Open house: The whys and wherefores of this year’s SHE Design House

The Design House, a fundraising event for the Shelter for Help in Emergency, celebrates it’s fifth anniversary this year. Accordingly, the organization has added a few new components to this year’s function. Here’s a primer on what you can expect when you take a tour. —Stephanie DeVaux Who?  Homeowners Chris and Christine Pittinger “took a leap,” […]

It takes two: Folly owners balance each other out

We asked Victoria Pouncey and Beth Ann Kallen, who own West Main Street home furnishings shop and interior design studio, Folly, to tell us a few things about themselves and their design philosophies. Here’s what they had to say. Antique or modern?  Beth Ann: Antique with modern mixed in, to keep things interesting. City or […]

Hues at home: Palette helps homeowners decide on the best color combos

Fretting about what color to paint your living room? Good news, the hottest trend is to give up on color altogether, according to Stephanie Snyder of Charlottesville’s high-end paint and home store Palette. “People are cleansing those bright colors with more soothing colors,” she said. “Soft grays, pale blues, creamy whites—lots of whites—opens up spaces […]

From the editor-at-large: Outside in

After a winter that seemed to clutch us well beyond its time this year, the verdant beauty of spring in Virginia finally arrived just in time for our recent Historic Garden Week issue in April, which featured a tour of UVA’s pavilion gardens, and beautiful images by photographers Eric Kelley and Robert Llewellyn. No matter […]

Strong Connections: At CFA, design puts people and places together

When Martha Jefferson Hospital relocated to Pantops Mountain in 2011, it left behind a neighborhood landmark whose history went back for decades. And when CFA Institute, an international organization headquartered in Charlottesville, made the building its own, it formed a closer relationship with the city where it was founded back in 1947. CFA, which awards […]

A line to design: David Day stresses attention to setting

We asked the Charlottesville-based architect about his influences while at NC State College of Design, how his childhood informed his career, and what he’s working on now. Why architecture? For as much as I love visual arts and music, this profession can have that subjective, artistic life, but at its heart is shelter, a necessity. I […]

Setting pretty: The 18 most beautiful places in Charlottesville

A few years ago, after a friend had recounted a particularly less-than-desirable day, he followed up the story with a bright spot: “But my favorite tree in town is finally blooming,” he said. I never let that “regal, purple, perfect” tree on 29S (right at the 250 overpass) go unnoticed after that. If this tree […]

Light hearted: An 1817 farmhouse upgrades with a bright, modern kitchen

The idea of uncovering a buried treasure is not impossible in Virginia. With its rich history, the Commonwealth allows a homeowner to embark on a farmhouse renovation and suddenly find herself unearthing historical documents dating back to the early 1800s. At least, that’s how it happened for Julie Dixon. While removing the attic flooring in […]

A sense of place: Kendra Guiffre says good design is site-specific

We asked the founder of Blueply Design how she got into architecture, what she’s working on right now, and where she finds inspiration (did she say “a coffee mug”?). Why architecture? Architecture has the ability to bring something special to everyday life, to help us see things in a new light. Beautiful space connects with […]