Charlottesville Area Real Estate Professionals Give Back

Volunteers are a valued part of our society and our economy. In 2012, the Corporation for National and Community Service reported that 64.5 million Americans volunteered a total of 7.9 billion hours, which had an estimated economic value of $175 billion. In Charlottesville, an online survey conducted by CAAR (Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS) found […]

Madison County Schools

Pride. In all, Madison is known not so much by “schools” as by educational families – students surrounded by caring, thoughtful parents and community members who expect graduates to have earned a top-notch education. Our students attend Virginia and the nation’s top schools and enter the workforce exceptionally well prepared. This great feat is accomplished […]

How Green Is Your Garden?

It’s easier than you think to create a healthier yard. Homeowners are realizing the cost of expansive lawns in terms of water usage as well as expensive and environmentally unfriendly chemical fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. Plus the human time expenditure and fuel for lawn mowers, weed whackers, and leaf blowers.  People are also becoming more […]

Charlottesville Real Estate News – Week of May 15, 2014

Real Estate News Local Fire Fighters, Nurses, Police Officers and Teachers Have More Home Purchasing Power through CAAR Workforce Housing Fund Changes to Workforce Housing Fund Guidelines Result in Six New Home Ownership Success Stories CAAR, the voice of real estate in the Central Virginia region, has announced changes to the guidelines for its signature […]

Prairie home: A new home harkens back to big sky

Albemarle County and northwest Iowa wouldn’t seem to have much in common. The vast, table-flat spaces of the Midwest are utterly different than the private, wooded coves formed by Central Virginia’s endlessly rolling topography. But at Sue Sargeant’s home, Mossy Rock, the feel of her native Iowa is palpable. The house, designed by Bushman-Dreyfus and […]

Outer edges: A landscape unifies a modern complex

Time marches on! Last time ABODE visited Turkey Saddle—the Free Union home of Elizabeth Birdsall and Eric Young—it was 2008 and the house had just undergone a major renovation, led by local architecture firm Formwork. It was a serene, minimalist retreat, like a treehouse overlooking the Moormans River. Now, the vibe has changed a bit, […]

Mellow yellow: A vibrant city kitchen stays surprisingly calm

Stephanie Tatel and Christian McMillen had only a vague idea of what they wanted their new kitchen to look like—nothing too firm or detailed, but they knew it had to be functional for a busy family of four. Enter Alloy, a Charlottesville-based architecture and design studio that specializes in construction and production. “We didn’t really […]

Virginia Wine: Right Century, Right Season

What the Founding Fathers foundered at, 21st century Virginians are perfecting. Thomas Jefferson tried for 36 years to grow grapes suitable for winemaking. George Washington kept at it for 11. Virginia had the “soil, aspect, and climate of the best wine countries,” Jefferson contended. “We could, in the United States, make as great a variety […]