Friday, March 10, 2017

Adaptations to the Parker Plan:

Although in the previous post I laid out everything that is missing in the Parker and Dawson the positives are with both units the square footage is still there and the open floorplan and rooftop terrace are also still there .  Plus the amazing location is still there for all units.  This is why we decided to still move forward with a Parker.

The biggest issue for us is the lack of a walk in closet.   Our current rental home in DC has two walk in closets in the master bedroom and our previous home had a large walk in closet so we both have acquired a lot of clothes over the years.  Stanley Martin WILL NOT build an extra closet in a Parker or Dawson unit even for extra cost.  (we asked everyone  at the company who would listen)  It may have been because the plans were already approved for our units but I am not sure as it was before they started building. 

For the closet situation we plan to get an additional closet put in the master after construction and honestly we both have a lot of things we never wear and can get rid of.  With two closets in the master and purging some stuff we haven’t worn in a while we should be fine.  We may even go with an armoire for my stuff depending on what the room setup looks like after it is finished.  (it is a large bedroom)

The second biggest issue was the small master bathroom and lack of dual vanity.  For this issue we opted for the two bathroom floorplan and I will use the hall bathroom unless we have guests over.  The baby who is not even due till late Summer will not need their own bathroom for many years.

The third biggest concern was the lack of the third bedroom.  We plan on using the loft area which is plenty big enough (13x10) for a sleeper sofa to solve this problem.  We only have overnight guests a few times a year so using the loft area should be fine.   This loft is actually bigger than most of the secondary bedrooms in other townhomes we looked at the only inconvenience will be our guests will have to go downstairs to use the bathroom.  We also opted for the wet bar up there so hopefully there is still enough space but there should be.

The fourth biggest concern was the one car garage.   Honestly when I think about this one more it is not a problem.  Since I have lived here in DC we use my wife’s car for go shopping and going on out of town trips and my car has only been used to go to the tennis club.  I can now easily walk to the tennis club.   With a community as walkable as Riverdale Park Station you really only need one car.  I probably will end up selling my car as I have only put around 2000 miles on it in the past 2 years since I moved to DC and without the trips the tennis club I am never going to use it.  Either way I do hope the HOA for Riverdale allows at least one street parking spot per townhome.   I have a call into the HOA about this and I will update the blog when I get a response.  Currently since the HOA doesn’t exist yet it is hard to get an answer.   :)


With these adjustments we think the Parker floorplan will still be PLENTY of space for us.   We are only 2.5 people at this point and the townhouse is 2097 square feet so really this should all work out fine.

2 comments:

  1. We ended up putting a contract on a Parker, but we had a lot of the same issues. We are also selling our second car. But like you I am still concerned about street parking for visitors, cat sitters, etc. For the closets, we don't have kids, so my husband generously promised me the bedroom closet to myself and he will use the smaller closet in the second bedroom. Still, I have had to purge a lot, though I wanted and needed to do that. We intentionally wanted to downsize by moving here from a single family home.

    With regard to the bathroom, I couldn't handle the tiny master bath - it felt too claustrophobic to me for being a primary bath. I would have always used the one in the hall, and that seemed like a waste to us. We opted for one full bath, which allow us to get a wishlist item for me - laundry near the bedroom. Again, easier for us because we don't have kids. We did opt for the model with the extra powder room on the first level so we still have three bathrooms (two powder rooms and a full bath). FYI, our realtor told us about other clients who opted for the first floor powder room with a plan to expand to a full bath by stealing some space from the garage.

    I was also a little concerned about lack of a guest bedroom but also plan to put a sleeper in the loft. I actually came around to thinking it is better this way, because the set-up will work for short stays and lower maintenance friends/relatives, but encourages other visitors to stay at the soon-to-be-built Hyatt (luckily my dad doesn't read blogs so I can say this).

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    1. Welcome to Riverdale! We kept our second car but only because as of right now parking is not an issue.
      For the bathroom I am using the hall bath and my wife is using the master and that seems to work fine. Agreed that the master bath is a bit small. We seriously considered doing the same thing you did as the laundry down in the first floor is a pain but we REALLY wanted that hall bath for guests and we also have the baby. One bathroom for three would not have worked.
      Sleeper in the loft is working great. It was not easy to get up there but now that it is there it’s nice. Thanks for reading.

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