515 S Fairfax St, Alexandria, VA, 22314

About This Home

Tucked into the SE quadrant of Old Town, this stunning home has been carefully restored and expanded with a thoughtful, cohesive approach, preserving its history while capitalizing on flow and livability. The result is a mix of original character and thoughtful, high-quality updates, rounded out with professional interior design by Liz Mearns. The front living room, dating to 1797, sets the tone with original floors, a wood-burning fireplace, and elevated by tailored details like a custom sisal rug, picture rail art hanging system, and modern lighting. Just beyond, the dining room, added in the early 1800s, continues the story with its own fireplace, built-in storage, and the kind of scale that works equally well for everyday dinners or larger gatherings. From there, the house opens up completely with a 2020 addition. The kitchen is well-executed with inset Mouser cabinetry, soapstone counters, a Wolf range, and Bosch dishwasher. A butler’s pantry and wet bar add storage and function, including a beverage refrigerator, open shelving, and glass-front cabinetry. The reclaimed wood threshold is a subtle detail, but one that ties the old and new together. The kitchen flows directly into the spacious family room with gas fireplace and tongue and groove ceiling, creating a fabulous living space. Tucked between the old and new sections of the home, the connecting hall includes a powder room with exposed brick, plus a broom closet and built-in shelving. Upstairs, there are three bedrooms plus a separate library, which is a space that can flex depending on your needs. The primary suite is set apart and private, with good closet space, a well-finished bath with double sinks, marble counters and a soaking tub, and a terrace with retractable awning. The additional two bedrooms sit within the original portion of the home, each set on a different level. The renovated hall bath and a thoughtfully designed laundry room round out this space. The lower level is perfect for a home gym or den, and offers terrific storage space. Behind the scenes, the improvements continue. New plumbing, electrical, and sewer lines, radiant heated floors through both levels of the addition, and high quality Vermont Green Mountain windows were installed during the renovation. Outside, the rear garden has been designed as an extension of the living space, with hardscaping, layered plantings, and a covered porch that makes it usable well beyond just a few months of the year. There’s also a rear gate to the alley with bike shed, which adds a level of convenience that’s easy to overlook but hard to live without once you have it. The location puts you just a few blocks from the river and the Mount Vernon Trail, and within easy reach of King Street’s restaurants, shops, farmer’s market, and metro station. It’s a part of Old Town that feels quieter and more residential, while still being fully connected to everything nearby. This is a house with real history, and where every update is deliberate. The overall result is a home that checks all the boxes without losing what made it special in the first place.