A change in plans
Renovations during the pandemic have required adjustments from setting up sanitizing stations to workers entering through a second-story window By Carolyn Weber |
February 1, 2021
A renovation of the writer’s 60-year-old split-level ranch house in Silver Spring’s Woodside Park neighborhood was underway when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. To eliminate foot traffic through the living spaces and keep the construction crew and family separated, the project manager built an exterior staircase for the workers. Photo by Carolyn Weber
It’s 8 o’clock on a March morning in 2020 and I’m bracing for the day ahead. The painters and plumber are parked in front of my house, and I just finished a phone call with the project manager to discuss the daily schedule. He is in his truck in the driveway. My husband has been working in the den-turned-home office for two hours already, taking advantage of the early morning quiet. The kids chatter over breakfast before logging
By Jennifer Sergent |
December 21, 2020
Chevy Chase twins Genna (left) and Ella Hayes’ bedroom features an area for virtual learning that includes monogrammed bulletin boards. Photo by Stacy Zarin Goldberg
The pandemic caught families and school systems by surprise last spring, forcing kids to attend class by computer screen. Kitchen islands, dining tables and other surfaces were pressed into service for the task, but the dawning realization that virtual learning would continue this fall forced many families to come up with strategies that would enable students to stay focused and productive in the new school year. “Parents are scrambling, turning every nook and cranny in the house into work space,” says Bethesda designer Liz Levin. We spoke to Levin and two other local families about their solutions to make school days seamless for their kids at home.