Chantilly, Virginia · Design-Build
Your house here is probably a 1980s or 90s colonial. Closed kitchen you want opened. Primary bath that hasn't been touched since it was built. Basement that could be doing three things at once. We've been inside dozens of your neighbors' houses. The wall you want down is the same wall we took down last month.
Chantilly, VA Overview
Overview
Your house here is probably a Colonial Revival or a split-level built between the late seventies and the early two-thousands, on a lot big enough for a rear addition but tight enough that a side addition runs straight into the 11-foot property-line setback. That's the shape of most of Chantilly, plus a smaller pocket of executive-tier neighborhoods like Chantilly Green and Armfield Farms.
What homeowners are asking for
The wall between the kitchen and the family room down. A butler's pantry tucked into a corner nobody realized was there. A primary bath rebuilt with a walk-in shower and, more often here than in the surrounding cities, a curbless entry and grab-bar blocking for a parent moving in or a family already living together across three generations. A basement doing three things at once. And, for the group planning a sale, a whole-home pass done six months before listing.
The finishes
Warm-veined quartz replacing the cool gray of the last few years. Two-tone cabinetry, forest green or navy on the lower boxes, warm white above. Brushed brass with matte black hardware. Custom cabinet lead times run eight to fourteen weeks, so we order early and stage the work around what has actually landed. Behind the walls: an electrical panel sized up to run the induction cooktop and the EV charger the next ten years are going to ask for.
Neighborhoods
Chantilly is a mix of planned subdivisions with mature street trees, a smaller pocket of executive-tier neighborhoods, and some older mid-century stock that pre-dates the newer subdivision waves. These are the ones where we've done the most work.
Also working in Chantilly Green, Armfield Farms, and Poplar Tree Estates. If your association isn't on the list, we've likely still worked with it. Ask when you call.
Six Services in Chantilly
Six services that show up on most of our Chantilly contracts. The specific things you want done (the closed kitchen opened, the 1990s primary bath rebuilt, the basement finally finished) are the specific things we're already doing on your neighbor's house.
Chantilly kitchen remodels tend to bring three things together. A wall between the kitchen and the family room that comes down. A butler's pantry tucked into a corner nobody knew was there. And a cabinet package (usually two-tone: forest green or navy on the lower boxes, warm white above) with a lead time that decides the schedule more than anything else.
See the kitchen page
The Chantilly primary bath remodel is almost always the same starting point: a cultured-marble tub surround you want gone and a fiberglass shower that leaked years ago. What's more common here than in the surrounding cities: a curbless walk-in shower with grab-bar blocking framed into the walls, because there's a parent moving in soon or three generations already living under one roof.
See the bathroom page
Chantilly basements are where the tech-corridor version of remote work actually happens. We wire real home offices, ethernet drops, video-call lighting, sound isolation on the walls, inside the same basement finish that includes a media room, a wet bar, and a guest suite with an egress bedroom. Fairfax County's clay soils get handled before the drywall goes up.
See the basement page
Chantilly whole-home projects split into two shapes. The forever-home rebuild (kitchen, primary bath, basement, sometimes an addition) for the family staying put. And the pre-list renovation done six months before a sale, sometimes on a pay-at-closing program, that pushes list price up by six figures. Both start with the same conversation: where the walls really need to move.
See the whole-home page
Fairfax County's 11-foot side-property-line setback means most Chantilly additions go on the back of the house, not the side. Rear primary suite additions, family-room bump-outs, and ground-floor in-law suites for a parent moving in are the three shapes we do most. Second-story additions when the lot won't take another rear extension.
See the additions page
Our Chantilly commercial work concentrates along the Route 50, Centreville Road, and Loudoun County Parkway corridors: office suites, medical spaces, retail, and the occasional server room for a federal contractor tenant. Household income here runs about forty percent above the national average, and the finish expectations on a mid-tier commercial fit-out reflect that. Design-build under one roof, phased around your hours.
See the commercial pageBefore You Break Ground
Five things Chantilly homeowners want cleared up before they sign a contract. Where the permits come from. Whether the Sully Historic Overlay applies (it probably doesn't). Which HOA runs your subdivision and how strict its design review is. What your house is really like under the surface. And what to leave in the budget for what nothing on paper can predict.
Chantilly is unincorporated Fairfax County, so every remodel here runs through the same building department that handles Centreville and Burke. Plan review for a home project usually takes two to six weeks. One office, one path, one set of inspectors. Fairfax County even offers a 'Building Permits 101' class for homeowners who want to know the full drill; most of ours never need to take it because we handle the paperwork.
Almost every Chantilly subdivision has an active HOA with its own architectural review board. HOA approval comes before the county permit for any exterior work, and each subdivision has its own rules and its own meeting cycle. Interior work usually falls outside HOA scope. We put the submission together, wait for the cycle, and file with the county after.
Chantilly has one historic overlay, the Sully Historic Overlay District, and it covers a slice of properties near the historic Sully area. Most Chantilly homes sit outside it. If yours is inside, additions have to be designed so they could theoretically be removed without compromising the historic structure. It's a specific design constraint, but one we've worked with before.
If your house is a Colonial Revival, a split-level, or a Craftsman-influenced newer build from the late 1970s through the early 2000s, you're part of the majority. Chantilly's subdivisions came slightly later than Centreville's or Burke's, but the same 30-to-45-year-old mechanicals story applies. Homes in Chantilly Green or Armfield Farms push into executive-tier finish territory.
For homes built before 1990, we build a 15–20% contingency into every proposal. Chantilly's original electrical was better than what some older markets got, but exhaust fans venting into attics, subfloor rot under old showers, and undersized panels for modern appliance loads are patterns we plan for, not surprises. Every proposal names the figure up front so nothing sneaks up on you.
Ten Years, 350+ Homes
Ten years and more than three hundred and fifty homes across Fairfax and Prince William counties. That means when we walk into a Chantilly colonial for the first time (closed-plan kitchen, cultured-marble bath, unfinished basement) we already know most of what we're going to say before you ask.
Inspiration Board
Six categories that dominate Chantilly remodels because the housing stock hit a specific age at roughly the same time and most Chantilly homeowners are staying put to fix it. Photos are real GiGi work from around Northern Virginia. Categories come from Chantilly contracts specifically.
Common in Chantilly
Taking down the closed-plan wall between the kitchen and the family room. Adding a butler's pantry in the space nobody realized was there. Two-tone cabinetry, warm-veined quartz, brushed brass with matte black. The 2026 Chantilly kitchen.
Common in Chantilly
Removing the cultured-marble tub surround. Building a curbless walk-in tile shower in its place. Framing grab-bar blocking into the walls for the parent moving in, or the family already living together across three generations.
Common in Chantilly
Ground-floor in-law suites with a private entrance, an en-suite bath, and sometimes a kitchenette. Second-story additions with a full guest suite. The version of an addition that answers the multigenerational question without anyone having to move.
Common in Chantilly
Real home offices wired for real remote work: ethernet drops, video-call lighting, sound isolation on the walls. Media rooms, in-law suites with egress bedrooms, wet bars. Fairfax County's clay soils get handled before the drywall goes up.
Common in Chantilly
Kitchen gut, one or two bathrooms, basement finished, a wall or two opened, sometimes an addition. Done six months before a sale for the pre-list version, or done for the twenty years the family is staying.
Common in Chantilly
Butler's pantries carved into corners nobody knew were there. Wine rooms in the basement. Coffee bars off the mudroom. The small custom room that turns a good remodel into a home that feels finished.
Verified Google Reviews
4.9 out of 5 · 90+ reviews
The finished kitchen matters. So does everything before it: the months we spend in someone’s home, the questions we answer at nine at night, the calls we return the same day. These are the words of people who lived that with us. The experience is the work.
Chantilly FAQ
HOA sequencing, the Sully overlay, aging-in-place features, the pre-list math, contingency planning. The questions Chantilly homeowners ask before they sign a contract, and the answers we actually give.
For exterior work, yes, and in that order. Chantilly's HOAs run active architectural review boards, and each one has its own rules and its own meeting schedule. Interior work usually falls outside HOA scope. We put the submission together, wait for the meeting, then file with Fairfax County after.
Probably not. The Sully Historic Overlay District covers a slice of properties near the historic Sully area, and most Chantilly homes sit outside it. If yours is inside, exterior additions have to be designed so they could theoretically be removed without compromising the historic structure. We check the boundary before we quote the exterior scope.
Often, yes. A Chantilly whole-home refresh done six months before listing regularly adds a hundred thousand dollars or more to the sale price, and some pre-list renovation programs let you defer the renovation cost to sale proceeds at closing. We're honest about which scopes recoup and which don't. Kitchens and primary baths regularly do; sunrooms and wine cellars usually don't add proportional value.
That's one of the most common Chantilly addition scopes. Ground-floor suites with a private entrance, an en-suite bath, and sometimes a kitchenette. Second-story options if the lot won't take another rear addition. We frame in grab-bar blocking, plan for a zero-threshold shower, and make sure doorways are wide enough for a walker if one is ever needed.
For homes built before 1990, we build a 15–20% contingency into the proposal. Aging panels, undersized breakers for modern appliance loads, and exhaust fans that vent into the attic are patterns we plan for, not surprises. Every proposal names the figure up front so nothing sneaks up on you.
Kitchens run three to six months from design sign-off through final inspection, with custom cabinet lead times (eight to fourteen weeks) usually the biggest driver. Bathrooms run seven to twelve weeks. Basements run about ten to thirteen weeks total. Whole-home renovations run seven to twelve months. Every proposal names the actual dates.
Let's build together
Tell us about your project. Alex or a lead designer will follow up within one business day to schedule a walk-through of your space. First conversation is free.