This spacious, midcentury house was custom-built for the sellers, the original owners, in 1966 by well-known area architect Harold Esten.

The well-designed, minimalist home with clean, simple lines is illuminated with natural light during the day. At night, beautiful lighting delivers warmth to the interiors and exteriors alike. Nestled in the established, wooded Bethesda neighborhood of Mohican Hills, the location is easily accessible to the Beltway, MacArthur Boulevard and Potomac.

Flagstone flooring and white brick welcome guests into the foyer, which is flanked by two enormous closets with plenty of overhead storage, and an original, frosted-globe light. Up four carpeted stairs, the main living area has a partial open-air layout.

The dining room has three attractive light fixtures and a large sliding-glass door in place of the front wall, which opens to a flagstone patio overlooking the front yard. Flagstone floors continue into the kitchen and outside onto a side patio, creating a beautiful continuity.

The open-air kitchen, the core of the main level, has walls that don't quite reach the ceiling. Two of the house's seven skylights illuminate the original cabinetry; a wide, stainless-steel, four-burner range; two ovens and more.

White double swing doors lead from the kitchen to the carpeted living room at the back of the house, where a large, white brick, wood-burning fireplace with a cubby for extra wood gives off plenty of heat for the main level. The back wall of the living room is comprised of two large sliding-glass doors that provide access to the long back porch, which runs the length of the home and offers views of the wooded backyard and grassy lot beyond.

Beyond the living room, a central sitting area has a raised, stunning geometric cupola of wood and windows, which offer further natural light to the home's interiors. Recessed lights around the area's perimeter offer radiance at night.

The carpeted master bedroom has two skylights in the sitting area, plus a huge sliding-glass door and large private porch/balcony. An enormous closet has doors as tall as the ceiling. The master bath has mirrored medicine cabinets under the main mirror, a 14-bulb wall vanity with a dimmer, and a large tile shower with glass door.

Two additional carpeted bedrooms on the main level have huge closets and their own sliding-door access to the back porch. A hall bath retains the original tile, vanity and fixtures.

Downstairs, off the foyer, two additional bedrooms with linoleum flooring could be used as offices, guest rooms or exercise rooms. A shared hall bath has good-condition original fixtures. An area under the stairs can serve as extra storage or a wine cellar.

A den at the back of the lower level has exposed brick from the fireplace upstairs, as well as a sliding-glass door to a walkout, cement patio and a decorative, brick retaining wall in the back. An interior door leads to the two-car garage at the rear of the house.

From the back of the home, the red garage door and a blue exterior wall, plus free-standing white columns on the porch give the home both a very modern and a retro feel.

Set back from the road, the house is surrounded by mature trees and has a private feel. Updates to the home include zoned heating, two newly replaced furnaces, central air conditioning and more.

Specialties of the house

Address: 6208 Dahlonega Road, Bethesda

Style: Contemporary

Lot size: 0.26 acre

Price: $1,075,000

Estimated taxes: $8,962

Bedrooms: 5

Bathrooms: 3 full

Contact: Michael Shapiro, Long & Foster Realtors, 301-503-6171

Open: Sunday, 1-4 p.m.