Erika Howsare

Sometimes, inspiration doesn’t look the way you expect it to. In 2008, Rhonda Matthias was gathering ideas for a new house she and her husband, Cary, planned to build. They had the land—a four-acre parcel in rural Goochland County—and they thought they wanted a “traditional farmhouse,” something with two stories. “But we couldn’t settle on […]

Forty years ago in Charlottesville, modern houses were not nearly as common as they are today. Walter and Ruth Wadlington lived on Yorktown Drive with their four children, and when a new house began to go up next door, they took notice of its contemporary look. It had been designed by an architect and UVA […]

The remaking of one Charlottesville house is a study in contrasts. It was a modern addition to a traditional (though not very old) house. It didn’t change much about the original structure—except for turning it from a dark, unpleasant space into a light-filled and open home. It bumped up the house’s square footage considerably but […]

It was supposed to be a small project. Debra Weiss had owned her North Downtown house for seven years when, in 2003, a city ordinance changed to allow homeowners to build detached rental properties. She was ready with what she thought was a simple, low-key idea: Turn her 400-square-foot garage into a tiny rental cottage. […]

Twenty-five years in one kitchen is enough time for several eras to unfold. “I moved here in ’87 and I’ve been here ever since, much to my surprise,” said Leigh Glassmire of her Charlottesville house. Perhaps a resonance with the places of her Northern childhood is the reason: “This house reminded me of upstate New […]

If you’re looking for a true conversation piece—whether chest of drawers or wastebasket—check out the wares of Sang & Serena, an import company based here in Charlottesville. Sourced from Rajasthan, the region in India with a long tradition of inlaid furniture, its pieces are luxe objects that feature botanical patterns in bone or mother-of-pearl. And […]