Carol Diggs

You would think a black box the size of a large living room, set amid the rolling hills of Albemarle County would stick out like…well, a huge black box. But Ivy Levien’s studio, perched on a rise with a view towards the Blue Ridge, rides on the land like it’s always been there. A year […]

The house sits against the hillside like a person relaxed on a bench, arms laid out along the back, taking in the Blue Ridge views. This easy pose was hard-won, however—and anyone who has lived through building their own home can relate.  Owner and interior designer Tracy Reidenouer tells the story: She and her husband […]

Looking to buy a house in or around Charlottesville? Get ready: “This real estate market is a perfect storm,” says Sasha Tripp, owner of Story House Real Estate.   The local area has always been an attractive real estate market, even with relatively high prices and limited inventory. Now, with rock-bottom interest rates and pent-up […]

Sometimes the solution to your problem means redefining your goals. That’s what happened when James Hazel decided he had to deal with his lawn’s erosion issues. Twenty years ago, James and Sally Hazel were looking for a weekend place to get their young family away from the pressures of Washington and his job as a […]

After spending 25 years turning Waterperry Farm, her Free Union home, into a horticultural showpiece, what did Katherine Kane see as the next step? “I wanted to bring people to enjoy the garden,” she says. “And I’d always wanted to have a bed and breakfast.”  When Kane and her husband, Dr. Olin West, bought the […]