Design, living and trends for home and garden

Custom prefab?It’s coming to a factory near you Listen to Per Sjolinder describe his company’s method of homebuilding, and—even aside from the enormous mountain views that frame the conversation—you’ll likely be impressed. Sjolinder says he can build all the walls that make up an average house in just a couple of hours. What’s more, he […]

News and ideas for sustainable living

Batman, meet RobinNature Neutral teams up with the Habitat Store Gorgeous weather brings out the construction worker in us all, and there’s excellent news on that front: The Habitat Store, on Harris Street, now carries products from Nature Neutral, Charlottesville’s eco-friendly building supply company. This merge creates something like a Lowe’s for the environmentally conscious, […]

Let down your hair

‘‘This exceeded any expectations I ever had about a bathroom. We had visited [a house in Barbours- ville] that was life-changing. It changed our paradigm of what a house is; it sparked our imaginations. We said, ‘What if you put a bathroom in the top of a turret?’ The bathroom also has an unusual shape: […]

Shelter sites you don't want to miss

Good eatswww.foodmigration.com The Food Migration blog reads like an old friend who tells you her recipe secrets and restaurant finds over milky chai on a rainy afternoon—that is, if you have a friend who happens to be exceedingly well traveled, a culinary whiz, and clever to boot. Cindy Meyers, the creator of foodmigration.com, has amassed […]

How you can succeed in the housing market

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Sign on for an adjustable rate mortgage and get more house for less of a monthly payment. Heck, you weren’t planning on staying in the place for long anyway. By the time the initial 4.25 percent loan hit 6.25 percent, you’d be history.  Seems you forgot […]

Gardening in Central Virginia

“…The flowers come forth like the belles of the day, have their short reign of beauty and splendour, and retire, like them, to the more interesting office of reproducing their like….The Hyacinths and Tulips are off the stage, the Irises are giving place to the Belladonnas, as these will to the Tuberoses, etc….” Say what […]

Book ’em

I like to get stuff done. Most mornings, before my feet even hit the floor, I’ve composed a mental to-do list for that day. Mail the taxes, buy some milk, write a book review, bathe our dog, read to my daughter’s first-grade class, pick up a fifth of vodka. You get the picture. Some days […]

All it needs is…nothing

“Bellair is a very desirable location,” says Realtor Jim Duncan with no hesitation. No hesitation whatsoever. Bellair’s lake is a picture-perfect finishing touch in a well-groomed landscape. No wonder. The entrance—just past the 250 Bypass as you drive away from UVA along Ivy Road—looks a bit like the entrance to a national park. Once inside, […]