Forest Lakes is conveniently located in Albemarle County across from Hollymead Town Center. Opened in 1989, it was this area’s first planned community, and has been a popular place to live ever since. Today it consists of two sections, North and South plus Forest Grove, a recently launched Ryan Homes neighborhood. Forest Grove homeowners will […]
As home prices increase, homeowners are finding new options available to them. Many have regained the equity they’d lost over the last several years and this creates an opportunity to remodel or sell. For those still sitting on the fence, we’re offering some tips to help make that all-important decision. A basic starting point is […]
If you want to see what “handmade in Virginia” looks like, hit the road this weekend for the Artisans Studio Tour – and allow yourself some time. “Two years ago we documented a 400 attendance figure with just shy of 3,000 studio’s visits,” says potter and tour organizer Nancy Ross. That means people who started the […]
Buying a home and going through the mortgage process can be stressful and have long-term negative consequences if you don’t avoid some of these common pitfalls. (1) Not getting a fixed rate loan Fixed-rate loans are no longer priced at record lows, so you might be tempted to grab an adjustable-rate mortgage. But unless you’re […]
We might have found the exact opposite of a McMansion. It’s upscale, not showy. It’s stylish, not trendy. It’s anything but gauche. It’s just a well-designed, beautifully-built home that has stood the test of more than six decades in ways that are kind of astonishing. Meet 2016 Spottswood Rd. Let’s bypass, for now, the white […]
There’s nothing like a flood to rearrange priorities. Soon after Andrea and Brian Hubbell closed on their Rugby neighborhood house last March, the supply line to their kitchen sink gave up the ghost, spraying a geyser at the ceiling. Because the Hubbells weren’t yet living in the house—a 1950s brick structure—they didn’t discover the problem […]
Sometimes, choosing an architect isn’t just business; it’s personal. That’s how Emily Umberger and Pradeep Rajagopalan felt when they met the folks at Wolf Ackerman in 2005. “We really got along with those guys personally,” said Rajagopalan—crucial when embarking on any project, but especially the design and construction of a new house. The feeling was […]
It came as no surprise when Alice Marshall, co-owner of The Second Yard, a purveyor of decorator fabrics and home furnishings, told us that her first design memory was re-arranging dollhouse furniture. “I was born loving to decorate,” she said. “I didn’t care much about the dolls,” only about creating beautiful spaces for them to […]
If you have a fireplace or a wood stove in your home, odds are good that you also have a chimney. And if you have a chimney, it needs to be cleaned—every 30 to 50 fires, according to Wendell Worley of Mirkwood Chimney Sweep. In addition to telling us why chimney cleaning is crucial, Worley […]
If stone walls could talk, they’d probably say, “Man, it’s great to be built to last and look good doing it.” Landscape walls are more than just a way to give your backyard a sophisticated and high-end look; they can be quite useful. They might be retaining structures. They might cordon off a lovely patio […]