8329 Weller Avenue -- Woodhaven -- $1,280,000

Listed by Long & Foster 

The house you always wanted? Remember the original film classic "Father of the Bride" with Spencer Tracy, Myrna Loy and Elizabeth Taylor? This house, though built in 1969, will take you back to that era...of genteel manners, fine breeding, all-brick construction, public rooms on the "formal" side (but not uptight in any way); solid, substantive and American in the finest sense of the word. 

You approach the property off Brook Road (a favorite route of the McLean Secret Agent) as you enter the subdivision called Woodhaven. Woodhaven. What a splendid example of Fairfax County zoning at its best: curving roads, random front elevations which avoid cookie-cutter ennui, gracious "setbacks", mature trees, lush manicured lawns...Woodhaven. When I visited recently with a relocation client from Miami, dogs ran freely and neighbors (from Central Casting?) waived spontaneously. Welcome home, I thought. 

The house sits on a little over a third of an acre, but the layout of the community provides this owner with the feeling of about an acre. 

You enter the house to an inviting hardwood foyer. On your left is a non-traditional living room anchored by a handsome fireplace with elegant Georgian mantle and a custom bookcase-cabinet on another. A corner of the living room leads to a hexagonal screened-in porch that, in turns, leads to the swimming pool (beautifully sited), but my eye is drawn to an odd door in the corner of the room. What's this? I smile, grinning broadly, as I recognize it's an elevator. So I ring for it. The door opens to reveal a charming cabin (with requisite telephone), painted with a delightful scene by a well-known New Orleans' muralist. The McLean Secret Agent is charmed, I'm sure. 

But first I'll cross the foyer to the formal dining room. It's decorated with a bottle-green, silk-striped wallpaper (I'm guessing Brunschwig & Fils) applied handsomely above a white-and-beige chair rail & shadowbox molding. For anyone who NEVER wanted to see another swag or jabot after the Reagans left the White House, look again; the window treatments work in this lovely house. 

I wander out of the dining room into a modern, chic kitchen with gutsy granite and black appliances. Though not terribly large, it's well designed. (A minor flaw is a not-so-pretty pair of louvered doors in the breakfast area that lead to the washer-dryer; no big deal, my client will move them to the basement.) 

This Yankee feels like he's in Connecticut when the McLean Secret Agent wanders into the family room with its fireplace and beamed ceiling. Again, another private door in this room leads to the beautiful swimming pool area. 

I take the elevator upstairs and exit in a bedroom that appears to have been a gentleman's study. In the hall there are three other bedrooms including a Master Suite with good closets, another fireplace and a master bath with a shower (only) adapted for the special physical needs of the former Owner. Perhaps my favorite room upstairs is a bedroom that appears to have been a studio of a professional writer. Fine custom bookcases and cabinetry frame the perimeter; a memorable writer's desk anchors a corner, and a favorite beige carpet with green trellis accent (I recognize it as Stark Carpet) makes it come together almost as a private salon. This house--and its aesthetic values--makes me feel good about the world.

The lower level has a full bath, an au pair suite, and additional storage. 

So why hasn't it sold? Is the "deal-breaker" the absence of a garage? (Yep, there's only a carport). Or is it just that the right owner hasn't wandered by? (I'll vote the latter.) I'll go back next week with a different husband-and-wife. I hope it's still available. 

The McLean Secret Agent loves his job. 

Is a swimming pool a good thing or a bad thing? Please share your feedback with the McLean Secret Agent. 

(At time of this post, it's been on the market 251 days.)