Every year since 2009, the Shelter for Help in Emergency has hosted its Design House event, taking a local home that’s on the market and transforming it with the assistance of some of Charlottesville’s best interior designers, landscape designers and local vendors. Proceeds from tours of the home benefit the nonprofit, which provides safe environments for survivors of domestic violence. This year, however, SHE is changing its format, opening a Design House every other year rather than annually.
“The decision to move the Design House to an alternate year format is one that we have been contemplating for some time,” says SHE fundraising and development coordinator Sarah Ellis. “We wanted to establish the event in the Charlottesville community and have gone all out putting it on each year.”
While you’ll have to wait until spring of 2018 to enjoy the next event (which Ellis says will be “even bigger and better” than before), Natural Retreats’ Bundoran Farm is providing an alternate opportunity.
The 2,300-acre rural community in Albemarle (and the site of the 2015 Southern Living Idea House) is offering Derry Cottage, its recently completed five-bedroom, four-bathroom show home, for tours April 1-15, Wednesday to Sunday. It’s not an official SHE Design House, but proceeds will benefit the nonprofit.
You’ll see the handiwork of a few familiar faces: Green Mountain Construction designed and built the modern farmhouse, Javier Becerra handled the landscaping and Wendi Smith, founder of Leftover Luxuries, oversaw the interior design, pulling in wares from local vendors like Patina Antiques, The Shade Shop, Yves Delorme and Blanc Creatives (among others!) to complete each room.
Tickets, available at the door, are $20 per tour. For more information, visit explorebundoranfarm.com.
