Ever since Reza Akhavi, 49, moved into his new custom-built home in Bethesda in April 2023, the screened porch and adjacent terraces have been buzzing with activity. Akhavi, a finance executive, often entertains guests, he says, and “everyone makes a beeline” to that back-of-house oasis.
Luke Olson, a senior associate with GTM Architects of Bethesda, says the firm designed the structure with multiple tiers to make the most of the tight, sloping lot. The 291-square-foot covered porch is on the main level, and two steps down is an open-air dining terrace. (Not pictured: a partially covered terrace farther down with a grill, pizza oven and firepit, and a second-floor deck atop the porch.)
Akhavi had two priorities for the porch and terraces, says Tyler Abrams, vice president of project management for Sandy Spring Builders in Bethesda: “a comfortable and fun space for family and friends” that’s able to absorb heavy use, and “a modern aesthetic.”
The result is “a clean design” incorporating multiple gathering areas, says Jennifer Wagner Schmidt of JWS Interiors in Ashburn, Virginia, who worked on the project. The porch has the same lofty ceiling height as the indoor living area. Two sets of 11-foot-tall Western Window Systems glass doors—one off the family room, the other off the kitchen, and each consisting of four panels—slide open and closed on tracks. When fully open, the panels are stacked to one side to create a wide entry to the porch.
Motorized retractable Fenetex porch screens keep the bugs out. Abrams says they also keep out most of the rain and hold in some heat. Slim Infratech heaters recessed into the ceiling warm the porch on cool days, and similar units heat the terraces.
Akhavi chose practical materials and a classic black and white palette for the house. Black is used for window and door trim, the porch fan with lighting from Modern Forms, and other details. Much of the terrace trim is black-painted fiber cement, which has the look and durability of metal but costs less. The white furniture includes stain-resistant upholstery on the custom-made Croft House sofa from Los Angeles. The coffee table was ordered online from AllModern.com. The complementary flooring—thermal bluestone—is smooth and nonslip.
The porch’s wall and ceiling are sapele. This weather-resistant wood also wraps some of the house exterior.
The porch and terraces “get the most use” at his house year-round, Akhavi says. He is not surprised. “If they have a choice,” he says, “most people would elect to sit outside.”
Read about more screened porches in Montgomery County.
This story appears in the September/October 2024 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
