What says spring cuisine more than a salad? Answer: nothing. “I looooove salads,” says chef Tyler Teass. And it shows. From simple greens to grilled endives, his Brasserie Saison menu is overflowing with them (“and I plan on keeping it that way,” he says). But it’s this one, with peas both snap and snow, that […]
Getcher nose out of the menu (for a second)! In our area, it’s not just a restaurant’s food that stands out. Thanks to a few local architects and designers, the atmosphere at these five new spots is adding some serious flavor, too. Vitae Spirits The most difficult task with this space, says Alloy Workshop’s Dan […]
The latest issue of Abode features a Shenandoah Valley home with everything to hide, a minimalist kitchen in Albemarle, the best performance fabrics and more. Here’s what’s inside: Belmont’s newest eatery. An addition at Western Albemarle High School. Recycled countertops and—what?—wooden tiles. Performance fabrics inside the home. How to give your boxwoods the best chance […]
Living abroad for decades gives you a special perspective on home. So does waking up every morning to a fantastic view. For one local couple, 30 years in various foreign countries was the prelude to a new chapter: retirement on a hilltop in Steeles Tavern, just a handful of miles from where the husband grew […]
The secluded feel of one Albemarle home is signaled by the two large urns that flank the driveway. “It’s like you’re entering this quiet park,” says kitchen designer Karen Turner. The house itself, a low-slung dwelling that sits amongst trees, has an equally serene feel. When the owners bought the property in 2011, they knew […]
For Adam Frazier and Greg Jackson, the renovation of a one-time grocery store in the heart of downtown Belmont wasn’t just about the building itself, or the restaurant that they created there. It was also about the fabric of the neighborhood. “This is the center point of Belmont,” says Frazier, who owns The Local restaurant, […]
It’s tough to squeeze the entire planet into one classroom. But Western Albemarle High School and architects VMDO have come as close as possible with the school’s new Environmental Studies Academy building, which blends indoors and outdoors, classroom and greenhouse. On a 40-year-old Crozet campus last expanded in the ’90s, “there was just no way […]
One man’s trash is another man’s funky countertop. That is, if the other man is Evolution Glass founder Bill Hess. “We take locally sourced bottle glass and transform it into amazing, blow-your-mind countertop surfaces suitable for homes and businesses,” Hess says. And he isn’t the only local creating exciting new materials that let homeowners take […]
It’s no secret that outdoor fabrics often make their way inside, too—they’re a great way to protect against spills, stains and smells and the patterns and textures are often indistinguishable from regular fabric. But, says Folly co-owner Victoria Pouncey, occasionally the right textile for the space just isn’t available. Enter performance fabrics. “[They] are essentially […]
It’s not exactly a jungle out there. But if you’re buying a house, you do need to think like a tiger, and get ready to pounce. Recent data about local real estate shows a market that’s heating up. The fourth-quarter report from the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors says that things are looking brisk both […]