R•Home Jan/Feb 2011

RICHMOND MAGAZINE'S

J A N / F E B

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Contents

jan/feb 2011

50

D E PA R T M E N T S

76

13 The Goods

One-of-a-kind ceramics

16 The Hunt

Found: one cozy den

20 Experts

The not-quite-lost art of chair caning

22 At Home

Time to move out and on? Listen carefully.

26 Favorites

Experimenting at home with 501_architects

28 Gardening

The perfect time to dream about spring — via catalogs

features 36

A Splash of Personality

Designer Julie Strange and the bold colors within her Georgian home

44

Country Classic

A couple in Crozier finds a way to meld landscape and house.

RICHM

OND

MAGA

ZINE'

S

30 Harry’s History

Can you help Harry Kollatz Jr. solve the mystery of these two houses?

50

Modern Gothic

An imposing 1915 house on Monument Avenue is brought into the light of the 21st century.

58

Southern Super Bowl Sick of chili?

Cookbook author Kendra Bailey Morris offers a tantalizing alternative to the usual football party fare.

Plus: Resource Listings on page 64

FEB JAN/

2011

70 Occasions

The Visual Arts Center’s 46th Annual Craft + Design show

74 Calendar

Things you should do during the winter in Richmond

76 Q & A

A chat with Susan Sully, author of The Southern Cosmopolitan: Sophisticated Southern Style

80 The Back Page

A grab bag of websites, books and products

About the cover: Kip Dawkins photo

Joe Hill and Jim Gunn bring the light of modernity to their 1915 Monument Avenue home.

NewDITIONALS CL A SSICS

TWIST WITH A

TRA

Dreams HIC | Spring UE GOT Super Bowl UMENT AVEN Southern | MON Design erware Craft + -Kind Dinn One-of-a

rhome

mag.co

m

Left: Kip Dawkins photo; Right: Image provided by Susan Sully

rhomemag.com

5

R I C H M O N D

H O W

H O M E

&

G A R D E N

R I C H M O N D

L I V E S

PARISIAN CHIC from the publishers of richmond magazine President/Publisher Richard Malkman Editor-in-chief Susan Winiecki MANAGING editor Brandon Fox senior editors H O Andrews, W R I CTina HM OND LIVES Kate Eshleman associate editor Bethany Emerson Contributing Writers Debbie Allen, Elizabeth Cogar Batty, Courtney M EKatherine & G Houstoun, A R D E N R I Crane C H MDauer, O NMaureen D H OEgan, Susan Howson, Harry Kollatz Jr., Kris Spisak EDITORIAL INTERN Sabrina Barekzai CREATIVE Steve H O W Director R I C H M O Hedberg N D L I V E S managing art Director V. Lee Aulick Contributing Photographers Guy Crittenden, Kip Dawkins, Adam Ewing, Beth Furgurson, Jay Paul, Jeff Saxman, Shawn Stanley, Todd Wright Stylist Wendy Umanoff Contributing illustrator Bob Scott photography intern Caroline Simmons Sales Director Rich Malkman SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Bunce, Steve Coffield, Martha Hebert, Kelly McCauley AD PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Marisa Noroña AD GRAPHIC DESIGNER Rebecca Boarman

Marketing and circulation director Debbie McCaffrey

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Vice President/Controller Elisa Malkman bookkeeper Ellen Tishman office coordinator Devin Grimsley

Editorial & Advertising Offices 2201 W. Broad St., Suite 105 Richmond, Virginia 23220 Telephone 804-355-0111 Main Fax 804-355-5442 Editorial and Art Fax 804-355-8939 E-mail editor@rhomemag.com Subscription Rate: $14 per one year (6 issues R•Home and 12 issues Richmond Magazine).

Single copy price is $3.95. Allow 4 to 6 weeks to begin delivery.

R•Home, published bimonthly; Richmond Magazine, published monthly; and Richmond Surroundings Magazine are products of Target Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is prohibited.

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Editor’s Letter

[ New Look for a New Decade

I

t’s a brand-new year R•HOME IS COMING TO CBS with a brand-new look 6’S VIRGINIA THIS MORNING! for R•Home. We were Check out our tips for home, food and feeling tired, maybe a litgardening every tle old, and thought we’d other Wednesday: 1/5/11, 1/19/11, get a makeover for the 2/2/11, 2/16/11 start of the new decade. We’ve added a few new things but kept our favorites, and we hope you Join cookbook author KENDRA like our new style.

BAILEY MORRIS as she whips They say Richmonders don’t up Super Bowl Party dishes (see like change, but in this issue, Pages 58-63) on Jan. 27 at 6 not only have we done things a p.m. at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery! Email us at little differently here at the magdemonstration@rhomemag.com azine, we’re also featuring homes to reserve your spot. that epitomize the kind of design that, I think, is characteristic of where we live: Richmonders love tradition but can’t seem to resist putting their own individual stamp on the classic homes they live in.

Just past Short Pump, on a horse farm in Crozier, Nita and Randy Hagan combined architectural styles — Low Country and Cape Cod in the front and New Orleans in the back — to build a home that’s undeniably theirs. By merging different styles, they maximized the beauty of the site while creating a surprisingly harmonious Follow us on twitter at design for the way that they live.

Julie Strange is an interior designer, and although the front @RHOME of her house is a very traditional Georgian, when you enter, the MAGAZINE home springs to life with vibrant color. Lots of things have been handed down to her from her family, but instead of creating a stuffy, formal environment, Strange translated the exuberance of her own personality into a house filled with energy and love.

On Page 44, you’ll see a remarkable example of Jacobean-style architecture from the early part of the 20th century. Joe Hill and Jim Gunn completely restored their Monument Avenue home to its original glory, but when it came to furniture and accessories, they opted for a more contemWe’re on The Hunt porary style that unexpectedly enhances the historic architectural details for the most wellof the interior instead of obscuring them.

Sometimes returning to tradition is the point. Cookbook author Kendra organized closet in Bailey Morris brings the Super Bowl to the South with a collection of reciRichmond. E-mail pes from her West Virginia childhood. After seeing her ’70s-style rec room, us at thehunt@ we decided to do the story’s photography with the Hipstamatic app on an iPhone. It gives the pictures a dreamy, vintage feel, like old, forgotten Polarhomemag.com roids found in the bottom of drawer. We think it’s a fun, high-tech way to with your evoke the past while remaining firmly planted in the present. recommendations!

We’re also starting a partnership with Virginia This Morning, on CBS 6.

Twice a month, we’ll talk about different aspects of how you can make your home better. If you Microsoft Tags 101 Follow these simple instructions, and content have any questions we might be marked with a Microsoft “Tag” can be viewed on your smartphone. able to answer, e-mail them to brandonf@rhomemag.com and 1 Visit gettag.mobi on your smartphone’s Web browser. (For iPhones, you tune in for the answers! can also search “microsoft tag” in the app store.)

BRANDON FOX brandonf@rhomemag.com

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3 Open the app and carefully scan the tag with your phone’s camera. Once the app recognizes the tag, it will take you to the bonus content.

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Sale ends January 31.

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Contributors

Susan Howson Susan Howson co-owns 11th Hour Creative, a local copywriting agency that specializes in content for advertising campaigns and marketing

material. An avid home cook and baker, she also co-authors the popular blog Marthable (marthable. wordpress.com), the wickedly irreverent story of two sisters who put a realistic spin on Martha Stewart projects for home and hearth. When not in the kitchen, Howson can usually be found at the movies.

Bob Scott Bob Scott has been living and illustrating in Richmond since 1990.

When he’s not creating art at his computer, he can be found playing tennis at Byrd Park, scouring flea markets for retro treasures or exploring other artistic pursuits; some of his sculptures are on view at the Eric Schindler Gallery. Just having finished writing and illustrating a children’s book, Scott is seeking a publisher. More of his artwork can be seen at bobscottart.com.

Adam Ewing Adam Ewing specializes in lifestyle, people and portraiture photography.

His editorial work has appeared in many national publications, and his advertising clients include B.F. Goodrich, Expedia, Sirius and GEICO. For the Southern Super Bowl Party feature, he used the Hipstamatic app and his iPhone to create the nostalgia-tinged photos.

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Best VOTED

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1 Handmade platter by Frances Palmer, $120 from

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2 Large nesting bowl handmade by Milani Home, $140 from FraĂŽche, 282-4282

3 Stoneware salt and pepper cellars by Rae Dunn, $18 from

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4 Cabernet cup,

$28 from Paul and Kate Studio, paulandkatestu dio@yahoo.com

5 Wheel-thrown plate detailed with a sgraffito technique,

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The Goods

Divine Dinnerware cont’d

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Small plate by Jenny Mendes,

$72 from Quirk Gallery, 644-5450

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Ceramic 9-ounce Yedi Houseware travel mug, $10 from open-

Dinnerware from local artists and shops make dining extra special. All pieces are functional and, we think, pretty fabulous, too.

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Hand-thrown and handpainted plate with lid, with

celadon and copper salt glazes, $48 from Sarah Ann Ceramics, (703) 409-8225

14

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Set of four small bowls with iron red and black glazing, $48 from Kiefer Clayworks, 767-3443

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The Hunt



The Fan home of Morgan and Peter Santos was built in 1920. After three years in the house, their den has become their favorite room.

The Hunt Begins hibernate for the winter in a cozy den  By Kris Spisak

I

n 2009, a spring thunderstorm tore through Richmond. Power went out across the city. Tree branches fell, and a wall of Morgan and Peter Santos’ duplex home in the Fan was saturated with water. With small fixes, the wall seemed This hanging lamp was Items like this birdcage do not repaired. But by autumn, the damage became found at Second Debut last long in thrift stores. The obvious again, and the smell of mold emanated from Goodwill in Carytown. couple scooped it up quickly. the plaster.

“It was a disastrous mess,” Morgan explains. Roofers were called to repair the flashing and bids were Next issue’s Hunt: The most well-organized closet taken. Then one day, as Peter pulled in Richmond. In each issue we plan to look for a special room to away the wet plaster, the house’s feature. This time, we searched for the coziest den we could find. handsome, original 1920 brickwork Morgan and Peter Santos’ den won hands-down. If you’d like to make a revealed itself. The opposite wall of nomination for The Hunt, email thehunt@rhomemag.com or tweet us their den was already exposed brick, at @rhomemag. Send in your nominations or nominate yourself today! and Peter realized the simple accent could now frame the room in a striking way. 

16

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Shawn Stanley photos

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The Hunt

The Hunt Begins cont’d



Old-fashioned touches are displayed throughout the Santoses’ den. This Wedgewood floral china pattern, Oberon, is sweetly embellished and harmonizes with the soft tone of the room.

The long wall behind Morgan and Peter originally was just simple white plaster, but the exposed red brick created a new atmosphere and warmth.

“Is it bad that we bought it, not knowing where we would use it, but just knowing we had to have it?”  Morgan santos

With imagination and sewing machine know-how, any material can be transformed into a handsome pillow cover that complements the colors of the room.

Although the project was too time-consuming for the homeowners to tackle by themselves, and plaster somehow found its way from the den to the kitchen cabinets and to everywhere in between, their newly exposed brick wall achieved exactly what Peter wanted.

Since then, Morgan has added her own touches, including plush pillows in eye-catching patterns tossed upon couches covered in thin-striped fabric. She sewed the pillows herself from cloth napkins discovered at the Pottery Barn, and their colors echo

18

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the deep reds of the brick and the golds of the hardwood floors.

The den also is full of finds from antique stores, thrift shops and yard sales across Richmond. “Every Saturday and Sunday, we have a few stops that we make in Carytown at the Second Debut Goodwill and also Sheppard Street Antiques,” Morgan says. “Our location is also perfect for visiting yard sales around the Fan.” The couple has found lots of things, from two antique birdcages to the unusual dishes that decorate the interior shelves of the china cabinet. The most recent find that’s made its way into their den is a glass, multi-colored hanging light fixture.

“We did our usual Saturday stroll to Goodwill because I had been eyeing a Christmas present for my mom, and then Peter saw this chandelier,”

Morgan explains. After doing some research, the couple was excited to find similar fixtures priced from $400 to $500.

Morgan and Peter know to ask about sales or wait for an item to be discounted. The secret to smart thriftstore shopping isn’t to impulsively buy great deals when you first see them, they say. Although there’s risk in this approach, there’s a lot of satisfaction when it works out.

In the case of the light fixture, Morgan and Peter decided to wait, and then they scooped up the light for $50 the next day — half its original price. “Is it bad that we bought it, not knowing where we would use it, but just knowing we had to have it?”

Morgan asks. Their approach clearly paid off. Now hanging in their den, the light fixture perfectly complements the antique-inspired décor.

Shawn Stanley photos

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The Expert



Cully built this “shaving horse,” a vice based on a medieval design.

The tools of Cully’s trade are very simple. He uses pre-split strips of rattan palm bark of various thicknesses. The width of cane is determined by the diameter of the holes that form a circle around the seat. To make a woven cane seat, scan it he uses the “Seven Step Method,” a traditional weaving technique that originated in China. Cully has also mastered tap-in caning, Shaker tape weaving, and rush (tightly Get free app at twisted brown Kraft paper). gettag.mobi Much of the appeal for Cully is See pg. 8 for info the thrill of finding an old chair and giving it new life. He points to a chair that cost him $2 and, once cleaned up, revealed itself to be an 1873 piece with a beautiful walnut burl veneer under the dirt and paint.

“I spend a lot of time going to antique shops, going to auctions and studying up,” he says. At the Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s in the summer, customers can leave a chair with him to be caned one Saturday c a n i n g c h a i r s w i t h d o n c u l ly and pick it up a week later.

Over the years, Cully has worked on a  By Elizabeth Cogar Batty wide variety of projects. “I love old rocking chairs,” he says, and he once caned a metal chair with 100 holes around the seat, an For 40 years, Don Cully worked as a designer of high-speed unusually high number. He recalls fondly machinery, the kind of mechanisms that make everything from the vintage baby high chair he fixed up beer cans to cigarette machines. Having spent all that time figuring —someone bought it and took it on a trip to out how to make things tick and tick fast, he tackled a new hobby give as a baby’s christening present. “They with the same aplomb after retiring. came back and told me it was a hit.”

“I collect antiques, so I’d been refurnishing furniture for years,” The most enjoyable part of caning a says Cully. When he got curious about the craft of chair caning more chair, Cully says, is “restoring something than a decade ago, he says, “I just picked up a book and taught and making it useful again … passing on myself how.” Soon, he was handing out cards and working out of his new life … I guess there’s a sentimental garage just as he does today, although extreme weather conditions aspect to it.” can drive him into his dining room.

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At Home

A Winter's Tale SIGNALS FROM DAD  By Maureen Egan

E

ver since my father died in 2007, my mother has been waiting for a sign from him about when she should move from the home they built decades before. It didn’t matter what her children here on Earth said, or that we didn’t like her staying alone in a seven-bedroom behemoth nowhere near us. She was waiting for her very own big guy in heaven to tell her when and where to go. I won’t delve into the murky and quirky theology here, but thank God my father was never a subtle guy — even from across the great divide.

So it came to pass that my mother wound up stuck in her vast, suburban D.C. house under many feet of snow last winter, on an impassable, hilly street that rarely gets plowed. When I spoke to her that Saturday morning as we were also getting buried in Richmond, she told me that her power was out, her landline didn’t work and her cell phone wasn’t fully charged. And she didn’t have much food. She had a working fl ashlight and wood for a fi re, but the cockles of my heart weren’t exactly warmed by this. My siblings and I rationed phone calls to her since she could recharge her phone only by clomping through waist-high snowdrifts in her isolated backyard to dig out her car and start it. The image gave me chills. For a 77-year-old woman who gets her exercise sitting and knitting, this was not a warm and fuzzy scenario.

With the entire East Coast getting walloped, we were all equally helpless, but she was by far the coldest. On Sunday morning her house thermostat read 49 degrees.

That was it. Somebody had to get her. She resisted, saying her neighbors would help if she needed it, but we didn’t relent. Within an hour my husband and my sister Erin were driving our 4-wheel-drive vehicle up north on a day when no sane person was on I-95. That’s not so different from any other day, except that the plowed lane sometimes stopped abruptly at a wall of snow and sometimes turned into something from Ice Road Truckers. As I listened online

22

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to chaotic, journey-back-to-the-Ice-Age traffic reports, the pit in my stomach lurched from fretting about my mother freezing to death to worrying about my husband and sister perishing in a car accident. I could hear the post-mortems: What idiots would be on the road in such conditions?

Answer: The same idiots who let their mother weather such weather alone. But I prefer to blame the victim. If she had downsized before, none of these fake funerals would have been happening in my head.

After several hours, Ed and Erin made it to my mother’s neighborhood, but they couldn’t get on her street.

Trudging through the snow down the half-mile from the plowed Mormon church parking lot was the easy part. Hauling uphill a 77-yearold frozen, hungry woman and her suitcase was even harder . . . and then they still had hours more in the car to get back to Richmond safe and exhausted. Which they did — 8½ hours after the journey had begun.

The joke in my family was that this was clearly the sign from Dad that our mother had been waiting for. But she didn’t hear it that way. She grumbled that she would have been fi ne on her own — even though we later found out that the neighbors who she was sure would have helped were out of town, and her power didn’t get restored for eight days.

You’re going to have to speak a little louder, Dad! So as fall arrived and this winter approached — and none of my generation could bear to think of withstanding another winter worrying about her in that house — my mother returned from the beach to a house where the phone, cable, internet and air conditioning didn’t work. The washing machine leaked, wasps and mice were on the loose, and large trees had smashed the backyard dramatically. It had all the earmarks of a well-planned conspiracy, but I swear I had nothing to do with it. Thanks for the shout-out, Pa! Negative reinforcement is a powerful tool — Mom’s hearing has improved considerably. The house is for sale, and she has a lovely apartment in Philadelphia near several daughters and, one can only hope, the sound of my father’s voice.

Bob Scott illustration

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4:32 PM

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WINDOW

Natural light floods the kitchen.

The huge, striking window, which stretches across the entire rear wall, blends nature with design as the tree outside marks the passing of the seasons.

Home Experiments HEATHER GRUTZIUS AND JOHN WHITE TURN THEIR HOME INTO A DESIGN LAB  By Susan Howson

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he home of Heather Grutzius and John White isn’t just a living space for the couple and their toddler — it’s a showroom for their own design pieces. The driving forces behind the design and building fi rm, 510_architects, Grutzius and White test out their ideas at home, focusing on materials and design that are cost-effective, green, and above all, modern. 

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Home Experiments

“We use it as a lab,” says White of their 1906 Fan row house, which they bought as a gutted shell in 2008 and renovated over the next seven months. “It’s the kind of thing that would scare most people off but was perfect for us,” adds Grutzius, who not-so-fondly recalls the experience of climbing a ladder while seven months pregnant.

If their home is missing a key element, they’ll simply design it out of salvaged or inexpensive materials in their workshop in Scott’s Addition. Richmond itself provides much of their inspiration with its treasure trove of historical buildings acting as perfect blank canvases for two architects with a passion for combining the old with the new.

cont’d

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PLYWOOD BACKSPLASH Exemplifying the 510 philosophy, this backsplash was made out of leftover, high-quality birch plywood and installed in minutes, proving that innovative modern design doesn’t have to be elaborate.

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AALTO VASE This wedding gift is a modern icon and one of their most treasured possessions. “It acts as daily inspiration,” says Grutzius.

“It’s the kind of thing that would scare most people off but was perfect for us.”  HEATHER GRUTZIUS



REPURPOSED HUTCH When the couple inherited a beautiful hutch, they separated the top half from the bottom. After hanging the top in their bar area, they covered the surface of the bottom with a beautiful, glossy plastic laminate.



ARGINGTON HIGH CHAIR Grutzius and White count this piece as one of their luckiest finds, as it combines modern design with sturdy functionality — a rare combination, especially for baby gear.

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Gardening

1

Go to Seed DREAMING OF SPRING  By Sara Jackson

It’s a rite of spring that actually begins in the deepest part of winter — with the arrival in your mailbox of those glossy seed catalogs full of seductive, splashy photographs of flowers, ripe fruit and well-tended flowerbeds. But before you’re lured in by big, national catalogs — Park Seed, Burpee, Gurney’s — consider the host of boutique seed catalogs.

CATALOGING TIPS First and foremost, be sure the company you buy from grows its own seed instead of purchasing it from importers, says Drew Harrigan, a landscape designer for Richmond’s Four Winds Design.

Homegrown seed often means a fresher product and more careful breeding for specific traits, such as germination rates and harvest times. Also, look for companies that are as close to your location as possible.

And make sure your catalog offers enough how-to information, says Neal Beasley, a horticultural specialist and a landscape designer in Richmond. “If the catalog doesn’t offer plenty of information about where the plant is from (and) what its particular growing requirements are,” says Harrigan, then you should probably find another seed source.

Even better, take advantage of the extras — among them, farm tours, online chats, e-newsletters and workshops — that are offered by some of the smaller catalogue companies.

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GOING GREEN Producing seed means that farmers must first grow the crop in question, and in nonorganic processes, that can mean pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals are sprayed on fruit or vegetables and, possibly, absorbed by their seeds, says Tom Stearns, founder of High Mowing Organic Seed Inc., in Wolcott, Vt. Organic seed also “is a tool adapted to organic gardening,” he says. For example, organic plants often are bred to have deeper roots, allowing them to better absorb slower-releasing nutrients in compost rather than more easily dispersed fertilizers. .

GARDENING OLD SCHOOL Heirloom seeds are a subtype that’s thriving, with dozens of farms around the country selling them. A favorite of Harrigan’s is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, located an hour outside Richmond in Mineral. “They have some interesting historic plants,” he says. “They’ve been involved in planting programs at Monticello,

2

and have some older varieties that have been proven reliable over the years.”

SWAP SOME SEED One intriguing seed-growing (and cataloging) tradition that actually grew out of the heirloom seed movement is the seed exchange.

Unlike regular seed producers, seed exchanges operate through a network of members who farm and gather seed from heirloom varieties and then swap or barter them through the exchange service, says Shannon Carmody, membership manager for Seed Savers Exchange.

Seed Savers Exchange distributes its annual yearbook of 13,000 seed varieties only to members, though it produces a smaller catalog of more commercially appropriate seeds for the general public, she says.

TAKE BACK YOUR PASTURE Another specialty catalog category worth considering: Conservation or reclamation seeds. Ernst Conservation Seeds specializes in bulk seed carefully mixed to produce native grasses and wildfl owers along the East Coast. “It’s simply the best,” says Beasley, horticulturalist and landscape designer.

Beware: This isn’t a solution for small flowerbeds or backyard gardening, says Andy Ernst, vicepresident of Ernst Conservation Seeds. The company recommends planting its seed mixes in plots 200 square feet or larger. One drawback: You have less control over the outcome, as most seed mixes produce a diffuse, varied look with different types of flowers and grasses. On the flipside, they also produce a natural texture to a meadow or a pasture and require very little maintenance.

3

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Created to help attract and support pollinating insects. “There is a big call to reinvest in establishing native bee populations.

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Harry's History



6514 Patterson Ave.

Th o s e W h o Ca me Be f o r e 6514 Patterson Ave.

Wondering About That House An imperfect history of the stone h o u s e s o n Pa t t e r s o n A v e n u e  By Harry Kollatz Jr.

You drive by them heading west.

They are the imposing stone twostory residences on the right near the corner of Patterson Avenue and Roxbury Road. It’s a part of town that hasn’t been researched as part of the historic designation process.

Therefore, like beautiful sisters, 6512 and 6514 Patterson Ave. both maintain an aura of mystery.

When built during the mid-1920s, they were in Henrico County. A 1942 annexation created a boundary line between Henrico and Richmond across the back of the two properties, so that thereafter the houses were in the city while the garages stayed in the county. Unfortunately, Henrico destroys its building permits every seven years; thus, the

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names of the architect and contractor are in all likelihood lost.

Jennie Dotts knows about 6514 Patterson Ave. A member of the family that operated Markow Florist, she spent her youth there. She started the Alliance for the Conservation of Old Richmond Neighborhoods and is now a partner with Old House Authority and a historic Realtor with Virginia Properties.

Proving the adage about the cobbler’s children going without new shoes, Dotts says of the house’s origin story, “That’s a very good question.” She recalls her father, Joseph Markow, speaking about sculptor and plaster artist Ferruccio Legnaioli, who created the house’s interior plasterwork. Legnaioli, active in 

 W. Bowman Wiltshire seems to have built the stone house around 1927.  The property went to widow Linda and sons Ellsworth and Hunter.  Ellsworth Wiltshire, a lawyer and professor at the University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law, lived there with wife Elizabeth and son Rives.  After Ellsworth moved, brother Hunter took over the property.  The Markow family bought the house in 1956.  The present owner purchased the house from the Markow estate in 1989.

6512 Patterson Ave.

 James Wirt Hancock and wife, Laura, purchased the house in 1927.  Hancock died, age 76 in 1942.  His wife, Laura, inherited the house and died Aug. 17, 1959.  The property has changed hands twice since 1959.

James Dickinson photo

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James Wirt Hancock and wife, Laura, purchased 6512 Patterson [ve. (above) in 1927. the 1920s and 1930s, made the Columbus statue near the Byrd Park tennis courts and the First Virginia Regiment “Minuteman” monument in the Fan’s Meadow Park. He either installed or created adornments for the National and Byrd theaters, as well as the interior details of many other public and private buildings.

Dotts compares the Patterson Avenue houses to a stone Tudor cottage at 3404 Monument Ave., between Roseneath and Thompson Sts. The Monument house was built in 1925-26 by contractor Robert L. Wallerstein after being designed by architect Carl Max Lindner Sr. His work includes Monument’s fl atironshaped Lord Fairfax Apartments and a parade of eclectic cottages from 3117 to 3131 on the avenue. He also designed houses in Hampton Gardens off Cary Street Road.

The Patterson Avenue houses could be Lindner’s handiwork, but absent Henrico County records, it’s impossible to know for sure. While rumors abound, facts about the houses are difficult to come by.

If anyone has any further information about the origins of the houses or their past residents (see box) please e-mail harryk@richmag.com or call 355-0111 ext. 317.

James Dickinson photo

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ASplash of Personality DESIGNER Julie Strange balances just the right amount of bright in her West End home

By Elizabeth Cogar Batty photos by todd wright floral design by Elizabeth daly of elizabeth daly designs

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Elizabeth Strange in her light-filled sunroom

‘‘

We wanted a gourmet kitchen and a place for the kids to hang out with their friends.”  julie strange

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Left The columns of the kitchen’s island were painted to resemble the MacKenzieChilds knobs and light fixtures.

The countertop is an iridescent Blue Volga granite. Top Right Because the Stranges enjoy cooking, they chose a powerful Wolf range. The ornate hood seamlessly blends with the rest of the kitchen’s classic touches.

Bottom Right The chairs are covered in a striking Osborne & Little print that echoes the valance over the door. The light fixture is by MacKenzie-Childs.

he difference between an interior designer’s house and one that belongs to just anybody is clear the second you step in the front door — a designer’s home has style that is intentional and true to his or her aesthetic throughout. No wild cards or unfinished spaces. Plenty of personality. And so it is for the striking West End home of designer Julie Strange and husband Anthony, CEO of Richmondbased IBS. A splash of bright pink-striped walls and a shiny marble floor greets guests as they enter the Stranges’ brick Georgian home near Collegiate School. A Fabergé-like egg finial tops the newel post at the foot of the winding stairs and nearby is a painting they purchased on an anniversary trip to Italy. With these components, the scene is set with highly saturated hues and decorative detail — from Julie’s grandmother’s formal couch covered in raspberry velvet in the living room to the pair of sky-blue chairs upstairs in the guest room. But this house is no museum. It’s made for living.

“As the seasons of life change and our lives evolve, we have different needs. We built this house to accommodate the needs of our family then … our girls were babies in 1992 when we built the house,” says Julie.

“When they got older, we started to entertain more. We wanted a gourmet kitchen and a place for the kids to hang out with their friends.”

So, while the Stranges’ formal living and dining room have not changed much over the years, the more casual living areas have. Once a downstairs play space, the family room has been reconfigured for grownups, including daughters Ashley, 24; Corrie, 22; and Carson, 18. An informal portrait of the girls at younger ages, painted by Tom Wise, hangs over the fireplace, but that’s the only trace of childhood left here. Cozy seating, a lush blue-speckled carpet, a glass-topped

rhomemag.com

39

coffee table and a flat-screen TV make it ideal for watching weekend football and golf.

The sunroom, adjacent to the family room, served as a quiet place for Julie and Anthony to chat and read the paper when their girls were small, and even now, it’s a great spot on a sunny morning. The room is drenched not only in natural light but in an array of hues ranging in volume from soft to loud. Two chairs are covered in a soft leopard pattern — in fact, animal prints are repeated throughout the house. “I love animal stuff,” Julie says. “It’s fun, and it adds a little flair.” Orange-, pinkand green-patterned draperies that flow down the sides of tall windows are bright foils to the pale tile floors.

The wall that separated the sunroom and family room from the kitchen was removed three years ago as part of

a major kitchen makeover. Julie worked with architect Fred Zonsius of New York-based FZAD Architecture + Design and Mark Cohen of Richmond’s Trademark Woodworking on a renovation plan. The resulting space is a chef’s dream — granite countertops, Wolf stove, wine cooler, drawers and cabinets aplenty — and a warm spot for friends and family to gather, too. The New York furniture and ceramics firm MacKenzie-Childs is a favorite of Julie’s, and she’s made good use of the company’s wares, incorporating hand-painted knobs, goblets, plates and a fanciful chandelier that sheds light on a table that does double duty for breakfast or dinner.

Knowing her own taste and preferences came naturally for Julie, and she has found that working with others on their home designs comes easily, too. “When I go into

TOP LEFT The living room is a mix of old and new. The couch belonged to Julie Strange’s grandmother, and Julie had it recovered in a bright pink Zimmer Rhode velvet to match the walls. BOTTOM LEFT A Fabergé-like finial by John Ragsdale topping the newel post greets guests as they come through the front door. RIGHT The traditional dining room comes alive with Clarence House bird-and-flower adorned wallpaper and a custom-made rug by Stark that echoes the pinks in the rest of the house.

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‘‘

I love helping clients find ways to transform their homes into spaces that really reflect their personalities.”  JULIE STRANGE

LEFT The guest bedroom’s vivid colors ramp up the energy of the mod couch, while the pillows add a little whimsy. TOP Furniture and ceramics maker MacKenzie-Childs is known for its exuberant mix of colors and patterns. MIDDLE The Stranges built their Georgianstyle home in 1992. BOTTOM This heart-shaped curio table once belonged to Julie Strange’s grandmother, and it’s especially dear to her. It’s filled with meaningful things that she’s either collected or inherited.

someone’s home, I look around to see who they are … if they don’t know what they like, I try to help them find a balance that works. I suggest alternatives to fit a client’s budget and lifestyle — if they have little children and are worried about peanut butter on the sofa, we can look at a fabric that can take that.” What has worked well for her and a gaggle of growing girls can be applied to her clients’ plans.

Their house is not as busy as in recent years — only Carson remains at home, and Julie and Anthony are phasing into the coming years of quiet. “I’m really going to miss having Carson and her friends around next year,” Julie laments. But she’s clearly excited about the future, taking cooking lessons and teaming up with Anthony in the kitchen.

Her business will continue to be important, too.

“I love helping clients find ways to transform their homes into spaces that really reflect their personalities,” Julie says. And her own house is a testament to her passion. Beyond trends and decorator imperatives, Julie has designed a home for her family that references their love of entertaining, sports and travel, all within the framework of comfort and a bold palette of color and texture.  rhomemag.com

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count cou country ntrrryy nt

CLASSIC Combining styles to create a house all their own

BY DEBBIE ALLEN | PHOTOS BY GUY CRITTENDEN | ST YLED BY WENDY UMANOFF

ď&#x192;Ľ

Sunlight streams through the French doors and many windows of the Hagansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; formal living room. To the left of the fireplace hangs The Players, an original watercolor by Libby Wright.

rhomemag.com

45



A Swarovski chandelier hangs over the Henredon dining room table. The silver tea service is a family heirloom that dates from around 1850.

“We had actually never lived in a new home,” Randy Hagan says. He and his wife, Nita, had always lived in homes that they fixed up. From Brandermill, where they moved in 1979 from Italy to Virginia Gov. James Pleasants Jr.’s circa 1898 estate, Contention, renovation was paramount. He explains that when they bought 31 acres in Crozier in 2000 and moved into the old farmhouse on the front of the property, they intended to build new home at the back on the bluff overlooking Buffalo Creek.

After building a barn for their horses and planting willow trees alongside the creek, they asked fox-hunting companion and longtime friend Rich Napier, president and co-founder of Napier Signature Homes, to build The exterior of the house is their new house. The proja harmonious marriage of Low Country and Cape Cod styles. ect took two years and in





Nita Hagan standing on her back terrace in Crozier

“I wanted to walk out of my bedroom into the outside world.

And my garden is out there.”  nita hagan



The wide front entrance leading to the living room is a Georgian design.

2005, the 6,200-square-foot house they named Willowbrook was complete.

On the front, the hipped roof that extends over a large, deep front porch and dormers speaks to Low Country design. The steep pitch of the roof and the first-floor windows with multiple small panes is reminiscent of a Cape Cod design. The two combine to create what Randy refers to a “Low Country Cape” vernacular style.

“This was in the country and so we wanted a house that would fit in, so that’s where we came up with the Low Country Cape [design]. Then we ended up superimposing that Low Country Cape on a house that had a very dramatic New Orleans style in the back,” says Randy. “The back of the house and the front of the house are clearly not from the same plan.” rhomemag.com

47

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In the kitchen, Bella Rosa granite tops the counters; the cabinets are by Merillat.

They doubled the window sizes on the front dormers and put a 42-foot chimney on the south end and a 39foot chimney on the north end. “The chimneys are totally fake and are intended to push the house down to make it look smaller — otherwise it would not fit in this area,” Randy says.

The design inside combines different elements as well. The huge Georgian foyer gives you a view from the front to the back of the house and includes a variety of door styles and trim. If you walk into the living room and turn around, the upstairs balcony looks like the outside of a New Orleans home, with a wrought iron railing, lights that look like old gas lamps and French doors that lead to a den. And unlike a segmented Cape Cod, the house has flow. “You can circulate in various ways



The hall table was the first piece the Hagans purchased. They bought it in 1971 in Birmingham, Ala. The chair next to it is antique Chinese inlaid mahogany — another family heirloom.

“This is the most comfortable house to live in.

We designed it that way, and it works.”

around the house both inside and outside,” Randy says.

“All the public rooms are very well connected.”

The first floor has everything the Hagans need if they decide to live only on that floor — a master bedroom and master bath with closets and dressing areas, a kitchen with a den, dining room, living room, utility room, office and an attached two-car garage. “We realized that the kitchen becomes a social area, and by putting in the second island, you have an island to work on where people generally won’t crowd you while you are cooking,” Randy says.

The terrace off the back of the house is the one thing Nita requested. “I wanted to walk out of my bedroom into the outside world. And my garden is out there,” she says.

 randy hagan

But putting a terrace on a down-sloping lot was quite a challenge. Napier says, “We had a wall that was built up [14 feet] and had to get it engineered with this big concrete footing in the center with rebar that went out like spokes on a Ferris wheel. All the spokes are tied into the walls to give [them] strength.” The terrace, complete with gardens and a fountain with bronze horses, overlooks the meadow and the creek.

Further plans include modifying part of the back deck into a sunroom, adding another deck and building a gazebo in the woods. But for right now, the Hagans are pleased with their home. “This is the most comfortable house to live in,” Randy says. “We designed it that way, and it works.” 

rhomemag.com

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MODERNGOTHIC A 1915 Monument Avenue home plays with intricate lighting to highlight its Gothic-turned-contemporary rooms

BY BETHANY EMERSON / PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIP DAWKINS ST YLING BY WENDY UMANOFF

“We thought the Gothic feel of the house should be respected [but] mixed with a contemporary feel.”  JOE HILL

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Their vast spaces needed light.

LEFT In the dining room, recessed ceiling lights set in panels of silver-leaf and gold paint create a shimmery glow. ABOVE An example of contemporary and Gothic juxtaposition is the original staircase paired with Florida artist Chris Dolan’s Icarus. BELOW LEFT An original light fixture in the home’s foyer. BELOW RIGHT Underneath a layer of thick grime, the owners found parquet flooring, crafted from quarter sawn oak.

That’s what Joe Hill, president of Richmond’s Bel Arbor Builders, and Jim Gunn decided when they moved into their eye-catching Monument Avenue house more than a decade ago. With about 12,000 square feet, its stately rooms were marked by intricate mahogany woodwork, high ceilings and Gothic details — but all were sparsely lit.

“It was a bit ominous with the mahogany elements,” Gunn says. “It was Joe’s idea to put in cove lighting.”

Hill and Gunn installed in most of the downstairs rooms a series of recessed lights, placed in a crest between the original 1915 crown molding and the 9-foot ceilings.

“It instantly draws your eyes up,” Gunn says, adding that it makes it seem as if the rooms are floating.

But the lighting was not the first project they tackled. Before they moved into the house in late 1999, major repairs had to be made.

The house was in very poor condition, Hill says. The staircase was draped with a filthy burgundy shag rug, pieces of plaster were falling off of the walls in the kitchen, and in the guest bedroom on the third floor, rain came through a hole in the ceiling.

The foyer flooring was completely covered in dark grime. It wasn’t until they removed it that they found quarter sawn oak (wood taken from the center of the tree) parquet flooring underneath.

They first tackled the kitchen, which was decorated with 1970s wallpaper — just like Cindy Brady’s bedroom, Hill says with a laugh.

To open up the space, they knocked down the walls between the hallway, a small side room and the kitchen. They moved the stove and sink to the other side of the room to create a lounge area, but as a result, they had to completely rework the plumbing and electricity.

All of the old cabinetry was replaced with cabinets designed by Felton Pervier of Christopher Peacock

While the exterior remains the same, much has been changed.

Cabinetry. Hill and Gunn wanted a relaxed space for entertaining, so they chose taupe and eucalyptuscolored cabinetry and walls brushed with gray and taupe shades. The walls were then glazed in order for the color to meld into the French limestone flooring by Paris Ceramics of Palm Beach, Fla. As the project went on, and with the upstairs still not livable, the 1999 Richmond Symphony Orchestra League Designer House team took charge. The previous owner had agreed to the home

54

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makeover before putting the house on the market, and therefore, it became a condition of the sale.

Although Hill and Gunn were required, under the terms of the contract, to have the designers work on their home, they both recall that everyone involved with the Designer House was gracious to work with; Hill and Gunn were even asked what sort of personality the two would like to see in the rooms.

“Officially it’s Jacobean — a mix of Tudor and Gothic,” Hill says of the style of the house. He points to

the large Gothic quatrefoils carved around the front door. “We thought the Gothic feel of the house should be respected [but] mixed with a contemporary feel.”

The Jacobean style of the home, designed by Carneal & Johnston, is also seen in the medieval-like exterior, with the elaborate details like the white terra-cotta trim surrounding the dormer windows.

While the exterior remains the same, much has been changed since the Designer House makeover, Hill says, but the fusion of contemporary

LEFT The interior of the library’s custom-made shelves are painted a buttermilk yellow. Inset lighting adds additional warmth to the space. ABOVE The front door is framed with Gothic quatrefoil-patterned woodwork. BELOW The Monument Avenue house’s Gothic architecture is underscored by dormer windows lined with terra-cotta trim.

and Gothic has stuck. The two tandem styles are seen in such details as the Gothic-backed bar stools at the kitchen island, contrasting with modern ostrichpatterned seats. In the foyer, another example is the juxtaposition of the original quatrefoil-patterned doorknobs with, just up the first flight of stairs, Icarus, a painting of a figure in gold and brown by artist Chris Dolan.

“My nieces call this my Gryffindor staircase,” Hill says with a laugh; the staircase wraps up to

the third story.

Upstairs, the serene blue master suite took over what were three existing bedrooms and two bathrooms. The walls in the bedroom are made of Venetian plaster, applied in a three- to fourstep process that doesn’t involve paint at all and looks textured but is smooth to the touch.

“It feels very cocoon-like,” Gunn says. This space is also one of the strongest examples of the play with light in the house.

Light streams from behind the bed’s massive headboard, inset with six panels of rich mohair. From a small remote control — a Lutron Electronics system — all the lighting in the bedroom can be controlled.

Press one button, and the lights come on in a synchronized order to highlight different elements of the suite, including a Louise Nevelson piece hanging above the fireplace.

Soon, Hill explains, the remote will control the lighting throughout the house.

Their most recent project was in 2006, when they took the Gothiccontemporary twist outdoors. The grassy yard was transformed by a 17-foot by 35-foot pool with a unique shape.

Hill points up at the house, to a section on the right side with a Gothic-like arch.

The pool mimics the shape of that arch and includes an 8-inchdeep cocktail area.

For a closer Friends often put look into the history of chairs in the water the Baldwin and sip wine to keep House, go to cool in the summer, rhome Hill says. mag Hill and Gunn were careful with the .com historic nature of the outdoor space. The alley wall was taken down brick by brick, the bricks were stored while the pool was dug, and then the bricks were returned to their place — a two-year process.

The result of their efforts?

Their regal home combines Gothic details with light and comfortable contemporary elements — just what they’d hoped for. 

ABOVE During installation of the pool, the historic brickwork was preserved.

BELOW The bar stools at the kitchen island combine Gothic detailing with modern ostrich-patterned seats. RIGHT A Lutron Electronics system controls all of the lighting in the master suite. A Louise Nevelson piece hangs above the fireplace.

“It feels very cocoon-like.”  jim gunn

rhomemag.com

57

Are you ready for some football?

Cookbook author and chef Kendra Bailey Morris (right) cooks up party food southern-style. by brandon fox i-phone photos by adam ewing *All photography shot with the iPhoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hipstamatic app

rhomemag.com

59

Homemade pimento cheese â&#x20AC;&#x201D; made with Colby cheese, cream cheese and mayonnaise â&#x20AC;&#x201D; always tastes better left a little lumpy. Mini-rolls make eating easier.

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Kendra’s father-inlaw gave her this potato baker, circa 1940s to 1950s, as a gift.

The big nails really do help potatoes cook more evenly.

1

Key Cube

2

S

uper Bowl Sunday is just around the corner, and it’s time to throw a party that’s a little closer to your Southern roots than the usual chili, or chips and salsa, or even Buffalo wings (you know that Buffalo is in New York, right?) would imply. So, football-loving Richmonders, start thinking about pimento cheese and pork cracklings, party meatballs and Southern Comfort. We tapped the talents of chef Kendra Bailey Morris, author of White Trash Entertaining, to show us how.

Morris, who trained at Peter Kump’s Culinary School (now known as the Institute for Culinary Education) in New York City, is a culinary instructor who has appeared on The Learning Channel’s weekly food and home show, Home Made Simple. In addition to her cookbook, she’s also a food writer who has had stories, columns and recipes published in Better Homes & Gardens, NPR’s Kitchen Window, CNN’s Eatocracy, and the Rich-

ONE Variations of grape jelly meatballs can be found throughout the South as hors d’oeuvres. Even skeptics will be converted once they try one. TWO Some call the pepperoni roll the state food of West Virginia. It was created by Italian immigrant coal miners as an easy-toeat, handheld lunch on the job.

r hr ho m o me m e ma ag .gc. oc m o m 6217

mond Times-Dispatch.

She originally learned to cook, however, from her two West Virginia grandmothers, who managed to feed a crowd out of tiny kitchens with no counter space, no dishwasher and no refrigerator space. The food they made wasn’t fancy, but it was tasty — and a lot of us grew up around here eating exactly the same sort of thing.

Morris writes, in the introduction to White Trash Entertaining, “A good meal should be savored like a hot

roll fresh from the oven and a good host should be cherished, not for what she has, but what she offers.”

In her 1970s rec room (“we decided, instead of tearing out the wood paneling in the basement, to take it to the next level”), with vintage bar, working eight-track stereo and white leather couch culled from secondhand stores, Morris sets the stage for a party that’s both a throwback to childhood and an update on the usual hodgepodge of Super Bowl Sunday offerings. 



Gator Sweat — a Southern Comfort, pineapple juice and lemonlime soda cocktail — helps celebrate a win or ease the pain of a loss on game day.

Key Cube

1

2 ONE You can buy pork rinds, but making your own pork cracklings is easy, and the finished product is much tastier. TWO What do you get when you mix Rice Krispies, oatmeal, coconut and a lot of sugar? Cookies you need to keep away from the children until you’ve had a chance to try one.

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R E C

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P E

S

Rice Krispies Oatmeal Cookies ingredients • 2 sticks of butter (1 cup) softened • 1 cup of white sugar • 1 cup of packed brown sugar • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract • 1 cup of Rice Krispies cereal • 2 cups of uncooked rolled oats • 2 cups of flour

Gator Sweat

• 1 ½ teaspoons of baking soda • ¼ teaspoon of baking powder • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon • ½ teaspoon of salt • 1 cup of shredded, sweetened coconut • 1 cup of golden raisins • 1 cup of chopped pecans

ingredients • ½ pint of Southern Comfort (or to taste) • 1 (46-ounce) can of pineapple juice • Lemon-lime soda • Lime slices or wedges of fresh pineapple, for garnish

DIRECTIONS Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the Rice Krispies and oats. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into another bowl. Add this to the sugar mixture and combine well. Stir in coconut, raisins and nuts. Put heaping tablespoons of the mixture on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until browned.

DIRECTIONS Mix the Southern Comfort and juice in a large pitcher. Pour into tall glasses filled with ice and top off with lemon-lime soda. Garnish with a big slice of lime or wedge of pineapple.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Serves 12 to 14

Pork Cracklins’

ingredients • 2 pounds of pork skin (trimmed, but save some of the attached fat) • 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, or to taste • Vegetable oil DIRECTIONS To do ahead: Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Cut the pork skin into 3-inch or 4-inch squares. Sprinkle with the salt and spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 3 hours, then cool and store in an airtight container.

Prior to serving: Add oil to a straight-sided skillet so that it comes to about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil for about 5 to 10 minutes, until it reaches 350 to 375 degrees. Fry the pork skin until it puffs (3 to 5 minutes — watch carefully, you don’t want it to burn).

Drain on paper towels and serve.

All recipes © Kendra Bailey Morris. For more recipes, go to rhomemag.com

Mama Bailey’s Pimento Cheese Spread

With many Southern recipes, measurements aren’t an exact science, so feel free use more or less mayonnaise, cream cheese and cayenne pepper. This recipe is best made a day ahead. ingredients • 12 ounces of Colby cheese or a medium-sharp yellow cheese, coarsely grated • 6 ounces of cream cheese, softened • 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (preferably Hellman’s)

• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper • 1 to 2 teaspoons of pimento juice (from the jar) • 2 to 3 tablespoons of pimento, finely minced • Salt and pepper, to taste

directions Mix your cheeses, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper and pimento juice. Stir in the pimentos by hand and season with salt and pepper. Cover and place mixture in the fridge. It’s best if it chills overnight.

To serve Fill about 24 small rolls or can be served from a crock with crackers. Makes about 2 cups.

Miss Oma’s Grape Jelly Meatballs ingredients • 1 ½ cups of chili sauce • ½ (32-ounce) jar of grape jelly (more, if you like it sweet!)

• 1 pound of lean ground beef • 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs • 1 egg

• 1/3 cup of chopped onion • ½ tablespoon of prepared horseradish • 3 to 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil • 1 clove of garlic, minced • Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS Put the chili sauce and grape jelly in a slow cooker (or a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan) and set on medium-low heat to simmer. For your meatballs, mix the ground beef together with the rest of the ingredients. Carefully shape the mixture into small balls, taking care not to roll the meatballs too tightly.

Fry the meatballs in the hot oil until they’re brown on all sides (or you can brown them in the oven at 375 degrees on a sheet pan). Add meatballs to the grape jelly mixture and simmer until tender. Serve meatballs straight from the pot with toothpicks.

Makes approximately 25 meatballs.

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Pages 40 Wall color, Benjamin Moore, Deco Rose, benjaminmoore.com Sofa fabric, Zimmer Rohde, Leopard Velvet, zimmer-rohde.com Chair fabric, Manuel Canovas, manuelcanovas.com Window treatments, Eades Wallpaper & Fabric, Cowtan & Tout with Robert Allen trim, eadeswallpaper.com French chair, Clarence House, clarencehouse.com Egg-like finial, John Ragsdale, ragsdalefinials.com

Page 41 Rug on staircase, F. Schumacker & Co., Rosecore, fschumacher.com Striped wallpaper, Eades Wallpaper & Fabric, Rose Cummings with Cowtan & Tout border, eadeswallpaper.com Dining room rug, custom-made by Stark, starkcarpet.com Drapery, Eades Wallpaper & Fabric, Boussac Fabrics with Houles trim, eadeswallpaper.com Dining room ď&#x201A;˘ wallpaper, Clarence House, clarencehouse.com

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Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s out of sight, out of mindâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;yet very important and potentially dangerous?

Your clothes dryer vent!

Clogged, dirty or incorrectly installed vents are a prime source of house fires. And a clogged vent also means that clothes donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dry as quickly or efficiently using more energy and costing more money.

Typically once a year, homeowners go over checklists to ensure the fire safety of their homesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;yet most people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t add the dryer vent to that list. Just cleaning the lint screen doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do the job!

What are the signs you need to watch for? s $RYER PRODUCES HEAT BUT CLOTHES take longer than 1 cycle to dry. s #LOTHES ARE DAMP OR HOTTER THAN usual at the end of the cycle. s $AMPERS ON THE OUTSIDE DO NOT open when the dryer is on. $RYER 6ENT 7IZARD SPECIALIZES IN DRYER VENT CLEANING REPAIR and installation to bring you top efficiency. Some houses still have the aluminum foil or flexible vinylâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;these are no longer up to code. We install what dryer manufacturers recommend for a safe, more efficient dryer system.

Resource Listings Page 42 Wall color, Benjamin Moore, benjamin moore.com Sofa fabric, Designers Guild, design ersguild.com Window treatments, Designers Guild, designersguild.com Page 43 Chandelier, MacKenzie-Childs, mackenzie-childs.com

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Pages 44-49

Builder, Rich Napier, Napier Signature Homes, 403-3101

Pages 44-45 Piano, Yamaha Baby Grand, usa. yamaha.com Mirror over the fireplace, 5th Avenue Antiques, 5thavenueantiques.com Painting to the left of the fireplace, The Players, watercolor

by Libby Wright Sconces, New York Lighting Co., lightingnewyork.com Wall color, Benjamin Moore, Barely Yellow, benjaminmoore.com Chandelier, Spectrum Lighting, Versailles Collection, greatchandelier.com Pages 46-47 Table and chairs, Henredon, henredon.com China, Wedgwood, wedgwood. com Wall color, Mauve Glow, Benjamin Moore, benjaminmoore.com Sconces, New York Lighting Co., lightingnewyork.com Page 47 Rug, W. Hirsch Oriental Rugs, whirschrugs.com Page 48 Countertop, Artistic Stone Design, Bella Rosa granite, artisticstonerichmond.com Cabinets, Merillat Masterpiece, Maple, merillat.com Appliances, General Electric, geappliances.com Back splash tile, Old Dominion Floor Co., odfc.net Light fixtures, Lite Elite Inc., liteelite.com

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Page 49 Urn with canes, Passages Antiques, passages-antiques.com Clock, The Clock Shop of Richmond Ltd., theclockshopofrichmond.com Sconces, Lite Elite Inc., liteelite.com Wall color, Benjamin Moore, Barely Yellow, benjaminmoore. com Rug, W. Hirsch Oriental Rugs, whirschrugs.com

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Occasions

The Patrons Preview kicks off the Visual Arts Center of Richmondâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 46th Annual Craft + Design show.



Big Bear, a mask by Best-in-Show award-winner Jenny Mendes

The Big Little Show T h e o n g o i n g s u cc es s o f t h e V i s ua l A rt s C en t er o f R i c h m o n d ’ s 46t h A n n ua l C r a f t + D es i g n s h ow  By Brandon Fox

The Visual Arts Center of Richmond’s Craft + Design show has undergone a major transformation in the last few years. Karen Cauthen Miller, special event and volunteer coordinator (and restaurant reviewer for Richmond magazine), took the helm six years ago, and she realized it was time for change.

“Back in the ’60s and ’70s, this was the show. But Richmond’s a very social town — now there’s so much competition for attention, we had to make it

Jay Paul photos

really special,” Miller says.

She moved the show from the cavernous Greater Richmond Convention Center to the rotunda of the Science Museum of Virginia. “We’re the only show of any caliber to deliberately make the decision to go smaller instead of bigger to survive,” she says.

Using a smaller scale, Miller has been able to make the annual event a carefully curated collection of craftsmen and artists.

This year, local artists like hatmakers Ignatius Creegan and Rod Givens of Ignatius Hats (featured in our November/December issue), sculptor and furniture designer Tom Chenoweth of Astra Design, and ceramic artist David Camden, among others, came to showcase and sell their wares throughout the weekend of Nov. 20.

Breathtaking jewelry was on display from Traditional Craft Materials award-winner Seung-Hea Lee of 

rhomemag.com

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Occasions

Big Little cont’d

Jewelry designer Ayala Naphtali holds one of her necklaces.

She fabricated this piece from sterling silver and recycled, dyed coconut shells.

Rhode Island, and Ohio artist Jenny Mendes took the top prize of the show, the Elisabeth Scott Bocock Best in Show Award, for her compelling ceramic creations.

“We have over 100 volunteers to help run the show. On Saturday night, when the artists are very tired, there’s a potluck at the Visual Arts Center. Not fancy, everyone — board members, volunteers and staff — brings something. That’s a full-circle moment for the artists participating.

They get what we’re doing, our mission. We’re here for the Richmond community. To me, it’s everything the Visual Arts Center represents.”

Vessels by Steve Noggle, who discovered woodturning after many years of building fine furniture

For more photos, visit

RHOME MAG .COM

Lamp by Tom Chenoweth of Astra Designs

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Marion Sak tries on a feather fascinator from Ignatius Hats.

Jay Paul photos

Coral excavated from a British shipwreck interlaced with 16th-century Thai bowls, in the home of Amelia Handegan in Charleston, SC ©2009 Susan Sully

49th Benefit Antiques & Fine Arts Show February 10–13, 2011

Hosted by The Richmond Academy of Medicine Alliance Foundation, Inc. Partnered with The Richmond Academy of Medicine, Inc.

Science Museum of Virginia • 2500 W. Broad St. Richmond, VA Friday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Saturday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. • Sunday: 12 noon to 5 p.m.

General Admission: $15 (weekend pass) You are cordially invited to attend the show and these special related events:

Opening Night Show Preview and Mardi Gras Gala Thursday, February 10, 2011 7 to 10 p.m. • Science Museum of Virginia

A Mardi Gras-themed, black-tie optional cocktail reception of�icially opening the show — and launching an exciting silent auction!

Admission: $125-$650

Luncheon & Lecture Includes a raf�le!

Speaker: Susan Sully

Author of books about Southern cities, decorating and architecture

Friday, February 11, 2011

11:30 a.m. (doors open at 10:30 a.m. for book signing) The Commonwealth Club • 401 W. Franklin St. Richmond, VA

Admission: $65 (includes show admission)

For more information, visit www.RAMAF.org or call (804) 551-3723

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Calendar



More than 40 years after this Maryland home, designed by Charles Richter, won an Award for Excellence in Home Design from Architectural Record, architect David Jameson transformed the interior without compromising the building’s character.

2.10

to 2.13 Richmond Academy Of Medicine Alliance’s 49th Benefit Antiques and fine arts Show This annual antiques show at the Science Museum of Virginia starts off with a Mardi Gras-themed gala on Thursday night. On Friday, Susan Sully, author of Southern Cosmopolitan: Sophisticated Southern Style (see p. 76), will speak, plus sign books at a luncheon at the Commonwealth Club.

Gala, Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 to 10 p.m., Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad St., $125; Luncheon, Friday, Feb. 11, 10:30 a.m. (book signing), 11:30 a.m. (lecture), The Commonwealth Club, 401 W. Franklin St., $65; Antiques Show, Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 12, noon to 5 p.m. Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W. Broad St., $15.

For more details, call 551-3723.

Get Out & About for the New Year O u r p i c k of eve n ts for J a n u ar y a n d F ebr u ar y

 By Sabrina Barekzai

1.6

Virginia Center for Architecture’s Design 2010 Opening Reception Be among the first to explore VCA’S Design 2010 and see some of the midAtlantic’s finest examples of architecture, interior design and preservation projects from the past year (above). Enjoy light refreshments. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

2501 Monument Ave. $10; $8 for members, seniors, students and active military. Register by calling 644-3041, ext. 100 or by email to aliguori@aiava.org.

2.10 to 2.13 The MAC Events Home Show featuring the Maymont Flower & Garden Show Gawk at awe-inspiring “Gardens on Broadway” floral displays at this annual event. Speakers include Arthur Chadwick of Chadwick & Son Orchids, Chris French of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Sandra McDougle, owner of Sandy’s Plants, and Mark Viette, host of the televised garden show Down Home Virginia and an alternate host for In the Garden, a nationwide radio call-in program, in addition to participating in a monthly call-in show on WVPT Public Television. Thursday, Feb. 10, 1 to 9 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Greater Richmond Convention Center, 400 E. Marshall St. $10 in advance; $12 at the door. Children 12 to 17, $6; Seniors, $8; Half off after 5 p.m. Children 11 and under free. Call 358-7166 or go to maymontflowershow.com for more details.

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2.1 to 2.28 The Garden is for Lovers: Valentine’s Display in the Conservatory Celebrate St. Valentine and gaze at a display of daffodils, hyacinths and tulips. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, 1800 Lakeside Ave. $10; members free.

Call 262-9887 or go to lewisginter.org.

Top: photo courtesy Virg in ia Center for A rchitecture; Bottom: photo courtesy Lewis Ginter

JOIN US FOR A

VALENTINE’S BREAKFAST OR LUNCHEON

February 8, 2011 AT THE JEFFERSON celebrating

presented by The Jenkins Foundation

to benefit WOMEN’S CANCER RESEARCH at VCU MASSEY CANCER CENTER S NOTE Y E K

PEAKER

Autho r, Uni v

ers i t y

of Richmo reast nd graduate, and b

r vivo r u s r c an c e

Kelly Corrigan will present “Transcending: Words on Women and Strength” at both the 8:30 a.m. breakfast ($85) and the 12:30 p.m. luncheon ($125).

For inquiries, or to request an invitation for this event, please call 804.827.0642. www.massey.vcu.edu/women&wellness

WomenWellness_fp_0111.indd 1

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Q&A



Susan Sully, author of Southern Cosmopolitan: Sophisticated Southern Style

INTERVIEW

R•Home: As an architectural historian, you’ve made the South your specialty.

What drew you to focus on the region?

Exotic South W r ite r S u sa n S u l l y fi n d s the u n e x pecte d i n S o u the r n sty l e  By Katherine Houstoun

Bestselling author Susan Sully has lived all over the United States – Texas, Connecticut, New York, South Carolina, Louisiana – but her heart is in the South. The Yale graduate has written seven books on different aspects of Southern design, including her latest, The Southern Cosmopolitan: Sophisticated Southern Style.

In it, Sully opens the doors to 16 beautiful homes, examining a global, urbane aspect of Southern style – a characteristic for which it’s not always known. Currently living in Asheville, N.C., Sully is researching her next book, Houses with Charm: Simple Southern Style, due out in spring 2013.

Susan Sully: First of all, my family is from South Carolina and Georgia, but I grew up in Greenwich, Conn., and Houston, Texas. I grew up away from the South but loving it from afar. I would spend every summer in Milledgeville, Ga., where my mother was from, or St. Petersburg, Fla., where my other grandmother was. The South was a magical fantasyland to me. It was a treat to go there every summer.

R•Home: What else?

Susan Sully: The second reason I love the South is its graciousness … there are those deep porches where you sit in a rocking chair and feel the elements around you from a place of comfort. Inside, I love the proportions of the rooms … the beautiful high ceilings and all those windows. There’s something very human and welcoming about it.

There’s just such a love of beauty in the South — the beautiful china, the fabrics, old silver and porcelain figures on the tables. As much as there’s all this beauty and refinement, there’s also a lack of pretension. Perhaps this is because there wasn’t much money after the Civil War, and it was in bad taste to have everything shiny and perfect and new. There was a holding on to things, letting them gain a sense of their age — faded curtains, balding velvet, wood

She’ll speak at The Commonwealth Club on Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m. as part of the Richmond Academy of Medicine Alliance’s Antiques & Fine Arts Show.

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that’s been polished so many times that it’s lost its sharp edges. I find that so comforting and human.

R•Home: In your latest book, you showcase houses that exemplify “sophisticated Southern style.” What are common elements of that style?

Susan Sully: In the book, I looked at three different aspects of Southern style, one of which is the love of the past.

Many Southerners brought with them English style — and the English had a deep love of the classical past as seen in their neoclassical architecture – so there’s a deep connection to the past in the South, deeper than you think.

The second theme is the fascination with the foreign in the South. There are the obvious influences coming from the colonizers — English, French, Spanish — but then these cultures brought with them the influences of their trade partners. You get Indian, Chinese, Japanese and West Indian influences coming in, creating a really rich decorative arts culture. People don’t think about the South that way; they tend to think of it as provincial.

The third characteristic is the love of the new — again something not associated with the South but consistent with it from the very beginning.

The people who came 

Images courtesy Susan Sully

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Exotic contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d here, especially the wealthy colonists from England or France, wanted to stay completely au courant with what was happening in their mother countries. Many of them were setting themselves up as aristocrats in a new world, so immediately there was a desire to stay stylish and up-to-date.

Unfortunately these are not things that people associate with the South â&#x20AC;&#x201D; although they should. My book is a little bit of a manifesto as well as a celebration of these aspects of Southern style.

Râ&#x20AC;˘Home: Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re an avid student of architecture and interiors. How has that spilled over into your personal life?

Susan Sully: I definitely get ideas from people I work with. I recently co-authored a book with [Alabama-based architect] Bobby McAlpine.

He often puts a big wall of neutral-colored curtains in a room. This makes the room look bigger and adds light, texture and drama. So I did that in my house. But I always design on a budget, so my curtains are made out of canvas tarpaulin from Home Depot, as well as the beautiful sheer scrim fabric that Bobby uses. I take ideas and do them on a dime.

Râ&#x20AC;˘Home: Any other design elements that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve picked up in your exploration of Southern homes?

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Susan Sully: The idea of collecting. If you collect something, it adds personality and interest to a room. I love what collections tell about a person: what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re attracted to, what they love, whether they take it seriously or itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re amused by. To me, it shares that joy or sense of play with the people who come into the house. It immediately engages them in a dialogue with their surroundings and with the person who created those surroundings.

You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to have a lot of money to collect. For example, on my mantel, I have three pieces of local pottery, a piece of pottery that I inherited and one that I bought from TJ Maxx. I added things I collected on walks near my house: a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nest, butterfly wings, blue shells from eggs I buy from a neighboring farm.

They create a beautiful arrangement. Every time I look at it, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m reminded of the natural beauty and craft traditions of my surroundings.

Guests always notice the collection and comment on it.

Râ&#x20AC;˘Home: On your blog, The Southern Cosmopolitan, you document the favorite things of renowned architects and designers.

To turn the table on you, what is one of your favorite things?

Susan Sully: My early 20th-century Chinese export carpet. One of the reasons I love it is its rich, unexpected colors â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a winey aubergine mixed with a grayish lavender, cobalt blue, an almost chartreuse-y green and shades of gold.

It has a pattern that lies somewhere between art nouveau and art deco, with butterflies, flowers, leaves, vines and Japanese lanterns. Put it in a room, and you can go any direction with it.

THANKS GOES TO

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan from Apartment Therapy, Deanna King from Strawberry Fields, Bill Bevins and Shelly Perkins from Lite 98, Jessica Noll and Greg McQuade from CBS 6, Social Media Club/RVA, ampa events, Commonwealth Event Company, Mosaic Events, School of Richmond Ballet WREATH DESIGNERS

Gather Ink & Paper Jonathan Janis Kathy Corbet Interiors La DiffĂŠrence Maurice Beane Studios Monica Rogers Wendy Umanoff Verve Williams & Sherrill

Thank you for making our Nov. 11 event a SPECTACULAR success!

Back Page

Robot Love THE MINT AND OTHER PRODUCTS, BOOKS AND WEBSITES  By Brandon Fox and Sabrina Barekzai

NEW BOOKS

CLASSIC HOMES OF LOS ANGELES BY DOUGLAS WOODS. RIZZOLI, 2010. Woods explores the sprawling California homes erected from the late 19th century to the 1920s — houses that embody the classic California cool of the time.

Don’t let the title scare you away; this book inspires you to take on the challenge of using California style right here in Richmond.

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At my house, our newest pet is also our most valuable: The Mint, nicknamed “Stanley” by my daughters. Instead of spreading fur far and wide throughout the house, Stanley attacks it.

Instead of leaving muddy little footprints from the back door to the farthest corner of the upstairs front bedroom, Stanley wipes them out steadily and without complaint. The Mint uses Swiffer pads and the Northstar navigation system to negotiate around table legs while it expertly sweeps or mops your entire house.

Add Sirius radio and you’d have the perfect household appliance. $200 at Bed, Bath and Beyond or mintcleaner.com.

Magimix Vision Toaster How much would

you spend to see your toast brown before your very eyes?

If the answer is $250, then head on over to WilliamsSonoma and pick up the fanciest, coolest toaster on the market — and the only one with double-paned glass to provide breadto-toast voyeurism. magimix.com

Ikea Nutid Induction Cooktop

Get ready. Ikea is throwing its hat into the high-end appliance ring this year. Its induction cooktop — an energy-efficient method of cooking praised by professional cooks for its incredible responsiveness — is only $999. And that puts this stove squarely in the reasonably priced category. ikea.com

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1

THE SOUL OF A HOUSE: DECORATING WITH WARMTH, STYLE, AND COMFORT

BY CHRIS MADDEN. RIZZOLI, 2010. Chris Madden offers an enticing look at charmed living.

Photographs show how to style a family home to make it both beautiful and comfortable.

Madden’s touch is admirable, and it’s easy to see why she was a featured designer on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Websites to Check Out

Shelterrific is a go-to site for inspiration for all of us who aren’t design professionals.

It includes advice and information about decorating, organizing, cleaning and cooking, and is updated throughout the week. shelterrific.com

2

I love personal blogs about renovating old homes, and I like local blogs even more.

Check out Domus Aurea for truly spectacular beforeand-after photos of one couple’s home in the Byrd Park area. domus aurearichmond. blogspot.com

3

Remodelista has it all: DIY, inspiring photos of rooms, and even product and store reviews. Although it tries to stay balanced, the site mostly skews to high-end design, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. remodelista.com

Our Latest Richmond Print by

©2010 PR ODUCED BY RICHMOND MAGAZINE

d trask s doWn by the river” b y e “ We Would tell our storie

Actual Size: 24” x 18”

Richmond Magazine is proud to release the seventh poster in its print series.

This limited-edition piece, painted by local artist Ed Trask, highlights the James River.

The perfect gift for the true Richmonder.

Get yours today.

Come by the office to pick up your poster. $5 each. A small number of posters are available signed by the artist for $25 each.

Cash or checks accepted. • 2201 W. Broad St. #105 • (804) 355-0111 • www.richmondmagazine.com

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