Bill Mauzy has been a Virginia resident all his life. As he says, it’s a wonderful place “to make art and gardens,” which, as a landscape architect with Waterstreet Studio and a photographer, is exactly what he does. “I’ve come to consider myself more as an artist who practices landscape architecture than a landscape architect […]
This month’s issue of Abode is available now. Here’s what you’ll find inside: Roots Natural Kitchen‘s clean remodel. Wood-look flooring to consider. A peek at Candace DeLoach’s inn loft. Jeff Dreyfus answers a few of our questions. An Ivy mansion wherein looks deceive. This month’s featured home: Brand new tradition As Robin and Craig Ellis […]
Faux wood has, in the past, been a splinter in the discerning consumer’s eye. But new products and improvements on standbys are changing that, according to local floor purveyors and homebuilders. From wood-look tile to luxury vinyl, floor treatments are treating high-end homeowners to options that were never before possible. “If they love everything about […]
Alvaro Anspach and Alberto Namnum are passionate about vegetables. Eat mostly fresh veggies and fruits, they believe, and you’ll soon feel more energetic and focused. How are they spreading the gospel? From the pulpit of their restaurant, Roots Natural Kitchen, where they serve salads and grain bowls packed with avocados, broccoli and other super-healthy ingredients. […]
Before he turned 6 years old, architect Jeff Dreyfus had his career mapped out. “I played all day with a suitcase full of Legos and drew house plans,” says the co-founder of Bushman Dreyfus Architects. “That was it. I never thought of doing anything else.” But, as he tells it, the town in southern Louisiana […]
What’s the difference between grand and grandiose? Anyone trying to make the distinction would do well to take Clouds Hill Farm as an example. Impressive in size, it’s nonetheless laid-back, not caring too much what we think of it—which is, somehow, a key to its appeal. Here are the facts: On 35 acres in Ivy […]
When Kristen Kaylor and her family moved into their new house off Rio Road last November, they didn’t get to make too many choices. The home was a spec house built by Bramante Homes, and much of the kitchen design had already been completed by Amy Hart of Albemarle Cabinet Co. Fortunately, Hart had been careful […]
Robin and Craig Ellis were searching for the perfect name for their Keswick property when they took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A sign directed their gaze across a ravine to a scree field—a place where fragments of rock covered a slope. These pieces, the remnants of a large boulder, are called “talus”: […]
This month’s issue of Abode is available now. Here’s what you’ll find inside: Interior architect Jennifer Greenhalgh‘s definition of design. The Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center goes the nautical mile. Why having stairs doesn’t mean treading lightly on style. Stedman House’s Nicole Fagerli on color, texture and Gone with the Wind. A ’70s rancher takes a […]
Whether for style or practicality, bathroom design is no place to fall short. This month, we’ve chosen 14 of our favorite local lavatories that get it right. By Shea Gibbs, Erika Howsare and Caite White Let there be light When Elizabeth Birdsall hired Formwork Design to transform her Western Albemarle house, she asked for a […]
Thomas Jefferson hated stairs. Not personally. Architecturally. A design nut who conceptualized Monticello and parts of the Virginia State Capitol, Jefferson disdained the space stairs took up. According to the Monticello Foundation, he favored narrow, steep stairs with tight turns so the hulking masses wouldn’t rob him of space for more exciting design features. These […]
We asked Stedman House interior designer Nicole Fagerli to tell us about her design influences, her favorite room and growing up in the furniture business. Antique or modern? Antique for sure. I love the patina that antiques add to a room. City or country? Country. I just love the city life, but I am a […]
One can sometimes forget that Charlottesville is a river town, but Alexandria Searls keeps the Rivanna firmly in mind. As director of the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center, she’s helped influence the choice of its location (overlooking the river in Darden Towe Park) and its mission (educating visitors, especially kids, about boatbuilding and nature-based aspects […]
This is a full circle kind of story. A couple of years ago, on this very page, we got some advice from local contractor Troy Yancey about renovating an Earlysville ranch house that was then on the market. Troy recommended opening some walls to improve flow, adding a fourth bedroom and a few other fixes. […]
This month’s issue of Abode is available now. Here’s what you’ll find inside: Patricia Kluge’s former Albemarle estate opens to overnighters. STOA’s Justin Heiser shares his influences. A check-in with designer (and shop owner) Laurie Holladay. Why your fireplace doesn’t have to be so plain. The oldest home in Albemarle (it’s not exactly livable). PLUS: This […]
Upholstered walls. A bright red hallway. Gilded chandeliers. When Holly and Kevin Davis bought their house in Fry’s Spring in 2012, it was, in an endearing way, over the top. “The house just evoked so much color and charm,” says Kathleen Conroy, a designer with Kenny Ball Design. Along with her colleague, Chloe Ball, she […]
When you’re building a new house on a wooded hilltop—a house whose design prioritizes views of the outdoors—the landscape is a crucial piece of the puzzle. From within Ron Harris’ Fluvanna County house, the woodsy surroundings are a constant presence, especially through the south wall, which is made almost entirely of glass. Finished in 2007, […]
Often, brand-new houses are dubbed “homes” by real estate agents. That’s an untruth, because if it hasn’t been lived in, it’s nobody’s home. Findowrie, as its atmospheric name would suggest, dwells on the far opposite end of the spectrum. It’s been unoccupied for decades, but nonetheless it’s dripping with habitation, layered with time, all but […]
Talk about a house being great for entertaining. When opulent Albemarle House was built in the early 1980s by Patricia Kluge and her then-husband, media mogul John Kluge, they aimed to create a mansion fit to welcome royals and celebrities. As fate and fortune would have it, 30 years later, the 45-room home has become […]
You might love your fancy modern fireplace, but in this area, that’s just one of a few options when it comes to heating your hearth. While the modern fireplace brings with it a number of finishing options, tradition hasn’t gone completely up in smoke. Mike Ball, president of Element Construction, says at least half his […]
Having grown up in the family business—a furniture and lamp store founded by her father in Nassau, New Jersey, 70 years ago—Laurie Holladay comes by her talents naturally. She started Gordonsville-based Laurie Holladay Interiors in 2007 and sees it as a continuation of what her family built. “Beautiful lamps and lampshades have always been a […]
It was a kind of magic trick. An old house in Fifeville, sandwiched closely between its neighbors, was demolished to make way for a new, modern dwelling—and presto change-o, the new house reuses and features many of the materials from the old. It’s as though existing DNA was scrambled to create a novel animal. “You […]
Cabinets are really just boxes on the wall you put your stuff in, says Dave Connolly of Heartwood Design. But that doesn’t keep some of his clients from spending time and money making sure they look—and function—just right. Connolly, a project manager based in Afton, says his customers are looking for cabinets that look like […]