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 […]
More than a decade ago, three of Charlottesville’s signature arts organizations got a beautiful new home—the City Center for Contemporary Arts, housing Live Arts theater, Lighthouse Studio, and Second Street Gallery. Yet, since 2003, the lobbies of the building—on floors one, two, and three —have been unfinished. “It was an awesome achievement—a very, very ambitious […]
“For me, architecture is like a state of active meditation—like yoga for the brain.” That’s Alloy Workshop architect Kate Snider Tabony on practicing her craft—one that’s taken her, since attending UVA’s architecture school, to California’s East Bay, Santa Fe, Princeton, New York City, and finally, Charlottesville, where she works with her brother, Zach Snider, at […]
To “educate and engage audiences on the art of film.” To “promote discussions between artists, students, academics, and audiences about the films and how they relate to the world in which we live.” And, not to forget, to “support the films and filmmakers of the Commonwealth of Virginia.” At the Virginia Film Festival, watching Oscar […]
From two Albemarle County Fire Rescue Press Releases: At 0839 hours on January 31, 2014, units responded to the report of a wall in flames inside a residence. The cause is classified as a chimney fire. The Fire Marshal’s office estimates the loss from this fire at $100,000. At 0047 hrs on March 4, 2014, […]
Our region’s strong connection to a long and distinguished past is one of many reasons it is a popular and special place to live. There are many historic sites just in the city of Charlottesville, which was formed in 1762 by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly that set aside 50 acres of land […]
Home equity loans can provide beneficial cash resource for homeowners considering home improvements such as additions, remodeling, modifications for a disabled person, or major appliance replacements. Other big-ticket items might be education expenses, paying closing costs to refinance a mortgage, or consolidating existing high-interest-rate loans such as credit card debts. Paying off expensive debts with […]