For Part 1, we’ll tour the green design elements on the exterior of Danielle and Casey’s home. Danielle explained to us how she and Casey “wanted as low a carbon footprint (and water runoff footprint) as possible.”

Danielle works for the Environmental Protection Agency and won the 2013 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award. She says “she felt very much the need to walk the walk on building sustainably.” Their design, she added, is “centered on the desire to be as energy and water efficient as we could afford to be.”

Let’s look at the front yard. When Danielle bought the house in 2001, the yard was, in the most generous terms, “a blank slate.” Doesn’t look like there’s a single shrub or plant.

It’s hard to believe a dismal hardscrabble landscape like that became a space this lush, vibrant, and green, largely the result of Casey’s design and handiwork.

Casey’s tried to add primarily drought-resistant and native plants and they brought the rocks back with them from their family home in West Virginia.

The mix of textures and layering leads all the way to the front stoop and is accentuated by rich dark wood chips.

For another jaw-dropping transformation, check out the 18 by 15 foot backyard behind her newly purchased brick row house without a single improvement made to the original construction — yet. Just worn down dirt, leaves, and a few weeds. A sad sight.

But Danielle and Casey saw the potential. Adding wood fencing along the sides and an addition on the back (more on that in part 2), they turned the backyard into an intimate and stylish eco patio. Halfway through the construction at this point, you can see the shed, set on a 5-foot concrete foundation, as well as the concrete (they call their “mini monolith”) that leads to the back door (and will soon house an outdoor refrigerator).

And here it is today.

They’ve laid in concrete paving stones and added trees for shade and privacy – a slow-growing white pine and a birch — as well as patio furniture and charming string lights.

Two tall shrubs and an adirondack chair cleverly block off the back alley.

What is the environmental feature here? This, you see, is not just an outdoor dining table. It is actually covering a cistern sunk into the ground that holds 300 gallons of runoff water.

Their water catchment system begins here at the downspout, where the water travels straight into the cistern.

And here on the top of the cistern, near the fence, Danielle shows us the hand pump. She attaches a hose to the spigot, pumps the handle, and the water comes up with a decent level of water pressure.

Danielle and Casey did even more by way of water retention. They installed an amazing green roof over their addition to help manage stormwater runoff, insulate their roof, and absorb carbon dioxide. They hired Capitol Greenroofs to install the scenic green roof that they access through sliding doors in one of the upstairs rooms. With a view of DC, it seems like the perfect spot for watching the July 4th fireworks.

I’ve always imagined a panorama of green rooftops in Del Ray. Installing a roof like Danielle and Casey’s though requires at least 4-inch deep planters and a roof that can handle between 25 to 60 pounds of weight per square foot.

They also installed a rain barrel and irrigation tubes to help water the mixture of low-maintenance sedums, ornamental grasses, and ground cover.

We have so much more to reveal about Danielle and Casey’s house. In part two of their rowhouse renovation, we’ll show the incredible before and after shots of the interior space. You’ll hardly believe how much they’ve done, much of it DIY, with a home that Danielle bought in 2001 in wretched condition. It wasn’t easy and there were many setbacks, but the house today is remarkable and unique, like no other rowhouse in Del Ray we’ve seen yet.

Del Ray is rain barrel central. It’s hard to walk down a block without seeing a barrel — some even blend into the landscape of the house, their style equal to their function. Leslie already has a barrel, and I am happy to report I have finally joined the rain barrel club. Rain, bring it on, I am ready for you!

Through a garden listserve, I heard about a company called District Garden that has a unique rain barrel system which doesn’t involve the typical method of cutting your downspout. Intrigued, I set up an appointment with the owner Ben for an install. (I’ll show you here how it all works, but if you are interested in having a rain barrel installed, keep reading below for details about a discounted rate we’ve coordinated for local DIY Del Ray readers which you won’t want to miss!)

On most of the rain barrels I have seen, the home’s downspout rests on top of the barrel. If you don’t have an overflow tube directing water elsewhere, in monsoon season, the barrel can overflow and cause havoc in your basement. After trial and error with rain barrels at his own home, Ben has developed a system to avoid this overflow issue.

But first, you have to ready the barrel. Ben uses upcycled soda and pickle containers for the rain barrel — double the eco-friendliness, you could say, as these would have ended up in a landfill. He drills a hole close to the bottom for the drain (in case you wanted to completely empty it) which he closes off with a plug. He uses regular dishwashing soap as a lubricant to screw the plug in as snugly as possible.

A few inches above the drain, he drills another hole for the spigot, and one more hole goes on the side near the top for the tube that will connect the barrel to the downspout.

Now Ben drills a hole in the downspout and inserts the magical diverter. The diverter will guide the rain water from the downspout into the barrel. About 70-80% of the rain water from the downspout will enter the rain barrel, the rest continues through the downspout. When the barrel is full, water will then flow down the downspout per usual. This means no overflow, no flooding, no puddles of water attracting mosquitoes.

And if you want to close down your rain barrel for winter, you simply unscrew the diverter to disconnect the barrel and insert the winter cap.

When full, this barrel will hold 50 gallons of water for my garden. I don’t have a spigot in my backyard, so before getting the barrel, I had to fill a watering can in my kitchen sink.

It’s not the best-looking container (though it can be painted!) and it does take up space on my small deck, but the environmental benefits outweigh the loss of space. Rain barrels reduce stormwater runoff, provide soft water for plants and gardens and reduce pollutants in the city’s sewer and water management systems.

I only have room in my backyard for one barrel, but if you have space, you can easily connect a second or third. We saw a house of similar size to mine at the 2012 Del Ray House and Garden Tour with FOUR connected rain barrels (three shown below). That’s serious water conservation.

So here’s the deal… Ben is offering a special rate for DIY Del Ray readers (located within 40 miles of DC area code 20001) until the end of the June 2013. The total price for the rain barrel, including delivery and installation, is $100, a 33% discount on District Garden’s regular price. To schedule your install, contact Ben at info@districtgarden.com or 202-505-1135 and tell him DIY Del Ray sent you.

And a little more about District Garden… The small business has served the DMV area for the past three years and has installed over 300 rain barrels as well as other landscaping services such as raised beds and pergolas. Their website is chock full of additional details about the benefits of rain barrels, photos of rain barrel installs and even a rain fall calculator to determine the best way to maximize your rain water.

So if haven’t already installed a rain barrel, now’s the time. Let’s make Del Ray the rain barrel capital of the world!

Ana, Nadja, and I thought we’d try something new for school lunches. It’s almost the end of the school year and we are really bored with the same, old same old. So, we tried a recipe for sesame balls that I first saw in one of my favorite cookbooks, Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair, and then read about again in the Washington Post recently. We played with the recipe though by adding some tasty ingredients in the middle of each.

First, I cooked 2 cups of sweet brown rice and then another cup of sushi rice.

Lair recommends using a pressure cooker to cook the rice to make it stickier but I don’t own one, so I boiled my rice. Her recipe only calls for sweet and brown rice and I figured the sushi rice might add some stickiness, which it did. Ana mixed the sushi rice in with the brown rice.

Lari also has you toast your own sesame seeds but we happened to have a jar of store-bought ones, so we used those. You can leave them whole or grind them in a mortar and pestle with salt.

While the rice cooled, we arranged all of the items we want to use in the middle of the sesame rice balls. We had sweet potato I had baked earlier in the day, some cream cheese, tiny pieces of toasted Nori, and some canned wild salmon. The idea was to use one of the ingredients or a combination like sweet potato and cream cheese, or Nori and salmon, or Nori and cream cheese.

With wet hands, we took a bit of the rice mixture, added some fillers, and then a bit more rice, and then squeezed the mixture hard to make a ball.

Then, we rolled the ball in the sesame seeds.

And set the sesame rice balls aside on a tray.

It was messy work, but easy all in all, and quite tasty!

We had some at home with some soy sauce (we like Bragg’s liquid aminos) squirted over the top, but I could also imagine having them with some wasabi mixed in, or even making some with wasabi inside. They can last a few days in a container in the frig.

Do you have an out-of-the-ordinary kids lunch or snack recipe that you’ve tried lately?

Saturday started with the grand opening of M.E. Swing Coffee Roasters. I love the creamy mocha walls, tall ceilings and industrial decor as much as the coffee.

The cupping room offers a chance to learn about the roasting process and the different types of beans, the essence of a truly delicious cup of Joe.

My family made a b-line from Swing’s to Witter Field for the ASA soccer tournament. A light drizzle quickly turned into steady rain, the kids unfazed.

The rain tapered off after lunch, just a few sprinkles here and there during an afternoon baseball game. (Note: Lightweight beach umbrellas are great for keeping off the rain as well as shielding from the sun.) But sadly, during the 4th inning I checked Twitter and learned the fate of Saturday night’s outdoor movie, Cinema Del Ray: cancelled.

With drier weather on Sunday, it was a great day to check out some Del Ray color. Pink is in full bloom.

And some oddities as well. Does anyone know why there is an enormous shopping cart in this yard?

A few weeks ago after a strong rain storm, some of the plants in my garden went AWOL. I gave up hope they would return, so in the afternoon sun I planted a few more.

And of course hunted for worms, released back into the wild after a brief meet and greet.

How was your weekend? Did you attend the Swing’s grand opening? Any gardening projects in the works? How do you make the most of a soggy Saturday?

I’ve lived in several houses throughout the years and my favorites were always the ones with a front porch. Alas, the house I bought in Del Ray doesn’t have a porch, but we do have a stoop. Stoops are good too — they are one step closer to the outdoors and on the bright side, they come with a built-in table and chairs. They are also easy to decorate — plop down a couple of pots and you’re done.

On my block, there are stoops a plenty with all sorts of Spring style. This one shines all year long, layered with annuals, perennials and shrubs.

As does this one.

But even a single pot makes for a welcoming stoop.

For double the stoop loving, coordinate a potted plant with a hanging basket.

Leslie’s stoop is home to some sun-loving hens and chicks.

Some stoops double as vegetable gardens.

And I’ve started herbs on mine.

Are you a stoop-lover? A porch dweller? How do you make the most of your home’s front entrance?

Monique’s backyard is tucked away behind her Del Ray rowhouse, a woodsy retreat, with a gate boasting a welcoming wrought-iron sunflower. And if you need to announce your arrival, you can pull the chain on the bell adjacent to the door.

Once inside, you feel you’ve left the city and entered a serene and artistic oasis, decorated tastefully with a collection of bells, wind chimes, and statues.

Just inside the gate, a lilac bush gives off a deliciously floral scent.

Here is another dignified sculpture that I’m sure is even more arresting against a backdrop of vines in full bloom. (Our visit occurred early in the spring season.)

In the far right corner, Monique has created a pleasant seating area.  The meandering borders and the bench on an angle tricks you into thinking the garden may be larger than it is.

A whimsical mobile hung high helps to break up the view between Monique’s back fence and the apartment building just behind her.

One of the most unexpected and lovely features in Monique’s yard is her pergola covered with mature wisteria vines.

Here is the wisteria bud, one of many that adorn the pergola throughout the summer months.

Right about now, Monique’s peonies should be blooming as well. She has a big peony bush at the foot of the steps to her back deck.

I’m in love with her shed. It’s so beautifully enveloped in the maple branches and dappled with shade, you’d easily forget, once again, that you’re mere blocks away from Del Ray’s main street.

The front of the shed repeats the sunflower motif.

And Monique keeps a water barrel on one side to fill with run-off from the shed’s angled roof.

A stone turtle in mid-step on the deck looks almost real.

And the red pepper door handle is a perfect touch for the screen door that leads to Monique’s kitchen from the deck. She’s offered to show us her entire home soon. And when we do, I’ll return to the garden to show the wisteria and other vines and flowers in full summer bloom as well.

When Matt and Angela moved to Del Ray in 2004, they purchased the typical Del Ray rowhouse. Now, nine years later, they are ready to make their next move into a single family home — a 1930s cape fixer — which they happily stumbled upon during their Spring house hunt.

From the outside the house is as sweet as can be, but the inside tells a different story. Though they haven’t moved in yet, Angela invited me over to check out the new digs and get a sneak preview of the updates they are making to this classic house.

Before making an offer, Matt and Angela brought a home inspector/contractor to the house to get his opinion on a few problem areas. They didn’t want to make an offer without a professional opinion about whether or not the issues could be resolved.

The first issue was the living room. When you walked in the front door, you entered a narrow foyer with a wall on your right and an opening to the left leading into a very awkwardly sized living room. With three doorways, a large radiator under the window and a fireplace, there was zero room for a couch, deeming the room practically useless. However, on the other side of the foyer wall there was a small bedroom. With two spacious bedrooms upstairs, they really didn’t need a third.

So after their contractor determined which walls were load-bearing, they made the decision that if they purchased the house they would tear down the wall to the bedroom to make one wide open living room. And that’s what they did.

(And if you’re concerned about resale for this house — 3BR homes usually sell for more than 2BR — the contractor assured them they could build that wall back up again to create a third bedroom if they ever decided to sell.)

So now when you enter the house, you can go left toward the fireplace where they will have a sitting area or you can go to the right where they will have their couch and TV.

The former bedroom came with a full wall of built-in bookcases, wrapped around a radiator and window. Can’t you picture some houseplants over the radiator soaking in the afternoon sun?

They will also patch and refinish the floors (where the wall once stood) and reroute the electrical.

Angela and Matt are bringing over all their current living room furniture and are thinking of painting the walls the same color as their old living room — a buttery yellow, Behr’s Arizona Tan.

Angela is a yoga instructor and she plans to use a small addition behind the fireplace as a yoga and meditation room. The room is too small for chairs, seems like it was intended to be a home office for a former owner. They will put new carpeting on the floor and paint — Angela is inspired by the warm lavender color found at the Pure Prana yoga studio in Old Town.

Angela has already moved over a few pieces of art from her old house to help visual the colors.

The one room that doesn’t need much work is the dining room. Coming from a rowhouse with a dining room so small they had to keep the table tucked in a corner, Angela looks forward to finally having a large separate dining area. They are going to paint the walls a medium shade of grey and replace a chandelier. They plan to keep the chair rail and wainscoting.

The first floor also has a full bathroom. It has some well-maintained vintage tiles that they will keep, but the blue and white striped wallpaper is history. They may also replace the vanity, but other than that, no other changes in here.

The kitchen is also original. Everything is white except the dusty faux brick linoleum floor and there are exposed beams along the ceiling.

Storage is very limited — about 24 inches of counter top space and no dishwasher. Angela is going to get creative with some short-term fixes until they can save for upgrades.

But I love the vintage look so much — these cabinets make me feel like I’m in a rustic beach cottage. I told Angela I hope she keeps it this way forever! She did not seem to share that sentiment.

Off the kitchen is one of my favorite features, a screened-in deck overlooking a brick patio and a spectacular garden with brick pathways.

The patio has plenty of space for a table, grill and outdoor fireplace.

The previous owners haven’t lived in the house in many years, it stood as a rental before being put up for sale. At closing, the owner gave Angela a detailed map of the entire yard, specifying each type of plant, even some which are original to the house.

With some thoughtful pruning, they will be able to restore the backyard to what the previous owner envisioned, a Williamsburg, VA, style garden. (Coincidentally, Matt and Angela met while studying at William and Mary in Williamsburg and it’s also where they were married.)

On the second floor there are two bedrooms and another full bathroom. The closets in the bedrooms are small, but there are crawl spaces for storing out-of-season clothing.

The upstairs bathroom is another one of the “problem” areas — wood-paneled walls, brown checkered wallpaper (on the walls AND the tub), outdated (and leaking) fixtures and a window offering a peep show for neighbors. They are going to gut this as soon as the first floor renovations are complete. Angela is still pondering tile and fixtures, but I’m sure it will be fabulous.

Someone sure loved their brown checkered wallpaper!

And FINALLY, there is one more room to look at – the basement. Half of the basement is finished, a very dated finish at that, but functional enough except for one itty bitty problem — the ceiling is too low for Matt who is over six feet tall. He can’t walk in the basement without bumping into bulk heads. The plan is to rip out the ceiling and possibly leave the floor joists exposed (I’ve seen this done in a few Del Ray houses with rather nice results). We’ll see what happens once the drywall comes down…

Matt and Angela will definitely need a functional basement to support one of their favorite pastimes, homebrewing beer. They’ve already moved their supplies over as well as an assortment of ready-to-serve homebrewed beers (bottled in empty commercial bottles).

They’ve had so much success with homebrewing, they no longer purchase store-bought beer. It’s quite good in fact, always a highlight at Matt and Angela’s signature annual event, their Super Bowl Party, which should be even better this year at the new house (pressure is on, Angela!).

So what do you think of their renovation plans? Have any advice or tips? We’ll check in with Matt and Angela in a few months to see how they are settling in. Stay tuned!

I often head for the children’s craft section at the library and find the old 1970s craft books with the coolest projects. The tin can lantern is a project from one of the very best books from that era – Making Things – that you might remember if you grew up then. My neighbor remembers making them in cub scouts.

You gather some tin cans of varying sizes, wash them and then take off the paper.

Then, you fill them with water and put them in the freezer for a day. The idea is to pound holes of varying sizes into the can to make a design, but if you don’t have frozen water in the can, the nail bounces off or else dents the can. Don’t worry about the swelling at the bottom. It doesn’t affect the working of the lantern.

Next, you mark a design on the cans with a Sharpie.

Then, you find nails of varying thicknesses.

And hammer nails into the cans. The kids loved doing this part. When the ice melts at the top of the can, you can refill it and put it back in the freezer.

After that, let the ice melt and dry the cans.

You can also give the cans a coat of paint. Katie loaned me her can of the gold spray paint she recently used on her kitsch lamp.

When the paint dries, you can use tin snips to cut lines around the top and then bend down the pieces to make a decorative top (this step is optional — be careful if using around children, the edges are sharp).

Once you add some wire, they’re ready to hang.

With a pillar candle inside you have a lovely outdoor lantern to add some 70s charm to your home. I plan to use them for an al fresco meal sometime soon.

If you live in the Del Ray area and you like to refurbish furniture, this is the giveaway for you. We’re excited to partner with Potomac West Antiques on this special deal for a lucky DIY Del Ray reader — a can of CeCe Caldwell’s chalk paint.

This product is eco-friendly, VOC-free, self-priming, super adhesive and made from chalk, clay and minerals. If you’ve used Annie Sloan chalk paint, you’ll probably also enjoy using CeCe Caldwell’s. It’s great for modernizing a dated piece of furniture or sprucing up a worn out antique. Though we haven’t used it, we can’t wait to try it. Look at those stunning colors!

The best part is that Potomac West will host a free CeCe Caldwell chalk paint workshop at their shop on May 18 from 11am-12pm so you can learn the techniques to really make your furniture look great.

To enter the giveaway, comment on this post and tell us how you’d like to use the paint (Don’t know yet? Just make something up!) and register for the workshop on May 18. A winner will be chosen at random and the paint can be picked up at the workshop. If you register early for the workshop, you’ll also be in the running for a free CeCe Caldwell’s chalk painting class, valued at $125.

PRIZE: One (1) quart of CeCe Caldwell’s chalk paint.
DEADLINE: Tuesday, May 14 at 11:59 pm EST.
WINNER: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and notified on Wednesday, May 15 by email. We’ll also announce the winner on this blog post and our social sites — make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for additional notice. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or else we will select another name.
PRIZE REDEEMABLE: Paint can be picked up at Potomac West Antiques during the paint workshop on May 18.
TO ENTER: Comment on this post and tell us how you’d like to use the paint and register for the free paint demo. (One comment entry per person please.)
WHO’S ELIGIBLE: This giveaway is open to anyone who lives near the Del Ray area of Alexandria, VA, who can attend the May 18 paint demo.

See our complete terms and conditions page for more details.

May is the month of salad days. The G.W. community garden in Del Ray where I’m a member is awash in salad greens right now, so I’ve been enjoying green salads every chance I get. This spring salad has a classic vinaigrette dressing my neighbor Elin made with an extra dash of something sublime, truffle salt.

Some of the greens growing in abundance in the garden are from a packet of mixed greens with seeds for frisee, arugula, mustard greens, and swiss chard.

I washed this day’s harvest carefully in a colander.

And another friend, Jen, added some of her homegrown sunflower sprouts.

We also tossed in some herbs from my patio that had overwintered — thyme and oregano.

And here’s how Elin prepares the perfectly paired salad dressing. She chops some garlic…

And uses specialty olive oil and balsamic vinegar, in the magic ratio of 3 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar.

She stirs in about a teaspoon of brown mustard. This is when having a homemade mustard on hand might be handy.

Adds a squeeze of lemon juice…

And now for the that “what’s that amazing flavor?” ingredient — she adds a dash of truffle salt. Hers came in a gift set from the Sugar Pill boutique in Seattle.

After mixing the dressing well in a blender or with a whisk, Elin’s dressing goes in the bottom of a big salad bowl…

We add the greens and for this salad, I tossed in some sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I keep these in bulk in the house for making homemade granola.

We added some chopped organic carrots. (Later we’ll harvest these from the community garden too.)

Some chopped red onion….

And gave it a nice toss.

The greens all mixed together had a wonderfully complex flavor, even somewhat spicy (arugula) and nutty. The truffle salt, while not overpowering, gave the salad a deep, earthy flavor. Nadja couldn’t resist reaching in for a nibble right away.

Here is the same salad dressed up a different way with soaked dried cherries and feta cheese.

What are your favorite spring salad fixins’?