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Shed of One’s Own

Build a backyard refuge with Studio Shed. Cabin fever? Consider the Studio Shed, a grown-up version of the backyard playhouse. These prefabricated units are right-sized for offices, exercise studios, guestrooms, or music rooms. Choose from ready-to-ship models or customize your mini-oasis with floor plans ranging from 96-1,000 square feet, with optional kitchenettes […]

by Vayda Parrish

Ladies Who Launch

The Garden Club of Virginia gets things done. For nearly eight decades, its Historic Garden Week has helped to revive properties both celebrated and forgotten.

by christine ennulat

Urban Salon

More than 250 homes statewide will be open for Historic Garden Week April 17-25—including the 1861 Yarbrough house in Richmond’s Church Hill. By design “neither nicer nor worse than” the identical house next door, today it is fully restored, full of

by neely dykshorn barnwell

Mix and Match

The Federal-style home in the middle of Carrington Row was considered sleek and modern when it was built in 1818—and, thanks to its current owner, it’s still very much so today.

by erin parkhurst

A Groovy Greek Revival

Smithsonia, a brick manse in Fredericksburg, has been a girls’ orphanage, a wartime hospital and more. Now it’s a chic mix of old world and new—fitting décor for the fashionable lady of the house.

by neely dykshorn barnwell

Visions of Sugarplums

Topiaries add live ornamentation to your lively holiday decor.

by brown steers paula

Soul-Warming Fruit

Hard to find and tricky to eat, the persimmon is deeply connected to rustic holiday food traditions. Head for fields and woodlands—and look up! (Photo by Tyler Darden) My first encounter with the persimmon, one year ago, was a stumble—a lucky find. A small portion of our land had been cleared, and […]

by gerlach tracey crehan

Safe Harbor

A lighthouse home in Urbanna is both fun and beautiful, with 360-degree views, an impressive collection of furniture and art—and a working 650-pound light once stationed at the entrance to Perth Harbor in Australia. Photography by Gwenaël Berthy

by hubbard valerie

Through the Gates

Since its restoration, Lynchburg’s Old City Cemetery has become one of the most popular spots in the city—a parklike expanse with some 20,000 graves, five museums and gardens that attract families of the deceased and tourists alike.

by bland crowder

Nature, History, Harmony

Kendale, a 2,500-acre estate on the Rappahannock River, is a tranquil refuge with meadows, cornfields and flowers of every hue surrounding a modernized family farmhouse. In the great room—the flowers were picked from the wildflower meadow. “We invite anyone who plays to have fun with music here,” says Harrison Wellford of the music room. […]

by anne-ryan heatwole

What’s New Is Old Again

Compass Pointe is a rustic—and Romanesque—house on the water in Virginia Beach. Photography by Kip Dawkins • Styling by Bill Sorrell

by wright ann

Presidential Frame

Sherwood Forest, the longest frame house in America, was owned by the country’s 10th president, John Tyler. Today, the former president’s grandson live in the house, having meticulously restored it to its 19th-century glory.

by wright ann

A “Personal Masterpiece”

In 1986, a nonprofit set out to restore Thomas Jefferson’s private retreat, Poplar Forest. Now a sizeable chunk of Jefferson’s original plantation is again intact, and the main house’s exterior has been returned to its original glory.

by Richard Ernsberger Jr.

Mansion with a Motto

Among the homes on Richmond’s Westover Avenue is a yellow Indiana brick home that, with its grand foyer and expansive garden, is a beautiful residential retreat.

by hubbard valerie

A Gentleman’s Guide to Vegetables

Williamsburg’s early American nursery replicates an 18th-century kitchen garden. Though labor was scarce and summers were brutal, colonists found timeless techniques for growing a variety of produce.

by brown steers paula

Geometric Beauty

A Lake Anna modern is all angular elegance on a lakeside peninsula. Paul Warchol Photography by Maxwell MacKenzie and Paul Warchol Spool along three-digit state roads, through the hills that line the shores of Virginia’s Lake Anna, and the scenery becomes a predictable mélange of docks and boat trailers parked at […]

by hubbard valerie

Ahead of Her Time

Mary Johnston’s huge Colonial Revival estate in Warm Springs reflects her independent streak. (Photography by Philip Beaurline) (This article was originally published in April 2008; some information may not be up-to-date. It is now owned by Jarek Mika, The Three Hills) The first woman novelist to hit the New York Times bestseller […]

by Mollie Cox Bryan

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Events

June 8, 2025

An Afternoon with Yo-Yo Ma; Reflections in Words and Music

Chrysler Hall

June 8, 2025

Jesus Christ Superstar

Workhouse Arts Center

June 9, 2025

2nd Sundays Williamsurg

Downtown Williamsburg

A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

Virginia Scenic Railway Adds Dome Car for Spectacular Valley Views The popular Virginia Scenic Railway just upped its game with a vintage dome car offering breathtaking 360° views of the Shenandoah Valley. The “Shenandoah”—built in 1948 as the “Silver Palace” for the California Zephyr—now gives passengers an unmatched vantage point on three-hour excursions from Staunton. […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Eight Virginia schools received the National Blue Ribbon 2024 award for their high performances. The Exemplary High Performing Schools are Spring Hill Elementary in McLean, Green Run Collegiate in Virginia Beach, Bethel Manor Elementary in Hampton, and St. Andrew the Apostle School in Clifton. The Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are Central Academy Middle […]

by Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

In Colonial America, a grand garden was the ultimate status symbol—the 18th century equivalent of a Lamborghini. So when archaeologists at Colonial Williamsburg uncovered John Custis IV’s property, they struck horticultural gold: the remains of a football field-sized garden alongside his Jacobean manor house. Custis, a tobacco magnate and Martha Washington’s first father-in-law, went all […]

by Madeline Mayhood

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A New Experience at the Virginia Scenic Railway

The U.S. DOE Labeled These Virginia Schools Outstanding

Williamsburg Archaeologists Uncover Secret Garden

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