Spiritual aesthetic: Vitae breaks with tradition

Vitae Spirits is conscious of its distilling forebears. But owner Ian Glomski has always embraced modernity when it comes to his product and brand, and he hasn’t changed a bit in unveiling his new downtown spirits tasting room design. “We’re really trying to be forward-looking in general,” Glomski says. “We are not trying to emulate […]

Minimal modern: A new kitchen gets down to the basics

Mike and Isobel Sadler move every few years. They’re the third-generation owners of Charlottesville Area Builders, and they usually occupy a house their company has recently built—both to showcase new features for potential clients and to test-drive floors, appliances and so on. This summer, they moved again, to a contemporary home in Ivy looking toward […]

What meets the eye: A home renovation and expansion fills an Albemarle couple’s growing needs with a modern touch—and some hidden surprises

The wife—a 40-something fitness trainer with a compact build—is standing beside the distressed-wood dining table that serves as the transitional element between the simple, serene kitchen and the airy living room, which has a vaulted ceiling accented by two triangular timber trusses and a pair of mod pendant chandeliers that look like giant bows, made […]

Bright ideas: Guery Guzman sees old materials in a new light

Whenever craftsman Guery Guzman shops for materials, his imagination races: Is there potential in that old metal gas pump nozzle in a pile of junk at the flea market? (Yes, tons.) What could be done with the cast-iron lamp covered in cobwebs in the corner of the antique shop? (Return it to its former glory.) […]

Ancient future: From Google to Charlottesville, Parabola brings deep awareness to design

Inside a North Downtown live-work space called Timepiece, the groundbreaking firm Parabola Architecture is quietly tackling some of the big design questions of our time. Co-founders Carrie Meinberg Burke and Kevin Burke designed Timepiece 20 years ago as a place to house both their family and the architectural practice, envisioning the building as a “focusing […]