Herndon

Addition + renovation

Sheltered under the tall oaks of the Rugby Hills neighborhood in Charlottesville, Herndon began as a classic 1940s Cape Cod. Its cellular floor plan was at odds with the lifestyle of its owners; one of dinner parties and backyard barbecues where friends abound. The house's saving grace: a small side porch that fostered a casual dialog with passing neighbors. The spirit of those exchanges served as the core design inspiration for the house’s addition. The porch was replaced with a spacious kitchen designed to handle the spectrum of demands on the modern kitchen (daily meals, homework and science experiments at the island, and large gatherings) while maintaining the visual connection to the pedestrian street.

Taking advantage of the site's gently sloping topography, the kitchen sits 18-inches below the main house, enhancing the connection to the pedestrian street and providing an experiential threshold reminiscent of mid-century conversation pits between old and new.

Lined with countertop-to-ceiling casement windows, the kitchen fenestration harkens back to the original porch and, when open, preserve the casual dialog between cook and passerby. Cantilevers wrapped in oiled cypress rainscreen hold cabinetry and appliances on the interior, maximizing space for mingling while minimizing the footprint of the foundation.

An existing structural inadequacy discovered during the renovation necessitated the use of an exposed column. Delicately detailed and constructed of hot rolled steel and walnut, the column effortlessly serves its structural purpose while stylishly marking the entrance to the second floor. 

Living spaces were optimized by peeling back unnecessary walls, enhancing the visual and physical connections of adjoining rooms and allowing natural light to penetrate deep into the house. The bright and airy interior sports walls in a subtle wash of gray, bleached oak floors, and a contrasting palette of walnut that marks moments of transition and compression. 

The bathrooms were reconfigured to enhance function and treated in calm, spa-like tones with contrasting textures that maximize shadow play on the surfaces. Vintage credenzas were modified to serve as vanities, adding a warm, tailored touch to the spaces.

A touch of whimsy and playfulness was incorporated into the little’s bathroom using contrasting tile and grout. Above the white wainscoting, the mint-colored grout marries perfectly with the blue-green mosaic tile. Within the field of white tile below, however, the colorful grout lines create a matrix of lines nodding toward Legos and Rubik’s cubes.

The primary bedroom was extended into the roof of the addition creating a cozy sleeping nook and introducing southern light into the space. Flanking the sleeping space, built-in bookcases were installed into the voids between the roof trusses.

Outside, Pray Design Associates were engaged to create a landscape for outdoor living and entertaining. Informed by the existing terrain and architecture, a series of bluestone terraces were designed to house various functions: an outdoor kitchen, a small herb and vegetable garden, a dining area, an outdoor fireplace, and home for a wood-burning hot tub.

Corten steel elements punctuate the design, mirroring the colors of the house and drawing the inhabitant through the multiple layers of modern hardscape and lush plantings.

A grotto-like area shrouded in ferns and blooming trees serves as the terminus for the landscape in the form of a board-formed concrete arc excavated into the rising topography and echoing the form of the wood-burning hot tub within.