With a body of work comprising Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, the Virginia Governor’s Mansion, the Lincoln Memorial and various estates, the intent of renowned architect and preservationist Milton Grigg when he began his Charlottesville firm in 1933 was clear: Create structures that are both beautiful and long-lasting. Architect Bob Paxton is one of three principals currently […]
With a body of work comprising Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, the Virginia Governor’s Mansion, the Lincoln Memorial and various estates, the intent of renowned architect and preservationist Milton Grigg when he began his Charlottesville firm in 1933 was clear: Create structures that are both beautiful and long-lasting. Architect Bob Paxton is one of three principals currently […]
Open concept, urban lots, a 5,000-square-foot weekend home and more, all in this month’s issue of Abode. On stands now! Keith Scott‘s design influences. Agnor-Hurt’s multi-age learning space. The open concept tide is still high. Kathy Heiner‘s favorite things. How to buy land in the city. Thank heaven for hell strips. This month’s featured home: […]
When Jim Burton began designing a weekend home for Burton and Yardly Gray, he took a cue from the direction they’d be traveling to reach the house from their primary home in Washington, D.C. The getaway would be an hour and a half south, and a world apart from the city. Its site, overlooking a […]
Even though Cole Burrell has lived and gardened at Bird Hill, his wooded Free Union property, for 17 years, there are still visible signs of the previous owners written into the garden. “I want to honor the place and how it was used by the people who lived here before,” says Burrell, a garden designer […]
Scrolling lazily through the MLS, looking for a vacant city lot on which to build your dream home? You can scroll to your heart’s content, but you’re not too likely to nab your quarry. “They don’t come on the market very often at all, but when decent lots do come on the market, they’re gone […]
Waves move in cycles. If you want to know the status of the open concept trend among homeowners, that’s pretty much all you need to know, according to Robert Nichols of Formwork Architecture. “There are almost always cycles, and there are subwaves too,” he says. “Some hybrids start to get developed. I kind of feel […]
Having already earned a degree in landscape architecture from Virginia Tech, Keith Scott decided that, in order to deepen his understanding of the built environment, an architecture degree would be necessary as well. So he got both. “As a result of the two degrees, many of my favorite places are where building and landscape are […]
Décor-wise, designer Kathy Heiner says homeowners should never scrimp on art. As she puts it, “Paintings, pottery and sculpture can transform a space, create interest and provide a topic for conversation.” And she practices what she preaches in her own home, where each wall is a veritable gallery of framed pieces—from prints and line drawings […]
Unlike the devil, it’s impossible to mistake a hell strip for anything else. Sterile concrete medians, inhospitable sidewalk patches and blazing afternoon decks do not appear in disguise. They differ from ordinary sunny garden sites in their sometimes polluted but always harsh exposure to reflective heat from asphalt and walls bereft of the buffering effects […]
“How do we treat children with as much respect as we treat adults?” That was one of the primary questions driving the design of an addition to Agnor-Hurt Elementary, an Albemarle County public school, last year. Camilo Bearman, the Stantec architect who led the project, loved reaching for that lofty goal. “It’s inspiring as a […]