The new owner of Bethesda’s famed “Mushroom House” had no idea his otherwise ordinary home search would end up there.
Brian Vaughn runs an IT company for small businesses in Bethesda and was in the market for a nearby property for less than $1 million.
He did a search on Zillow, an Internet real estate database, and the $1.2 million, two-story stucco home covered in bluish polyurethane foam popped up.
“It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Vaughn said. “But my daughter kind of fell for it hard and quickly. I kind of fell in love with it, too.”
Vaughn, 47, met and liked the previous owners, but he decided against making an offer for less than $1 million. The home, which went on sale in October, remained on the market and the price eventually dropped.
Last week, Vaughn closed on 4949 Allan Road for $920,000 and is preparing to move in.
“It’s certainly unorthodox and I think a lot of people are uncomfortable with unorthodox,” Vaughn said. “It’s almost more fun. Having the same old thing that everybody else does just doesn’t have the same joie de vivre.”
This weekend, Vaughn’s 12-year-old daughter will host the first of what may turn out to be many sleepover parties at one of the most unique homes in Bethesda.
“I have sold real estate for 15 years and think I will have to sell real estate for another 30 to sell a more interesting house than this,” said Lisa Stransky Brown, the Washington Fine Properties real estate agent who represented Vaughn. “I learned more throughout the home inspection process in this house than in 40 house inspections combined.”
The home was remodeled by then-owners Ed and Frances Garfinkle in the 1970s and designed by futuristic architect Roy Mason.
Inside are 30-foot ceilings, curved walls and skylights. Vaughn hopes to finish the basement, add a pool to the backyard and possibly a putting green to make the house “into a better kind of playland, for lack of a better term.”
The biggest change to the house might be the relocation of the garage space, though Vaughn is waiting to hear back from architects the cost and design.
Vaughn said he doesn’t plan to change the features that made the home the “Mushroom House.”
“You can’t do that after getting to know Eddie and Frances. It would feel like a betrayal of epic proportions to fundamentally change the layout of the house,” Vaughn said. “I’m doing window dressing to make it more for a kid, like me.”
