Two 19th Century townhouses were combined to create a single-family luxury home on Royal Street in Old Town.  The dwelling was restored and renovated during the last three years to blend Victorian charm with modern conveniences, including a swimming pool. Located two blocks from King Street and three from the Potomac River, the home is now listed for sale at $3,195,000 with Susan Gray Chambers of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Call 703-203-9900. 

During the restoration process, the faade was stripped down to the original brick and repainted in a typically Victorian pastel blue, with six additional colors chosen to highlight the elaborate trim and molding. Beyond the entrance door with its etched glass design, the historic atmosphere continues in the marble entrance hall, with its original mahogany molding and wainscoting.  

The hallway faces a parlor, where a carved wooden fireplace stands beneath the original mahogany crown molding. This room also features one of the period chandeliers that will remain with the home. The heart-of-pine floors continue throughout the first and second floor. 

This entrance area is part of the older townhouse, built around 1840.  On either side of the fireplace, arches frame the other section, dating from 40 years later.

Here, the long living-and-dining area displays another mantel. The front room features expansive windows overlooking Royal Street, where the neighboring townhouses maintain the Victorian atmosphere. Pillars frame the rear area, where three French doors open onto the brick sidewalk.  

The entrance is also features a winding wooden stairway and a glass door overlooking the garden. To the right of the stairs, the library displays mahogany walls, wainscoting and built-in shelves. 

A marble-and-limestone powder leads to the rear family room and the doors opening onto the garden. The family room features the more rustic 19th Century charm of pine ceiling beams, exposed brick walls and a brick fireplace, plus a granite wet bar. 

The adjoining kitchen features walls of mullioned windows overlooking the swimming pool and the low-maintenance perennial garden, with its hosts, azaleas, peonies, hydrangeas, rose bushes and crepe myrtle. A gazebo leads to the three assigned parking spaces. The rear foyer entrance connects the kitchen and back yard. 

The breakfast area displays a full-length Palladian bay window with an expansive garden view. The windows also brighten the modern kitchen, with its stone tile floors, oversized granite work island with dual sinks, Viking range and dual refrigerators, by Sub-Zero and Jenn-Aire. 

The kitchen and master suite were part of a two-story addition made in 1989. At the top of the skylit winding stairway, the master suite occupies one side of the hall. Black-and-white tile adorns the master bath, where the tub, the walk-in shower and the commode occupy three separate rooms. The master bedroom features a fireplace and dramatic slanted ceilings plus another arched Palladian window and a balcony overlooking the garden. 

A second suite also boasts a bay window overlooking the garden, beneath beamed ceilings. A wooden stairway leads to the loft with its Juliet balcony. Three additional bedrooms share a full bath. 

The lower level has a separate side entrance but can also be reached from the kitchen. Its two suites both include full baths and kitchens. One suite displays slate floors, brick walls and beamed ceilings in the living room and bedroom, plus a brick fireplace in the living room and brick walls in the bath, thus carrying out the Victorian theme. 

The schools are Jefferson-Houston Elementary, George Washington Middle, Minnie Howard ninth grade, T.C. Williams ten through twelve.