Erika Howsare

Dave Fafara stands over the noisy machine in the back of his Shenandoah Joe’s Preston Avenue shop, coffee-scented steam rising from a batch of freshly roasted beans. A metal arm pushes through the beans heaped in the cooling tray, and Fafara occasionally stirs them with his hand, until they’re cool enough to slide out a […]

As a professional designer, Kathy Heiner is familiar with all the twists and turns of the renovation process. So, when it came time to redo the kitchen in the Bellair house she’s shared with her sons since 2012, she appreciated having the luxury of time to think about what she wanted. “Lori Randle and I […]

The cabin sits on a steep Albemarle mountainside under a tall forest canopy. It was built in West Virginia, probably in the early 1800s; it was moved here in the 1970s, reconstructed and updated with basic conveniences like plumbing. Its owners used it only a few weeks per year as a vacation spot. Then, on […]

The house would be a surprise to any visitor. Just a few minutes outside Lynchburg proper, a leafy suburban road leads to a quiet gravel driveway curving through trees. At the end of it is a stunning, open site with a far-reaching view of the mountains. It’s quite unexpected, and the new house that perches […]

The old farmhouse in Afton wasn’t exactly ready for prime time. But it had a stellar location for the short-term rental that two young homeowners dreamed of opening. Positioned in a spot with lovely mountain views, it was right down the road from popular wedding venue Veritas Vineyards—and it boasted five bedrooms. “We thought of […]

Since it began in 1976, VMDO—the firm that won Best Architect in this year’s Best of C-VILLE reader poll—has come a long way. And it’s established itself as a part of Charlottesville, both as a physical presence at its downtown office—housed in a onetime YMCA facility—and as the design force behind many local landmarks, including […]

Most gardens reflect a gardener’s care and dedication. At the Albemarle home of Lucy and Robert Huff, the landscape is also, in a sense, a gallery of souvenirs. The couple have amassed not only plant specimens given as gifts by family and friends, but garden concepts collected on their travels. Ideas from around the world […]

Local lovers of native plants have a new mecca: the Quarry Gardens in Schuyler, where owners Armand and Bernice Thieblot opened 40 acres of native habitat to visitors just this spring. Those visitors will enter through a structure designed to complement the gardens’ eco-minded mission. “This building is in keeping with the underlying focus on […]

Low stone walls, a stone deck and lots of ornamental plants create a natural feel. But the pool zone doesn’t lack for convenience: A pergola at one end shelters an outdoor kitchen complete with a dishwasher and a bathroom. When the owner asked designer Jen Greenhalgh at Jackson + Park Design to help her choose […]