted at a benchmark rate HOMES brane is essential to a wine cellar’s lacquered mahogany unde- which dug into housing ac- hike this December. Home- performance,” Shawn Nazem- tectably integrated into the tasting tivity from the last two years buyers, for now, still have Continued from Page B-4 ian says. “It’s important that the room’s interior elevations. as reported by Realtor.com, the opportunity to secure a recognized an overall aver- wine cellar in the midst of all the compressor – which is designed Despite the expert crafts- low rate. age declining trend of 8.45 recreational action. to keep temperatures and humid- manship underlying a space plan Overall, these signs - percent, identifying January The problem was that the un- ity consistent – won’t be over- more intricate than it seems, the and now, significant savings as the month with the most finished part of the lower level tasked.” resulting facility is warmly invit- - point to an off-season in metros experiencing the low- was barely accessible. The hot To keep temperatures regu- ing; a cozy spot for gathering with favor of homebuyers. est sale prices. water heater, furnace and sump lated, the cellar is equipped with friends; a perfect complement to The most considerable pump—not to mention a tangle of its own thermostat. adjacent adult activity zones. drop-offs from summer Content is provided by: ducting—obstructively claimed the must remain in the 50 to 70 per- The cellar’s focal point is a (June through August) to fall targeted 170 square feet of unfin- cent range with temperatures at granite “tasting table” with a bar- were in three distinct mar- ished as a virtual utility about 58 to 62 degrees Fahrenheit. rel-carved edge set off by a lac- kets: Hartford-West Hart- room. The in this portion Even the cellar’s custom-designed quered backbar festooned with a ford-East Hartford, Conn., of the lower level were exposed frosted glass door is sealed to keep carved grape and vine motif. The Contact Javen House While pleasing to the eye, Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, cinder block. Between the duct- the cool air in. homeowner selected this decora- or Kim House for more and Birmingham-Hoover, work and the utility equipment, it the cellar’s frosted door To handle drainage needs, tive element, the floor tiling, the information: Ala., according to the analy- was hard to find space for even a is also an essential part Shawn specified a “split cooling” LED and many other in- sis. Sale prices in each fell Javen House few loose crates—let alone 1,400 of the thermally-efficient system that ties in with the exist- terior details in the Michael Nash around eight percent, or [email protected] bottles. membrane that keeps ing HVAC. The existing electrical show room in Fairfax. by $20,417, $11,450 and 703-201-3388 Shawn Nazemian, the Mi- temperatures and humidity system, however, proved adequate “I’m told the cellar has really $13,386, respectively. chael Nash designer who executed to all the new power needs. worked for holiday entertaining,” consistent. In context, the median Kim House the solution, recalls that space- Shelling in the 13-by-12 area Sonny Nazemian says. “A New listing price in September [email protected] planning was the real challenge: even working around units that had designated for the cellar also re- Year’s Day party is planned.” is projected to be $250,000, 703-201-8860 “The most feasibil- nowhere else to go. We also needed quired some unusually precise For information call (703) a new high for the month. ity issue was assessing how best a practical way to route coolant fabrications. The design team 641-9800 or visit MichaelNash- homesbyhouses.com Listing price, however, often to reconfigure the major infrastruc- drain-off—which is essential to a custom-fitted storage racks around Kitchens.com differs from sale price - of ture systems,” Shawn Nazemian well-maintained cellar.” mid-, bulk-heading created John Byrd has been writ- the 50 metro areas NerdWal- explains. “Since over half of the Once alternative utility loca- to re-route ducting and – as a fi- ing about let analyzed, the difference lower level was already built-out, tions were identified, the design- nal nod to the ambiance – faux- for 30 years. He can be reached between the median listing we needed a detailed schematic that er’s next step was waterproofing painted sections of the new ceiling by phone at (703) 715-8006, price and median sale price would show us how to reposition and insulating the basement’s pe- to resemble wine . On a www.HomeFrontsNews.com most of the energy appliances-- rimeter. similar note, they created access or [email protected]

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