The earliest image Jim Rounsevell and Carol O’Connor have of their house, from shortly after it was built in 1920, includes food. The aerial shot shows chickens and pigs behind the house, along with rows of garden veggies. Almost a century later, the current owners love cooking and entertaining; food is important in their lives. […]
It’s appealing to imagine building anew on open land—making one’s mark on untouched acreage. But one couple in Rappahannock County took on a more unusual challenge. Lynn and Pam Pittinger bought a 93-acre farm and set about adding a modern house to an existing cluster of buildings. In the midst of this timeworn set of […]
A graduate of UVA’s School of Architecture, interior designer Kelly Witt got her start at Elena’s, in the same building where her design studio—a stylish mecca of fabric samples and inspiration—is currently located. From there, she lends a tailored and traditional eye to homes in Charlottesville and, currently, as far flung as Florida. We caught […]
With all the ways we decorate a four-walled room, one space tends to go neglected: ceilings. “It’s kind of your fifth wall,” said Ami Smith, proprietor of Charlottesville’s Embellish Interiors. “It can be a sort of accent.” Indeed, it can be a lot of things. Here are a few ideas offered by Smith and other […]
If anybody around here understands how locals prefer to drink their beer, it’s Mandi and Taylor Smack. The proprietors of Afton’s wildly popular Blue Mountain Brewery, the Smacks bought South Street Brewery in July and hired Wolf Ackerman to help them put their stamp on it before reopening it in November. And though lots of […]
How does a project begin for architect Adams Sutphin? First, “A question, and then listening,” he says. “And then a series of questions that become a puzzle, and then the quest to put the pieces together rationally.” That’s how he views it from his end, but Sutphin actually prides himself on taking some of the […]
“I love my attic home office,” declares REALTOR® Kelly Ceppa, an Associate Broker with Nest Realty. “It’s a quiet place where no one just comes walking through. And so, no one sees the messes I make there sometimes either.” Back when an addition was added to the house, she explains, the attic space was finished. […]
All sorts of things can trigger power outages. Random broken lines are usually repaired quickly, but when a big storm hits, you might be without power for several days. It’s a good idea to make like a Scout and Be Prepared. Basic equipment *Have a good stash of batteries in the sizes you need for […]
She didn’t realize at first she’d interrupted a burglary. The elderly, deaf dog was dozing on her usual chair and everything looked fine. But when the homeowner, let’s call her Jean, turned on the TV to check the news, it didn’t work. She checked it over and found the cable connection was undone. Odd, she […]
Everybody talks about marrying old and new, but there are different ways to do it. You’ve got your fixer-upper farmhouses, into which you can insert contemporary elements like stainless steel dishwashers. You’ve got your new builder homes that nod to tradition with way too much crown molding. Here is something totally different, and very unusual. […]