All hands on deck

It all began with a party. Two summers ago, two of PK Ross’ roommates were celebrating August birthdays and one enlisted her help to decorate for the party. They hung strings of lights under the eaves, then draped window shears overhead to create a relaxing canopy. Since then, they’ve added a few side tables, flowering […]

August 2011: Timeworn traditional

When Cate West Zahl first laid eyes on the Rugby-area rental she and her family (husband Dave and 10-month-old Charlie) would inhabit after their move from New York, she was taken aback by the living room’s canary yellow walls and crimson accents. “It was like…a Monticello yellow. I get it,” she says, “but I don’t […]

July 2011: Another man’s treasure

Just five years ago, Darryl Smith couldn’t picture himself as a homeowner. A renter since college, he’d enjoyed being able to pick up and move when he got tired of the place. Cut to last Christmas, when he and roommate Alex Wear, a carpenter at Builder Beast and Alloy Workshop, began renovating his Monticello Avenue […]

June 2011: A collector's items

 If it’s true that every person has a story, then it stands to reason that the objects a person acquires in her lifetime must also have stories. And 25-year-old Jess Lee’s got stories. Sporting a degree in fashion design from Virginia Commonwealth University, Lee works from the bedroom of a charming Woolen Mills rental that […]

Summer 2011: Fine print

If it’s true that good things come in small packages, then it’s no surprise that, at 30, 5′ tall jewelry designer Laurel Smith is already a national success. But, ask the Charlottesville native what it feels like to have her Laurel Denise line in more than 150 stores across the U.S.—including Anthropologie’s flagship store in […]

Summer 2011: Some like it hot

  Pretty party (left to right): Julia Thomas wears a Molly B. blue and yellow polka dot bikini from Spring Street ($115; ), a Velvet blue maxi dress from E.G. ($142), Bernardo Maverick sandals from Duo ($108), an Elise M. double skinny belt from Lola ($40), bangles from Bittersweet ($3 each), and gold-filled lapis earrings from […]

Summer 2011: Check her bag

The phrase “perpetual motion” comes to mind when the name Hyam Hosny pops up. The Clay Fitness owner, nutrition counselor and personal trainer rises at 4:45am, gets to her studio an hour later and doesn’t stop moving until 3pm—only occasionally does she break for lunch. (Don’t worry; she keeps up her energy by munching on […]

May 2011: Sew big

Walking from closet to closet in Sherrie Hannah’s sewing studio, you might feel a bit like you’re touring the prop room at HGTV headquarters. Boxes of fabric line the shelves, spools of thread sit in the windowsill, five pairs of spring-loaded scissors lay scattered on tables and desks. In fact, Hannah, a sewing instructor at […]

April 2011: Big deal

“Go step into that corner. That’s my favorite corner,” says Downtown homeowner Hank Wells. A favorite corner? “It sounds crazy, but you really can tell a difference between standing here [in the kitchen] and standing here [in the living room].”   It’s not surprising Wells has such an opinion about the 1,000-square-foot condo he shares […]