An Island That Dreams Are Made Of.

An Island That Dreams Are Made Of.

A lot goes into the decision to buy a home. The location. The convenience. The design of the home and how it fits right into your family’s style. But when you start to dream. And imagine special moments within those walls, it is then that you know you are home. For Catherine Kelly, homeowner at One Loudoun’s Uptown Row, that particular moment was sweet. For this downsizer with grown children, the kitchen island is both aspirational and symbolic of those times that will bring this family of five together again.

From the kitchen island to the covered terrace that is now part of her morning coffee routine, read on for this homeowner’s experience moving Uptown.

 Why Were You On The Move?

We lived in Ashburn for 11 years. We had the house, the yard, the kids…the whole thing and then we decided to downsize. We looked at so many different options. We fell in love with the type of home, the location, the neighborly use of space at Uptown Row.

What Was Your One Visit That Changed Everything Moment?

I had been looking at homes, townhomes, you name it. My husband instantly fell in love. Walking through that model instantly sold us. He’s more particular than I am and he said why don’t we just buy this one. He wanted to specifically buy the model. Ultimately, a lot of the things we ended up picking for this house were actually from the model. We did make a lot of our decisions based on what we saw. We wanted the floors. We wanted the long island.

How Does That Oversized Kitchen Island Fit Into Your Daily Life?

The kitchen island is glorious. I mean, I love it. Can I tell you, I’ve had big homes and I’ve never had an island this big. I always said, if I made pasta, this would be the best counter in the whole wide world. For me, I love to bake so my vision was come Christmastime when I’m baking cookies, I will have plenty of space for everything. I have five barstools lined up perfectly and there are five of us in the family. So for me that is symbolic of when we are all home together, lined up.

Do You Spend Much Time On Your Covered Terrace?

All the time. All the time. Because it’s covered. I do get the western sun so the in the afternoons it does get a little hot, but it is my favorite place to go in the morning.

So What You’re Saying is You’re a Coffee Drinker?

I am. And that is where I drink my coffee every morning if the weather is decent. I’ll go out on our covered terrace. That has become my morning routine.

Who Likes That Massive Owner’s Suite Walk-In Closet More? You or Your Husband?

We share that massive closet. It is probably one of the biggest closets we’ve ever owned. And as I’ve said, we’ve had the big homes, which is so bizarre to me when massive homes have these tiny closets. We had it finished out in this house with a closet system. But to answer your question, and you will probably laugh, but my husband definitely has more clothes than I do.

What Is Your Favorite Thing About Living In The Center of It All In One Loudoun?

I love the walkability. If we are ordering out, I can just walk and pop over there and grab it. I was never a Trader Joe’s fan. Ever. But I am converting very quickly. To me, to be able to go over there quickly and grab something for dinner because I didn’t plan ahead. I just love that I can walk over there. I’m a big walker. I walk every day to the park. I walk all the way around the entire property of One Loudoun. I love that we have easy access to everything. And the exciting part is there will be even more. There are plenty of restaurants to satisfy us now, but as it expands, there is always something to look forward to.

As a downsizer, we still needed storage. And as we looked, most of the places just didn’t have the kind of storage that we needed. And this particular model does. They laid it out well. There is not a waste of space that you find in most homes. They really used the space well here.

Are You Glad You Moved Uptown?

We’ve been really happy. This was a good move for us. A really good move.