Luxury home: 'Green' is good at convenient Poplar Terraces

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In 1947, when Anna Herring purchased a 1.64-acre site for her home in Falls Church, her love of nature and gardening led her to nurture the land and enhance its inherent beauty.

More than half a century later, the architectural firm of Studio109 and builder M.T. Puskar Construction Co. Inc. joined together to honor Mrs. Herring's commitment to her land by developing Poplar Terraces, an environmentally friendly cluster of four homes.

Located at 2502 Buckelew Drive, these four new homes have been sited perpendicular to the street to minimize their visual impact and to maximize the daylight inside each room.

As many trees as possible were saved during construction and new maple trees and shrubbery were planted to provide afternoon shade in the summer as part of the energy conservation elements in the homes.

Solar panels can easily be added to the homes by buyers. The homes share a stand of old-growth Tulip Poplar trees, and each has a private walled terrace.

In addition to conserving the land as much as possible, the builders of Poplar Terraces used green construction techniques to build these Energy Star-certified homes. Another element of green building is locating a home so that residents can reduce their use of a car.

Poplar Terraces is within walking distance of the West Falls Church Metro station, the W&OD Trail, the Poplar Heights swimming pool and shopping in Falls Church.

One of the three homes has been sold, with base prices for the remaining homes starting at $1,394,900.

The model home is priced at $1,374,900.

The homes each have 4,038 finished square feet on three levels, with four bedrooms, 3½ baths, a storage area and a two-car garage.

The homes have been built with structural insulated panels (SIPS), which were custom-made for each house and provide stronger framing than in traditional homes, along with thermal efficiency.

The all-brick exteriors of each home blend them with the older homes in the neighborhood. Each home has permeable paving stones in the driveway that help absorb water runoff. The rain gardens in each home filter water through a system of stone and soil to release it slowly into the watershed with fewer damaging chemicals and less danger of flash flooding.

Inside, the homes have 11-foot ceilings in the living and dining rooms, a gas fireplace, maple wood flooring, built-in bookcases and wood stairs with a skylight.

The kitchens each have quartz counters, a maple butcher block island, eucalyptus and birch cabinets with under-cabinet lighting, maple flooring and stainless steel appliances.

The master bath has a tub with a skylight overhead, a large shower with a sandblasted glass wall and heated tile flooring. The homes have dual-zone heating and air conditioning and a network-ready wiring system.

The main level of each home has a central kitchen with a center-island and an adjacent open dining area and living area. A wall of French doors opens from these rooms to the terrace. A few step above, on the mezzanine level, are a media room and a home office with an adjacent powder room.

Upstairs, the master bedroom suite has two closets and a bath. The upper level also has three more bedrooms, a laundry room and a second full bath.

The lower level has a playroom, a full bath, a storage room and access to the garage.

For information about Poplar Terraces, contact Realtor Bic DeCaro with Westgate Realty Group Inc. at 703/395-3662 or visit www.poplarterraces.com.

Open house is scheduled for April 13, 1 to 4 p.m.