Ashley Hightower is nothing if not driven. She’s got her own catering business, Dinner at Home; she and her boyfriend, Carter East, just started a second business as in-home personal trainers, Fitness at Home; and they’re both dedicated athletes who log miles running and biking. In their spotless house off Avon Street, where Hightower’s lived […]
Are you hoping for a kindler, gentler holiday season this year? Something that feels good AND looks good, no matter the temperature, and goes great with last year’s haircut? Trade the flashing lights for glimmering candles, and the plastic packaging for home-spun, hand-made gifts. While commercial messages may insist that season’s greetings are only available […]
We think this place in the Rugby neighborhood looks just perfect for entertaining. No idea whether there’s an open floor plan inside, allowing hostess to chat while fixing cocktails—it’s more that the front porch looks so nicely sheltered for summer afternoons, and the house’s solid form and lovely trees are as inviting as could […]
The Willoughby subdivision holds a secret: Hidden in Joelle and Michael Meintzschel’s backyard is the treehouse of dreams. At a glance Distance from Downtown: 2 miles Distance from UVA: 2.8 miles Elementary Schools: Jackson-Via/Cale Middle Schools: Walker & Buford/Burley High Schools: Charlottesville/Monticello Homes sold in first half of 2008: 10 Median sale price: $263,870 […]
Red and green go green: LED Christmas lights will make the Yuletide less power-hungry. Green lights If you’re headed out to pick up a zillion-pack of Christmas lights with which to festoon every corner of your house and a tree in every room, skip the standard incandescents and opt for LED lights instead. At a […]
From start to finish Question for Tim Swetman from Swetman’s Amish Furniture & Gifts: When choosing among finishes for wood furniture, how do you test them out before making a commitment? Answer: It’s tough to tell from the can whether your finish of choice will look lovely or lousy on your wood furniture. Unfortunately, […]
Marooned under marshmallows A holiday table seems one-dimensional without the rich orange of ipomoea batatas, referring to both yams (moist and dense, distinct skin) and sweet potatoes (dryer and mealier, monochromatic inside and out). When properly prepared, these tubers don’t need the sickly sweet marshmallow cloak to be festive—instead simply season them sweet or […]
Death in the garden If life draws us into the garden, death—not to be too dramatic about it—waits there too. That’s part of the gardener’s education. Take leaves, for instance. As the great Brit Graham Stewart Thomas wrote, with admirable English restraint, “If you garden hand in hand with leaves—either green and growing or […]
Let’s go do the hop If you’re itching to fulfill your cultural quota, now’s your chance to bounce through the local studio scene and score some tasty bites to boot: November 15 and 16, 10am-5pm, the Artisans Studio Tour returns for its 14th year of crafts and snacks. Offering tourgoers the chance to see […]
We’ve long admired this house on JPA—it’s an island of tranquillity on its well-traveled corner. It’s not just the stone construction and cottage profile that make it so romantic; it’s the exuberant garden that surrounds the house and pushes back against the JPA traffic. A small bridge over a stream, gravel walks, flowering things […]