Carol Diggs

Chimney House doesn’t announce itself. Turn onto the gravel road, drive under a few trees and up a short grassy slope, and the house is revealed, silhouetted against the sky and the Blue Ridge in the distance. The exposed hilltop, the almost windowless white brick walls and steep dark metal roof, the rustle of tall […]

Jennifer and Wil VanLoh had reached the stage in life where they were thinking about having a vacation home, a small retreat, someplace different from their home in Houston. Their daughter Mary was headed off to UVA, in a charming college town right next to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wouldn’t it be nice to have […]

Summer in Virginia. It’s hot and humid; you’re sticky and cranky and don’t feel like moving—or even leaving the house. Wouldn’t you love to have a pool, right outside the back door? A swimming pool makes the summer fun instead of unbearable—and in this area, one that’s well-designed can create a space for outdoor living […]

“My husband and I used to take walks along Locust Avenue, and we just adored this one old house,” says Bryant Taylor. “It had an amazing yard, with lots of green space—and both of us love a project.” For the Taylors, “project” is an understatement: Alan is co-founder and president of Riverbend Development, and Bryant […]

“You gotta love old houses to live in one,” says master stonemason Mike Ondrick. “If you keep it anywhere near correct [to its era], you’re going to live with cold walls and damp in the basement sometimes.” Ondrick should know: He’s a founder and project manager for Dominion Traditional Building Group, which specializes in restoring […]

Over the last few years, Beth Ann Kallen, co-owner of home furnishing and interior design firm Folly, has been helping a client redecorate the family’s home in Blandemar Farm Estates room by room. For the latest project, the master bedroom, Kallen (a mother of three) knew just what the mother of four needed: “I wanted […]