A World Apart
Inside the grand dame of historic College Hill residences, venerable Winburn Court apartments, Elaine Dixie Hodge’s place is an oasis of mystery, history and beauty By Cynthia Adams • Photographs by Amy Freeman
W
hy does Dixie Hodge’s email address contain three numeral fives? “I just like 5s,” she replies languidly. She takes pleasure in small things, sometimes quirky things. Hodge watches appreciatively as the golden light of late day bathes the stacks of art and design books in her living room. The light turns the curled leaves of a potted kumquat tree to an acid green as it sits on the thick ledge. Sunlight glides over a skirted table, inching toward the antique silk and needlepoint
62 O.Henry
October 2014
pillows strewn across the white, down-filled settee where Hodge sips a glass of red wine from vintage crystal. “Don’t you just love the light?” she asks, moving her glass into it, and the alchemy causes it to glint a deep burgundy. An antique butler’s chair sits bolt upright as the light moves closer. “There is such peace, and harmony, and stillness.” It is true; the apartment’s dense, thick walls deepen the palpable stillness. “I have come to prefer the music of quietness the best,” she says. Open one of Hodge’s original casement windows and on some days you The Art & Soul of Greensboro