The couple purchased the land in 2005, however a yr and a half handed earlier than development started. During that point, they labored on their imaginative and prescient with the Galileo Group, a customized home builder, and architect Steve Busch.
“I gave [Busch] my ideas and some plans, and he literally went back to his hotel room and just drew it in one night,” Maria stated. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god, that’s my house.’ He was such a true artist.”
Construction took 3½ years, giving Maria, an inside decorator, ample time to supply antiques for the brand new property. She stated she prefers to embellish with “unusual, unique and one-of-a-kind” objects. She collected cast-iron registers and doorknobs from the 1800s, now in use all through the home. The exterior was constructed with 300 tons of fieldstone primarily sourced from century-old constructions across the 50-mile mark of the Oregon Trail in Missouri. A hearth in the lounge, constructed in 1900 and signed by its designer, was created for a French citadel.
Despite her meticulous consideration to element throughout the planning course of, Maria was stunned to find which rooms she preferred most as soon as she moved into the home along with her husband and their three kids in 2010. One common house, a huge room with partitions of wooden and stone, has a basketball hoop — although no courtroom traces on its antique-oak, suspended-spring ground — and it results in an outside terrace.
“I wanted it to double as an entertaining pavilion for parties,” she stated. “But every time I had a lot of people over, whether it was for Thanksgiving or birthday parties, a lot of times, people of all ages would end up in the basketball court, playing cornhole or basketball or lacrosse.”
The fireside room, dubbed the “conversation pit” by the residents, is the smallest room in the 16,000-square-foot home, and it’s Maria’s favourite. It has a spherical, built-in sofa and a hearth that bears the face of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus — a becoming presence in a room the place Maria stated she gathered small teams of friends to talk over libations.
The main bed room suite — on the second ground, or predominant stage — is related to a non-public workplace and has two walk-in closets and a rest room with a free-standing tub and a walk-in bathe. There are excessive arches in warm-hued hallways that result in a trendy kitchen with an old style look, a double-height eating room and a two-story library with a spiral staircase. This ground additionally has a lounge — dubbed the “great room” by the Galianis — with uncovered wooden beams in the ceiling. The nice room opens to a stone veranda that overlooks the property’s roughly 1¼ acres, designed by panorama architect Charles Owens.
Garage parking is out there at each ends of the home. The property was designed to accommodate as many as 160 friends, though the Galianis by no means hosted such a giant occasion there.
On the decrease stage, the home has a bed room suite and kitchenette, a sunlit leisure room, a professional-quality health club and a round wine cellar. An extra room could possibly be used for seating or different functions, and two giant, related areas present ample space for storing.
The prime ground has 5 bedrooms, three of which have non-public bogs. The different two share a Jack-and-Jill rest room, with direct entry from each side. A bar and sport alcove adjoins the second ground of the library, the place a ledge overlooks the principle stage.
Although the Galianis are downsizing with their transfer, they’re not going far. They like the world a lot that they purchased a home down the road.
“Being so close to Tysons and the CIA and Langley High School, it seems like a busy area,” Maria stated. “But you drive into our neighborhood, and it’s quiet and private.”
- Bedrooms/bogs: 7/9
- Approximate square-footage: 16,000
- Lot measurement: 1.26 acres
- Features: The mansion was constructed in 2010 by Galileo Group. Inspired by Italian and French structure, it has a distinctly Old World really feel and is embellished with vintage finds. Unusual options embrace an indoor sport courtroom/leisure pavilion, a two-story library and a stone veranda. There are two garages, every with two doorways, on both facet of the home.
- Listing agent: Will Thomas and Mark Lowham, TTR Sotheby’s International Realty.
correction
An earlier model of this text incorrectly acknowledged when Maria and Kirk Galiani took their journey to Italy and France. They visited in the early 2000s. This model has been corrected.