Home for the Family

Jesse and Jill Vaugh may have been destined to make 6136 Burnett St. their family home.

Jesse first spied the large house in 2006, while driving through the Rose Hill neighborhood with Jill’s brother. Jesse had been transferred from northern New York to the Washington area for his job with a resort company, and was staying with Jill’s brother while looking for a rental home so Jill and their four children could join him.

“When Jesse saw the [Burnett Street] house, he turned to my brother and said, ‘Look at that house. Wouldn’t that be a great house to live in some day?’” said Jill, recounting the tale her husband later told her. 

A few months later, after joining Jesse in Washington, Jill saw the same house, unaware that Jesse had also been impressed with it. “I told him, ‘I just drove by the most beautiful house for sale.’ He said, “Oh, my God, I saw that house with your brother. It’s great!’ Jill recalled. At that time, however, the couple was renting a house and was not interested in buying one.

Fast forward two years, to 2008, when the couple had decided the time was right to buy a home. “One morning my neighbor knocked on my door and told me she had found the perfect home for us. She said that her daughter, a real estate agent, could take us to see it,” said Jill. “When we went by, I couldn’t believe it was the same house and that it was up for sale again! Two years earlier I never thought that we would ever be looking at it.”

The 5,400 square-foot home with six bedrooms and six baths was “the perfect house to raise a family,” Jill said. It also offered a big yard and a heated backyard swimming pool, a bonus for Jill, who grew up with a pool and had hoped her children would be able to do the same. 

The three-story house, built in 2003, has become a gathering place for family and friends, both kids and adults. The multi-level decks and patio and the pool get frequent use and the Vaughs added three extra outdoor attractions: a tire swing, a trampoline, and a hot tub. There is easy access from the patio and pool into the home’s walk-out, lower level that includes a tile-floored, 45’ x 27’ recreation room, a bedroom and a bath.

Even the home’s etched, patina-stained concrete driveway, big enough to park eight to 10 cars, seems to be made for a party. And, Jill said, there have been many, ranging from Halloween parties to First Communion celebrations. “This is such a great home for entertaining,” she noted.

The couple made a few cosmetic changes to the home, which has a large, open center foyer that connects to a formal living room on one side and a dining room on the other. In the kitchen they kept the custom cherry cabinets but installed leather-finish granite countertops. “They look more natural and never show fingerprints,” said Jill, whose children range in age from 6 to 11. They also installed travertine flooring in the kitchen, which opens to a sunken family room.

Since the kitchen includes a large island with ample seating for informal meals, Jill chose to use the kitchen eat-in area for an intimate conversation/seating space instead of a breakfast table. “I like to read with my kids there. And, I didn’t want a table blocking the flow into the family room,” Jill explained.  

The spacious formal dining room—13’ x 22’—has a built-in wet bar with a fossil-embedded stone top that is convenient for entertaining large groups. “My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving,” Jill said, noting they often host 20-25 people. ”I love to cook and we have many dinner parties. Our home seems to be where everyone gathers.”

Jill and Jesse have put some personal stamps on the home. Two pottery vases on the family room fireplace mantel are from a collection owned by Jesse’s grandmother. And the deck is home to a rustic looking, wooden bear sculpture made by Jesse’s dad, a carpenter. “He originally made it for my mother-in-law but she didn’t want it,” Jill chuckled. “It came to us as a Christmas gift. It’s a piece of where we lived, in the Adirondack [Mountain] area of New York.” 

Jill said that although the couple loves their “perfect family home” and “wonderful, family-oriented neighborhood that reminds me of where I grew up,” their time there will be ending soon. Jesse’s job again requires relocation, so the home is for sale through Judi Gray  of Century 21 New Millennium for $1,172,900.