When a retired couple discovered a one-and-a-half-acre property on a bluff overlooking the Severn River in 2018, they knew how lucky they were. They were eager to move from the DC suburbs to a home they could enjoy and share with their family: five adult children, all of whom are partnered, and a growing crop of grandchildren. “We fell in love with the site first and foremost,” the husband says. “Though the house had a lot of issues, we knew we could turn it into what we needed for our family and lifestyle.” 

The parcel included a 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom clapboard house built in 1952 that had been added onto over the years, leading the husband to describe it as a “Chesapeakeglomeration”—a hodgepodge of rooms with no particular architectural style. The captivating waterfront lot also featured a four-car garage, a pool and a pool house that was being used as a gym. 

The interiors were less than appealing. The small kitchen was designed for a couple, not a crowd, and a cramped layout made gathering spaces tight. The owners envisioned an open, welcoming floor plan that would offer room for family members to spread out, whether relaxing or in work mode. They also wanted to make the most of the panoramic river views. However, strict regulations on the narrow, rectangular lot ruled out a significant expansion. 

The couple turned to Speight Studio Architects and Mueller Homes to craft and execute a renovation that would stay largely within the home’s existing footprint. “It was generous, but the living space wasn’t what one would expect, given the size of the house,” recounts project architect Stephanie Cook. “What was needed was a new vision for the floor plan.”

The renovation happened in stages. First came a reimagining of the two-story garage, where the fourth car bay became a mudroom and gardening area. Unfinished space above it was redesigned to accommodate a two-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen. Next, the pool house was converted into a one-bedroom guest cottage, adding even more living space for guests.

The final stage was the main house. Critical area rules made adding onto the back impossible. So to create the generous proportions desired, the design team conceived a brick-clad addition of roughly 300 square feet at the front, facing the driveway. “It complements the existing structure without feeling heavy,” observes Mueller Homes’ Paul Mueller, Jr. “The brick gives it an Old World look that ups the curb appeal.”

The addition, which encompasses the relocated laundry room and pantry and a new powder room, required the removal of an interior wall—and gave the kitchen its much-needed expansion. Now, an open-plan kitchen/dining area spans the depth of the house from driveway to rear. A cedar-wrapped ceiling beam, crafted on site by the Mueller team, was added for support between spaces. “It’s a good accent and also differentiates between the kitchen and eating area,” Mueller says.

Designed by Kitchen Encounters, the enlarged kitchen features abundant cabinetry and plenty of workspace arranged around a seven-and-a-half-by-six-foot island. Designer Melissa McLay, who spearheaded the interiors, conceived its clean, crisp palette, which combines white custom cabinetry with pops of blue in a tile mosaic above the stovetop and on the island, painted in Benjamin Moore’s Van Deusen Blue. Just steps away, the pantry offers additional workspace, with ample storage and countertops and a wall of shallow shelves tailored specifically to spices and other cooking needs. In the updated laundry room, a new window provides symmetry to the home’s front façade.

The redo also called for replacing a 14-by-17-foot screened side porch with a water-facing family room boasting two walls of windows. “Most 20th-century homes built on the water weren’t really situated to take advantage of the view,” observes Cook. “They were oriented toward the street. Now we craft views to the water.” A 14-foot-tall cathedral ceiling built on site by Mueller Homes gives the space a sense of drama; it’s covered in shiplap and embellished with poplar beams in a decorative scissor-truss pattern.

When it came time to choose furniture and finishes, McLay followed her clients’ mandate to create a coastal cottage feel and complement the water views. She purchased new furnishings with clean, classic lines and selected neutral upholstery, with pops of color in the couple’s favored blue and green. “The home has a fresh, traditional look that feels relaxed,” she notes. 

Further visual interest comes through varied patterns in window treatments and eye-catching accents; McLay incorporated textured fabrics, woven materials in wood tones and brass fixtures that complement new white oak floors. “All the walls and millwork are white, so I balanced that out and added warmth,” she says. “The entire space is fun, happy and welcoming.”

The homeowners are delighted with their finished abode. “We wanted to create a seamless integration of outdoors and indoors,” says the husband, “so that wherever you are in the house, you can see the river or gardens and trees.” Mission accomplished.

If you build it, surely they will come.

That was the thinking behind Dede and Bobby Hunter’s plan to create an alluring gathering spot for their expanding family. With the couple’s three adult children now settled in Richmond and having kids of their own, the Hunters realized their primary residence nearly 300 miles away in Tazewell, Virginia, was not ideally situated for frequent meet-ups.

“We knew we wanted to be on the water and wanted a place our children could get to easily,” Dede says. “A place where we could all get together and enjoy being with one another.”

The Hunters now have that home in White Stone, Virginia, located at the end of a point with 270-degree views of Mosquito Creek, the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. When their son found the property’s online listing, they moved quickly. “We loved the lot immediately,” Dede recalls. “Bobby wanted a wide-open view of the bay and this property has water on all three sides.”

The design of their new, nearly 8,000-square-foot structure belies its size, thanks to a modern approach envisioned by architect Randall Kipp, who was hired for the job. Abundant windows provide views of the water from every room while distinct gathering spaces flow together in a seamless whole.

Before construction began, however, the architect had to overcome the challenge presented by the low-lying site. “We agreed we couldn’t build a house only four to five feet above sea level,” Kipp says. To provide a safeguard against flooding and maximize views, he constructed a plinth that would  form a new, elevated foundation for the eventual home. Made of engineered fill soil and close to an acre in size, it rises nearly seven feet above the original grade and is held in place by a combination of riprap and indigenous plantings. “Now, rather than a pancake level of topography,” Kipp muses, “you have a lovely undulation and great views.”

Before the Hunters could build the house of their dreams, they removed an existing home on site that was more than a century old. “It had low ceilings and didn’t have the windows and space we wanted,” Dede recalls.

When the time came to design the new structure, the couple had clear goals in mind, but gave Kipp the freedom to envision something dramatic. “We’re not really ‘modern’ people, but we wanted lots of windows so we knew we probably needed a modern design,” Dede explains. “We wanted it to be comfortable for everybody and didn’t care about spaces being formal.”

They also asked for high ceilings, easy circulation, plenty of fireplaces and “a private area for us,” Bobby adds.

Kipp set out to make their dreams a reality. “We worked really hard at composing this group of buildings, all connected, where each one has its own purpose,” the architect says, noting the influence of an old Tidewater aesthetic that embodies “a firm, stout hold on the earth,” with clean lines and spare details.

“We twisted and turned and bent [the design] to get the proper alignment of views,” he adds. “There are as few walls as we could muster. The goal was to create spaces, not rooms.”

The heart of the home contains the kitchen and an adjacent dining area that leads to a vaulted-ceiling great room with a television and a fireplace. A screened porch—with its own two-sided fireplace, sitting and eating areas and an outdoor kitchen—is accessed via a 60-foot-long wall of La Cantina sliding doors. A second 40-foot-long wall of sliding doors leads to the pool and deck.

Ensuite bedrooms are thoughtfully placed throughout the home’s three connected pavilions, as Kipp calls them, designed at various levels to create visual interest and signal hierarchy. Three bedrooms are located above the kitchen, reached via an open staircase in the foyer. The primary suite occupies the first level, separate from the hustle and bustle of river life, and has its own study and private porch. “The primary suite is the one space in the house that is quiet and private,” Kipp says.

Adjacent to the great room, the bunkhouse pavilion boasts a caregiver suite on the main level while upstairs, a children’s zone comes complete with six built-in beds, two trundles, sitting and play areas, a mini-kitchen and a full bath. (When the design process began in 2018, there were two grandchildren; now there are six.)

The home’s modern design is softened by deliberate touches. Steel interior beams are wrapped in white cedar for warmth. Outside the many windows, native grasses and plantings around the exterior perimeter sound an organic note.

Reflecting on the completed home’s 21st-century take on local vernacular, Kipp remarks, “Modern architecture is alive and well in rural America. I think people are genuinely tired of living in boring, nondescript, center-hall Colonials. This is a very livable house.”

The Hunters describe their new escape as “heaven on earth,” noting that the transitional interiors and comfortable furniture, envisioned by Kipp Architecture in-house designer Lauren Davenport, are just what they requested.

Meanwhile, the house is such a hit that the couple has an occupancy schedule for their adult children, who each visit one weekend per month. Of course, the elder Hunters have visiting rights whenever they like. Their favorite time? That’s easy, says Dede Hunter. “In the winter, we can sit in our study, have the fireplace going and look both ways at the water. It’s our happy place.”

Architecture & Landscape Architecture: Randall Kipp, AIA, NCARB; Interior Design: Lauren Davenport, Randall Kipp Architecture, Inc., Irvington, Virginia. Landscape Contractor: Green Planters Landscape & Garden Center, Hayes, Virginia. Builder: The Allen Group, Inc., Urbanna, Virginia.  

Byron Risdon traces his earliest design inspirations not to the shelter magazines his mother brought home, but to publications filled with building schematics. Now, those were something special. “I liked home-planning books,” recalls the designer. “I would recreate, alter or take inspiration from the designs and make my own floor plans.” Decades later, Risdon has put this prowess to good use in the 945-square-foot apartment in DC’s Brookland neighborhood that he calls home.

Risdon admits he didn’t have time to finish decorating his apartment until, after living there for two years, he decided to photograph it for his website. “I’m always last on the list,” he laughs.

He set out to create an environment that is both soothing and crisp. Every inch of the abode serves a specific purpose. Classic furnishings in subtle colors offset bold artwork mixed with wood and metal accents that convey a sense of warmth. “I would say my design aesthetic is tailored and clean, but I like to mix things up,” Risdon says. “I look for objects that will serve the necessary purpose but also things I want to see every day. It’s about how you want a room to feel. If a piece of furniture means something to you, then go with it.”

That ethos guides his approach. Most of his furnishings—from online auction purchases to flea market finds and client cast-offs—are vintage, one-of-a-kind treasures. He acquired the Biedermeier dining table years ago for $200 from Hudson Valley Auctions. The living room console is vintage Romweber, found at Kamelot Auctions in Philadelphia. And he discovered his bedroom dresser, a mid-century T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings piece, on eBay and bought it for $800—a fraction of its current worth.

“I like things that have a story, that have some age to them,” Risdon observes. “I select things I love, and I’m not afraid of mixing styles. This doesn’t mean everything works well together, but it all fits into my aesthetic and life.”

He also likes to burnish a diamond in the rough. When a client passed up an end table—its painted glass top appeared different than expected—the designer saw its potential for his own apartment. So he bought a second one, replaced the tops of both with mirrored glass, then added lower shelves stained just the right shade. “I needed something narrow and long to relate to the depth of my sofa, and these landed in my lap,” he recalls. “The bones were there, but I didn’t like the execution. I thought, ‘I can change these.’”

As Risdon sees it, it’s all about having a plan. “People think a designer can come in with a magic wand and make something out of nothing, or that we have a secret society with access to inexpensive items of really great quality,” he says. “That doesn’t exist. It takes a lot of planning and time.” He urges clients to let their homes evolve rather than rushing the process. “Don’t just jump in,” he advises. “There are some things you need, but take a little time to figure out what you want.”

Case in point: Risdon’s own home, which has come together as his business has grown. The second bedroom initially doubled as a home office and guest quarters, but the designer soon realized he needed a dedicated work area. So he transformed the room into an office, “literally over a weekend,” he says. As business surged again in the spring of 2021, it was time to make another change. “My home office was organized and worked very well, but productivity started to go down because I was working at home all the time,” Risdon reflects. “I needed separation.” He has since moved to an off-site design studio and reimagined his former office solely as a haven for guests.

For Risdon, his home is an expression of his innate sense of style. “I always say I don’t want someone else’s interpretation of how to live,” he avers. “I want something that fits me.”

Interior Design: Byron Risdon, Byron Risdon LLC, Washington, DC. 

RESOURCES

GENERAL
Draperies: pindler.com, kerryjoyce.com. Drapery Fabrication: Essence Interiors.

LIVING AREA
Sofa: johnbooneinc.com. Sofa & Pillow Fabric: pindler.com. Throw on Sofa: blackpepperpaperie.com. Wood-Framed Chairs: Vintage. Wood-Framed Chair Fabric: romo.com. Coffee Tables: cb2.com. Rug: carpetpalace-usa.com. Console Opposite Sofa: Vintage. Art above Console: Jamie Karff through sloansandkenyon.com. Table Lamp: foxmillco.com. White-Framed Abstract: William Radawec through graysauctioneers.com. Floor Lamps: vintage through quinnsauction.com. Side Table Mirror Top: chevychaseglass.com.

DINING AREA
Table: vintage Biedermeier through hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com. Chairs: vintage Parsons through clarkeny.com. Chair Fabric: belgianlinen.com. Mirror: vintage James Mont. Shelf: ikea.com. Light Fixture: capitallightingfixture.com.

OFFICE
Desk Units: cb2.com. Shelving: ikea.com. Cane Chairs: Vintage by Marcel Breuer.

BEDROOM
Bedstead Fabric: pindler.com. Bedstead Fabrication: Essence Interiors. Bedding: frette.com; westelm.com. Art above Bedstead: Jacob Semiatin. Throw on Bed: vintage. Bedside Tables & Lamps: vintage. Gray Wing Chair: fourhands.com. Gray Wing Chair Fabrication: bdesignandall.com. Art above Gray Chair: Dean Dass. Dresser: vintage Robsjohn-Gibbings.

A quaint riverfront retreat in Virginia’s Northern Neck is both exactly—and not at all—as it appears. First-time visitors will note thoughtfully placed windows flanking the front door, a weathered-shingle hipped roof and clapboard siding in a sage color designed to merge with its surroundings. The impression is of a well-maintained, century-old cottage.

However, that’s only part of the story. The Montross dwelling was actually built in the 1980s as an easy and affordable shared getaway for Judy and Dusty, a couple who live in Arlington and originally shared the property with a friend. The trio had found the perfect lot with Potomac River views after vacationing in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and Judy and Dusty decided to put skills they’d previously developed flipping houses to good use by building their own.

The duo—Dusty was a teacher and Judy worked in publishing—conceived a Cape/Colonial hybrid with simple lines and 2,600 square feet spread over three stories. “We wanted to give a nod to history,” Judy says, noting the nearby birthplaces of George Washington and James Monroe.

The modest façade masks three full levels, with the lower floor built into the hillside behind the house. The main floor encompasses the kitchen, half-bath, sitting and dining rooms and rear deck. Four bedrooms are divided equally between the upper and lower floors; each pair of bedrooms enjoys a river view and a shared hall bath.

With construction completed, Judy focused on the interiors, keeping budget and practicality at the fore. “We didn’t want a fussy house where you couldn’t sit down with a wet bathing suit,” she explains.

Her scavenger-hunt approach yielded items found during past renovation projects and at nearby vintage shops. She clad the walls in rough-hewn exterior siding, painted in Shell White by Sherwin-Williams. White oak flooring is the perfect backdrop for jute, sisal and woven rugs, easily moved for cleaning. Oversized windows dressed in pleated shades let in the view. Pops of color come from accent pillows, bright rugs and cuttings from Judy’s flower garden. Furnishings rarely change, she says, except for the upholstered pieces “because they do take a beating.”

Eventually, Dusty earned his contractor’s license while Judy left her job and began taking design courses. An internship introduced her to designer Melanie Whittington, who became a close friend and—after Whittington launched her own firm and hired Judy—a colleague for 10 years. When Whittington and her husband purchased their own Northern Neck property, the designers began consulting each other. “We always collaborate on our houses down there,” Whittington says.

With help from her friend, Judy (who has since retired) continued to develop the cottage’s collected aesthetic. “The house is a mix of old and new with lovely greenery and a balance of found objects with things that are modern and sleek,” Whittington relates. “It always looks fresh.”

The mix is evident in the foyer, where an antique cabinet and table share space with bamboo chairs from Kenian Fine Rattan Furniture. The dining room features a vintage cabinet and farmhouse table surrounded by mid-century-style chairs—plastic for practicality.

Found objects abound. One of the upstairs bedrooms showcases a headboard Judy fashioned out of foraged wood, while a stack of vintage suitcases serves as a de facto table. Another bedroom has a modern metal bed frame with stools that double as seating and storage. Every bedroom, in fact, is a quasi-public space. “Judy and Dusty rotate rooms,” says Whittington. “There’s no room that’s theirs.”

Thanks to its thoughtful floor plan, the house has never needed an addition or renovation, though the kitchen has been updated with new Ikea cabinets and bright chartreuse walls. Seat cushions, rugs and pillows are replaced as they become worn from regular use. “The house is loaned out all the time to friends; there’s always somebody coming and going,” Whittington explains. “There are dogs running in and out and wet feet. It’s a well-used house. Nothing is fragile.”

But there are surprises. The figure of a woman about to dive perched atop a coffee table. A floor lamp with a base of ship’s rope. A metal pig in the foyer welcoming guests. An antique iron bench in a bathroom. “In your own home, you get to choose things that make you happy,” Judy observes. “This is a house where you don’t have to take things too seriously.”

Interior Design: Melanie Whittington, Whittington Design Studio, McLean, Virginia. Styling: Charlotte Safavi.

From the street, the house in Richmond’s West End doesn’t appear to have changed much. It presents with matching roof gables and a deep, welcoming portico—but the roof height is the same as when it was built in 1952. In fact, the most obvious change is the enclosure of a sunroom, where glass walls have been replaced with wood.

But the interiors tell another tale. The home’s four levels—main, lower and two upper—originally were accessed through multiple stairways, none connected. At the rear of the house, an addition was placed at yet another elevation, not quite level with either the main floor or the lower floor.

Now, after a collaborative effort, the home has a central stair that unifies the living spaces, and an expansion on the main and uppermost floors that took the home from 3,100 to nearly 5,000 square feet.

Then-prospective homeowners, Brian and Taylor (who withheld their last names for privacy) were ready to begin when they toured the house for the first time with their real estate agent and builder, Jordan Hutchins of Spruce Construction. “Taylor had a graph with options A, B and C,” Brian recalls.

After purchasing the home, they turned to architect Chuck Carbonaro of Island Architects to make their vision a reality. “Taylor and Brian were unique in how well they understood what they wanted,” Carbonaro says. “They knew from the get-go.”

The couple’s wish list included an updated kitchen and a modern owners’ suite, the architect relates, “plus large, open spaces connected to each other and the outdoors. They also wanted quiet, disconnected spots away from where they entertain. They have small children and understand that they will grow to be larger children who will want to entertain their own friends when they are older.”

After several design drafts, Carbonaro suggested two significant alterations: a single staircase to unify the interior and a two-story expansion that would accommodate a new family room and kitchen on the ground floor and primary bedroom, bathroom and his-and-her closets upstairs. Modifications on the lower level updated the spare bedroom and bathroom and added a wine cellar. Two bedrooms on the second floor stayed in place while the former primary bedroom was enlarged.

Taylor recalls thinking it would be “crazy” to go to the trouble of creating a new staircase, but trusted the architect’s vision. “It was something we had never considered, but once it was suggested, it blew our minds with what we saw,” she recounts. “It gave us the space to do it right.”

The new switchback staircase anchors the foyer beneath a ceiling that reaches 18 feet at its highest point; wainscoting adds character. “The foyer was a really nice opportunity,” agrees Carbonaro, noting that Taylor suggested raising the ceiling height. “When we moved the original ceiling, we discovered it wasn’t necessary to maintain support.”

Also on the main level, the front parlor was repurposed as a playroom with windowed pocket doors. The former sunroom is now a high-ceilinged office, clad in HardiePlank lap siding to match the dwelling’s exterior. Interior designer Jessica Williamson, principal of JTW Design, added a touch of glam in the dining room, wrapped in lustrous Phillip Jeffries Tailored Linens wall covering and velvet drapes.

The first floor also includes a generous mudroom and an open-plan kitchen that connects seamlessly to the family room. The kitchen sports a 10-foot island, illuminated by Rejuvenation fixtures, perfect for large gatherings. “We wanted it to be inviting, and a place everyone would be naturally drawn to,” Taylor says.

In nods to the home’s history, the addition features two arched doorways that echo an arch on the front façade. In the family room, an original brick exterior wall, painted white, anchors shelving and cupboards; a custom bar, backed by antique glass, was a special request by Brian. The fireplace surround was custom-made by Spruce Construction.

Except in the dining room, walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, a crisp, clean white. “Because we have so many levels and rooms to this house, one of the ways to pull it together was to create a unified, monochromatic view throughout,” Taylor says.

Williamson worked with the couple early in the process to create vision boards for the entire home, then returned to assist Taylor, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child during construction. “They had a strong original vision,” Williamson says. “We honed it for clarity and consistency.”

Natural accents of deep gray, camel and ochre are placed against a “soothing, neutral backdrop,” the designer notes, pointing to the couple’s growing art collection for pops of color. “We wanted to create character that would be in keeping with the traditional nature of the home.”

Hutchins agrees. “It was really hard to visualize what the house would become,” he says. “Now, if you walked in for the first time you wouldn’t know where the old house was. As I’ve joked with Chuck Carbonaro, it’s an example of how all houses have hope.”

Renovation Architecture: Chuck Carbonaro, RA, Island Architects. Richmond, Virginia. Interior Design: Jessica Williamson, JTW Design, Richmond, Virginia. Renovation Contractor: Jordan Hutchins, Spruce Construction, Richmond, Virginia.

DRAWING BOARD
What’s the secret to a successful renovation?
Chuck Carbonaro, architect: Keep a journal of what you like and dislike about your current space, friends’ homes, etc. Share that with your design professional and be prepared for a conversation about whether your home can meet your ideals and where you’re willing to compromise.

How do you arrive at a realistic budget?
Jordan Hutchins, builder: Renovations take many twists and turns. It’s good to be flexible with design and expect surprises. Set funds aside for contingency costs (usually five percent of the total budget) and expect that to be spent.

Explain how you instill a redo with personality. 
Jessica Williamson, interior designer: Making a home feel personal is about helping clients identify what matters most to them. Once we get past functional needs and the desired look, we infuse spaces with what makes clients smile. We think about everything from shelving for a beloved collection to making sure art they love is on display.