Where I work

The neighborhoods I paint in

I have owned a home in South Run for more than twenty years, and most of my work still happens within a few streets of it. But “a few streets” around here covers a lot of good houses — Fairfax Station, West Springfield, Burke. Here is where I work, and what the homes in each place are actually like to paint.

Fairfax Station, VA 22039

South Run

Home. Mid-1980s colonials on wooded lots, forty years of settling, and the neighborhood where most of my work happens.

Painting in South Run →

Community site: South Run Regency

Fairfax Station, VA 22039

Crosspointe

Late-1980s and 1990s center-hall colonials with brick fronts, two-story foyers and open family rooms. Five minutes from my house.

Painting in Crosspointe →

Community site: Crosspointe Community Association

Springfield, VA 22153

Newington Forest

Eighteen hundred homes of single-family and three-level townhomes, 1970s and 1980s, one road over from South Run.

Painting in Newington Forest →

Community site: Newington Forest Community Association

Springfield, VA 22152

Orange Hunt Estates

Camelot-built split-levels, split-foyers and colonials from 1965 to 1980, most carrying an addition or two.

Painting in Orange Hunt Estates →

Civic association: Orange Hunt Estates Civic Association (OHECA)

Burke, VA 22015

Burke Centre

Five villages, close to six thousand homes, built 1977 into the 1990s — and heavy tree cover that changes how color reads.

Painting in Burke Centre →

Community site: Burke Centre Conservancy

Fairfax, VA 22032

Kings Park West

Late-1960s and 1970s models with royal names — the Baron, the Regent, the Queen. Solve one, solve them all.

Painting in Kings Park West →

Civic association: Kings Park West Civic Association

Why I bother writing this down

A neighborhood is a set of houses with the same habits

Houses built by the same builder in the same decade share the same quirks. The same ceiling height in the same hallway. The same spot over the front door where the drywall waves a little. The same trim profile, the same stair return, the same builder-grade coating that everybody has painted over twice.

Thirty-five years of doing this in these neighborhoods means I usually walk in already knowing what I am going to find — and where the line needs to sit so the room reads right from the doorway. Experience in your kind of house, not just experience in general.

Don't see your neighborhood?

This list is where I work most, not a fence. If you are anywhere around Fairfax Station, Springfield, Burke, Lorton or Clifton, get in touch and ask — the answer is usually yes.

Let's give your home the perfect look

Free, no-pressure quotes for neighbors across Fairfax Station, Springfield and Burke.