Wedding photos can be formal or casual, posed or of the moment. Or you can step into the booth…
Kyle Kirkeide turned his own wedding guest experience into The Photobooth Company. “I went to my sister’s wedding in Florida in 2011, and they had a photo booth set up,” he recalls. “Afterwards, I started thinking about it—my wife had left her job, we had young kids. I thought it was great idea for Charlottesville—we have so many events and weddings here. I found a company to get the equipment, and started out doing events at UVA [his alma mater].”
A decade later, Kirkeide’s idea for a side hustle now handles about 60 events a year (“roughly one a week”). About half of them are weddings.
One of the things that makes The Photobooth Company perfect for weddings, in Kirkeide’s view, is that “we customize the whole thing to what you want.” The company offers two set-up options: the traditional booth, where people go in and sit before the camera (“although our booths allow for a much closer shot”), and a more open setup with an 8’x8′ customized backdrop.
For each “sitting,” guests get photos printed on a strip customized for the big day. The booth produces copies for the guests, and an extra one for the newlyweds. “Then we bind all the photos together into a scrapbook for the couple—many of them use also use it as a guest book and have people sign,” says Kirkeide. The couple also gets a digital version.
It’s your day, so if you want formal photos, The Photobooth can produce them. If your wedding leans more to the causal and creative, you can have that too—with a wide range of props and costume items that the company provides. “We end up doing props for most of our events,” Kirkeide says. “People like that, and it can be something that fits with your wedding theme—or it can be your university, or people’s pets.” (And, in case you’re worried about posterity, there’s a television monitor in which guests can check how they look before the camera snaps.)
What makes photo booths so popular? Kirkeide thinks part of the appeal is “a bit of nostalgia” for the days before a camera/phone in your pocket. A photo booth also provides a memento for both guests and the couple, without anyone having to worry about carrying a camera, getting everyone in the selfie, or finding someone willing to take “just one shot for us.”
“Kids love photo booths,” Kirkeide says—a real benefit for anyone who has tried to keep youngsters entertained or get reluctant adolescents into a family photo. “And this gives guests something to do—not everyone wants to dance, so during the music they can come play around in the booth. There are always a few guests who are really enthused about it, and bring other people over.”
Pricing for a wedding is in the $800-900 range for a four-hour rental, says Kirkeide, depending on the guest count and the distance to the venue. Because it is a side business, and there are busy wedding months, Kirkeide prefers a few weeks’ notice to help in scheduling and producing custom graphics.
Then, once the big day comes, all you have to do is smile for the camera.
When it comes to weddings, sustainability is always in. Thrifting centerpieces, upcycling a secondhand gown, and asking for charitable donations in lieu of gifts (do you really need that new set of silver?) are just a few easy swaps you can make that will have the planet—and your wallet—thanking you. To help you get started, wedding planner Marilyn Speight of Just a Little Ditty shares her green tips on everything from food to flowers.—Maeve Hayden
The big question: How can I make my wedding more eco-friendly?
From Marilyn Speight: Sustainability is an incredibly important factor in event planning. Reducing the effect of a celebration on the environment is crucial when navigating a typically high-waste moment like a one-off party. No matter the area or scale, there are so many ways you can be sustainable that are intentional and thoughtful, while still designing a moment that meets your vision. Here are a few areas we consider when trying to make our client’s weddings and events more eco-friendly.
Food & beverage
Here, we really lean into your catering team. Focusing on local or seasonal food and beverages is huge. We’re lucky to live in the heart of Virginia wine country, so many weddings we produce are connected to or take place at vineyards. Serving wine to your guests that was created on-site is about as sustainable as you can get.
Plated dinners require less food than a station or buffet approach. If your goal is to produce less, this is often the way to go. Sometimes, we’ve also been able to donate leftovers to homeless shelters (make sure to check your local health codes).
Florals & décor
The majority of floral designers we work with takes great strides to source their flowers locally, which reduces travel and shipping impacts. We’ve also had couples who incorporate potted plants instead of fresh-cut blooms. From orchids to herbs, there are so many gorgeous options that can be easily reused or transplanted into soil after the shindig is over. That’s always a top goal with any floral approach—to repurpose as much as possible on-site and then give them a second life post-event.
As for other décor, using a solid rental company is one of the No. 1 ways you can positively impact the carbon footprint of your big day. Buying 200 new chargers that you’ll use one time, versus renting that same charger from a company, is inherently sustainable.
Gifts
Welcome or celebration gifts for your guests are one of our favorite ways to show hospitality, and be environmentally conscious. Reusable items made of quality materials go a long way. Fabric bags over paper, glass bottles over plastic, minimal packaging over all the bells and whistles. You can make a big impression on your guests while keeping your impact on nature small.
From the outside, Reid’s Super-Save Market looks like what it is—a mom-and-pop grocery and Charlottesville institution that’s been serving the neighborhoods along Preston Avenue for decades. The store was in the news last winter, as the community rallied to help it survive changing demographics, post-COVID supply challenges, and inflation hitting food prices hard.
But for foodies in the know, Reid’s has always been a mecca for those who love their meats. What makes Reid’s stand out? It’s one of the few places in the Charlottesville area that has its own butchers.
“We’ve always been known for our meat department,” says operations manager Billy Clements, who’s been working at Reid’s for more than 35 years (his wife Sue and her sister took over the store after their father’s death). “Most stores have moved away from fresh-cut meat. But here, that’s what draws people in.”
The meat department takes up the store’s entire back wall, with packed shelves of carnivore’s delights. Its beef offerings run from minute steaks and ground-in-store hamburger to New York strip, T-bones, filets, and every cut in between; “we sell a lot of carne asada,” notes Sue. Long-time butchers Domingo (15-plus years at Reid’s) and Robert (at least 10 years) are happy to have customers call ahead to get their meat cut to order. “You want your steak two inches thick? No problem,” says Billy.
As for pork, Reid’s offers cuts from the head to the toes—literally; “we sell everything but the squeal,” in Billy’s words. If you’re craving pork loin or short ribs, great; or you can pick up some pig’s knuckles, hog maws, trotters, or pig’s ears. And when you can’t find a Kite’s Virginia ham anywhere in town, Reid’s stocks them.
If you’re shopping for chicken, look over a good 8 feet of shelf space, with everything from roasters to wings and feet (if you’re into dim sum). Sue Clements says the poultry comes pre-cut, but Reid’s packages all its meats in store.
Reid’s gets fresh fish delivered once a week, but its selection doesn’t compare to the acres of meat. One of the hard lessons Sue has learned is that while the grocery business used to be about options, “people don’t shop the way they used to.” She’s working to cut back to a smaller number of low-, mid-, and higher-price options for the staples her customers need. “We’re trying to serve all the genres of our neighborhood,” she says. The shelf labels letting shoppers know what’s eligible for SNAP benefits will stay, and so will the butchers behind the counter.
The Clementses are committed to keep meat and produce the heart of the store, which serves an area of town that would otherwise be a food desert. And it’s appreciated. Long-time customer Norman Lamson, who has shopped at Reid’s for more than 30 years, says, “I live five minutes away—I would rather get everything there than [run around town] trying to save money. And Reid’s has the best meats in town.”
Gordon Sutton agrees. Sutton is president of Tiger Fuel, which owns The Market across the street from Reid’s and donated to the GoFundMe page customers set up to support the store.
“I live downtown, and I shop there all the time,” he says. “The people are really friendly and service-oriented. It’s one of the few places that has an old-school butcher.” Sutton especially appreciates that service; he’s a hunter, and says he stops by Reid’s to get fat trimmings for his ground venison.
They say everything moves slower in the islands. But that does not include chef Jonathan Wright Jr., who’s been serving Caribbean fusion out of his 434th Street restaurant and catering group since 2020. From his first jobs in fast food, to early mornings at City Market, to long days in a manufacturing plant, Wright’s been on the move since he was a teenager.
The hard work paid off on January 7, when he officially launched his Caribbean concept in a permanent Dairy Market location. Last month, the chef took some time out of his busy day to tell Knife & Fork all about the move, his family’s culinary traditions, and what’s next.
Knife & Fork: How has business been in your first few months?
Wright: It’s been really consistent for the last five weeks. I’ve seen some great new faces along with my regulars from the last three years. I started this concept at the City Market in 2020, right in the middle of the pandemic.
Where were you before that?
For the past 20-plus years I’ve been in a lot of kitchens around Charlottesville. I started when I was 14 or 15 in fast food restaurants and just worked my way up the charts. After fast food, it was Red Robin and Ruby Tuesday. Then I moved to Farmington Country Club and Boar’s Head. Then in 2019, I took a job in advanced manufacturing at Emerson. I was succeeding in that, but it got slow, and I was laid off.
That’s an impressive resume.
I’m mostly self-taught, but there were most definitely some great people along the way. The other piece of my background is that my grandmother was the head chef at Martha Jefferson House in the ’80s and ’90s. She also worked at a restaurant called La Hacienda in Charlottesville. According to some people, she was the first woman head chef in any kitchen in town. She died in 1990, three years before I was born, but we always had that family tradition of gathering in the kitchen—from her and from my other grandmother.
What got you into Caribbean food?
I was born and raised in Earlysville. My dad’s side is from West Virginia, and my mom’s is from here. I saw that we didn’t have that type of cuisine here, and I knew I was capable of cooking it well. Caribbean flavors and cuisines inspire me. I love traveling to the Caribbean, and every time I go I discover something new. I took the Caribbean main dishes and a lot of the curries and island spice and incorporated that with Southern American side dishes like mac and cheese and greens. That’s where the “Virginia twist” on my sign comes in.
How does the Dairy Market scene compare to what you had been doing?
It’s actually the same type of setting but with no 4am wake up calls and a parking lot. The move wasn’t really in my plans, but people wanted it. Demand was high, people got familiar with the food, the catering grew, I contracted with UVA for some things and met a lot of good people there. Everyone kept asking: “When are you going to have a location?” Dairy Market reached out and wanted to know if I wanted to be a vendor. We had a nice sit down, I cooked some food, and they loved it. But yeah, it’s a great environment. This is my first place, but they treat me like I am home. The owners and other vendors have greeted me with nothing but love and respect.
What are some of your favorites and bestsellers?
The seafood dishes—those are my favorite. The coconut curry seafood platter consists of whatever fresh fish I have as far as market price and availability. Right now, it’s red snapper, which is pan seared with shrimp and crab cake, mixed with the coconut curry sauce and accompanied by the island rice. But the number-one seller is oxtail. I’ve run through about 140 pounds of oxtail in a six-day week, and that was during the slow season. People also love the jerk dishes.
How is the oxtail prepared?
We season the oxtails and marinate them overnight, pan sear them, then after that, we slow braise them in the oven. Then I make a nice savory coconut gravy—a brown gravy with coconut and pineapple. They go absolutely perfectly together. That’s served with plantains and red beans and rice.
What’s the future look like for 434th Street and Chef Wright?
I’m very passionate about what I do. This is just a bonus; the thing that built the company the most is the catering. We did six weddings last year and want to do more this year, but it’s sporadic. At the Dairy Market, I have a staff of four, one full-time and three part-time. They’re all from different nationalities, genders, and ages. They have so much versatility. We’ve become a really strong team.
Charlottesville is well known as a foodie destination—not only because of its vibrant restaurant scene, but because of the well-loved gourmet groceries that make cooking at home (across myriad cultures and cuisines) easy and interesting. Put these family-owned international grocers—with ingredients from Africa, India, China, and beyond—on your must-visit list, and let the owners transport your plate and stretch your palate.
When Fred and Fatima moved to Charlottesville, none of the grocery stores had what they were looking for. Originally from Ghana, the couple couldn’t find any of the ingredients they needed to make the authentic, West African cuisine that tasted like home.
Their only option was packing up the car and road-tripping hours away to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and sometimes even New York to stock up on goods from African markets. With young kids, the drive got old fast.
“We were tired of traveling two and a half, four hours, sometimes more to get our produce and food,” says Fatima. “We had to take our kids and we were just tired of doing that. Looking around this community, we wanted to bring things—to bring a bit of us to the community.”
Photo: Eze Amos
In 2012, the couple opened African Market Place—their way of bringing home to Charlottesville. Housed in a small end-cap space on Commonwealth Drive, the shop’s shelves are full of fresh flavors, produce, and foods from all across Africa.
One of Market Place’s largest sections is dedicated to grains. According to Fatima, African breads are a must-try.
“They’re different, not as much sugar or preservatives,” she says. “Better.”
Beginners can start with a loaf of agege bread, a dense white bread from Nigeria, or a bag of Effie’s International pull-off rolls, made by an authentic African bakery in Alexandria. If you’re interested in getting your hands dirty and kneading your own dough, there are plenty of flour options to choose from.
Maskal teff flour can be used to make injera, a spongy Ethiopian flatbread, and there’s an entire shelf dedicated to varieties of fufu flour.
One of West Africa’s best-known dishes, fufu is a pounded, starchy side dish that can be made with cassava, plantain, cocoyam, and more. It pairs well with flavorful meats or soups.
If you’re new to African cuisine, or any international cuisine, shopping for it for the first time can be overwhelming. Soup is a great place to start.
Photo: Eze Amos
“When it’s cold, we Africans like soup,” says Fatima. “We can have palm soup, peanut soup, soup with cassava leaves. There’s a lot of different soups, it depends.”
Just come in with a general idea of what you want, and Fatima can help you round out your list. Stock up on the essentials, like palm oil (“We use it for everything,” she says.), herbs, spices, and Nina Groundnut Paste (African peanut butter, “No additives, it’s better.”), then pick your meats and veggies. There’s smoked dried fish, flavorful bone-in meats (“It has hard bones, it doesn’t fall apart in soup.”), jumbo snails (“Steam them first.”), massive African yams, and fresh cassava. It’s hearty, starchy, and, in the words of Fatima, “different. It’s better.”
On the way out, grab a bag of plantain chips or a box of McVitie’s Digestives for the road, and make sure to snag a bar or two of African black soap. It’s just better.
Is there anything more satisfying than a simmering bowl of homemade curry or masala?
We don’t think so. And Express Grocery Store probably has all the authentic ingredients you need to make a delicious meal inspired by your choice of South Asian cuisine.
The family-owned shop has been around for a while, but its current owner, Prashanna Sangroula, took over two years ago. Despite running a new business in the middle of the pandemic, Sangroula has been slowly working on expanding the shop’s offerings with the help of family member and longtime business partner Utsav Gautam.
“When we moved here there wasn’t really a store like it,” says Gautam. “We drove to northern Virginia to get our supplies.”
To save others from making the trek north, Express regularly gets shipments of fresh produce, and frequently rotates its stock to keep things novel for customers, who can find items from India, Nepal, Pakistan, and more.
If you have a hankering for curry, make sure to buy dal, rice, spices, paratha (an Indian flatbread), and your choice of meat—chicken, bone-in lamb, or goat, when it’s in stock. There are also plenty of authentic paneers if you want to go vegetarian, and seasonal veggies like pumpkin leaf, bathua saag, tori ko saag, and rukh tamatar.
Photo: Eze Amos
If it’s a frozen dinner kind of night, Express has you covered. Gautam keeps multiple freezers full of every kind of samosa imaginable, plus mattar paneer, chicken tikka masala, and pakoras.
Finish up your shopping with something to sip on and a sweet treat. Express stocks a nice selection of wines and Indian beers, including Taj Mahal, Flying Horse, and Haywards 5000, and has an impressive dessert selection. Sate your sweet tooth with some mango or falooda ice cream, chikki peanut brittle, punjabi cookies, or chocolate burfees.
The sweets—and the snacks—are favorites of UVA students, who get free delivery within a five-mile radius.
Gautam recommends the Kurkure chips, which come in flavors like masala munch, chilli chatka, and naughty tomato, and Maggi instant noodles, Express’ best-selling item.
Depending on the time of year, you might also find seasonal goods. In October, you can find everything you need for a Diwali celebration, including diyas, incense, and makhamali mala.
Milestone achievement
C’ville Oriental celebrates 30 years
In 1994, Xiaonan Wang and Hui Qiao moved to Charlottesville from California.
In California, the Asian community makes up more than 15 percent of the population, and Asian grocery stores are abundant. In Charlottesville in the ’90s—not so much.
“We realized we couldn’t find any Asian grocery stores,” says Qiao. “Coming from California, that was so inconvenient to the Asian community especially. We had to go to Richmond or D.C. to get our items.”
Wang and Qiao would drive far away to get basic items like vinegar and soy sauce. It’s an unfair experience that’s all too familiar for people of international cultures who move to C’ville. Qiao and Wang immediately started thinking of opening their own store.
“I just thought that this is a must,” says Qiao.
That same year they opened C’ville Oriental. Qiao had just started a job at UVA, so Wang took on the day-to-day operations.
“We started in a much smaller space and we just kept expanding and moved three times until our current location at Seminole Trail,” says Qiao. “This is our biggest space so far, and we like the location because of the parking and the space inside.”
The inside is a treasure trove of goods from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Thailand, India, and more. It’s easy to get lost in the aisles of savory sauces, sweet snacks, and fresh produce.
“[Customers] really like our fresh vegetables,” says Qiao. “We have about 20 different kinds of greens. It’s healthy, easy to cook, and cheap.”
Bok Choy, taro, and bean sprouts are a few of the veggies you’ll find, alongside plenty of meat and tofu options, and fun snacks like Pocky and mochi. Every week, Wang makes the drive to D.C. to pick up items a supplier can’t ship to Charlottesville.
“Originally, the store was for the Asian community, but now we have more and more Americans come in,” says Qiao. “Because of the University town, a lot of people have exposure to international cultures. They want to learn how to eat and cook.”
This year marks 30 years in business. Qiao, who recently retired from her UVA position, is now helping out more and more at the shop, which is open 365 days a year.
Qiao and Wang know first-hand how hard it can be to find specialty items, so they want to be there for C’ville residents whenever they need anything, big or small.
“We are very happy that we are able to help the community,” says Qiao. “We feel like we are a part of their life. We don’t have any days off because we feel that’s how important grocery stores are.”
Grand experiment
Mohammed Alazazi is taking his grocery biz one step at a time
Small business owners push hard to keep the gears of entrepreneurship moving and oiled, and Mohammed Alazazi is no exception.
Originally from Iraq, Alazazi doesn’t have a background in the grocery business—encouragement from his culture, wife, sons, and in-laws inspired him to represent and sell the food that feeds them. Hummus Grocery is his first business venture, and he spent a long time debating whether or not to open it.
“My wife supports me so much,” Alazazi says. “Without her, I wouldn’t be able to open this business—or do anything else.”
Alazazi brings most of the inventory from Michigan, where larger Middle Eastern distributors are thriving. He makes the trip—a 10-hour drive one way—once a month.
Hummus Grocery has been open for two years, selling varieties of Middle Eastern beverages, tahinis, spices, dry goods, frozen items. But the real showstoppers are his fresh hummus (obviously) and tabbouleh, which he plans to eventually expand into a full menu.
“Once I get the proper licenses I want to start selling sandwiches, like shawarma and falafel,” he says.
Considering the cost of commercial sinks and other equipment necessities as well as the time for a kitchen buildout, Alazizi is taking the time to learn about his business in the Charlottesville economy. “I’m going to start step by step,” he says. “I’m giving it my best.”—Christina Martin
Like plenty of other Wahoos, Landon Saks loved Charlottesville and stayed here for several years after graduation. Eventually, life took her to Aspen, Colorado, and her career keeps her traveling—but Saks still wanted a base in town and a gathering place for friends when she came back. So in 2021, she decided to make herself a haven here, a home away from home.
Fortunately for Saks, the stars came together. From her time in Charlottesville, she knew both builder Steve Nicholson and his wife, real estate agent Lorrie Nicholson. And when Lorrie listed a spec house that Steve had built on a small lot in Belmont, Saks says, “I bought the house sight unseen—I’d known Steve’s work for a long time, and appreciated his attention to detail.”
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
The three-story contemporary home was the perfect fit for Saks. Its small narrow lot meant little to no exterior landscaping or maintenance for her to worry about. The basement apartment could be rented to provide income, while the house’s convenient location meant it could also be rented or made available to friends and relations coming to Charlottesville for UVA events, weddings, graduation, etc. And it meant Saks got a lovely, light-filled space in which to play.
“It’s a contemporary design, so I wanted to bring in some warmth while keeping a clean look,” she says. “I wanted each room to feel unique.”
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
Fortunately, she also had a designer in mind. “I knew Jeannette Andamasaris—she has a great eye, and she likes to use texture,” Saks says. “I live in a very small space in Aspen—it was fun to have more space to work with.”
Andamasaris, a graduate of the Parsons School of Design, had run her own design firm, JAID Style, in Charlottesville for nine years, and in 2016, she founded architecture and interior design firm Studio Figure. When Saks got in touch, Andamasaris says she “knew [Saks] wanted a fun place to gather with her friends, I knew she loves the arts, and she wanted a bespoke feel to the interiors.”
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
Saks and Andamasaris got to work on the areas that Saks chose to adapt—the stairs were reimagined to be more of a design element, and custom cabinetry was built out in the closet. (And, in a story that will be familiar to any homebuyer, it turned out a roof leak meant a bit of reconstruction on the third floor.)
Then the interior design work began. Because Saks wanted the focal points of color in each room to come from the artwork she planned to select, the walls and furnishings lean heavily to neutrals and white—but “not too white,” says Andamasaris. There’s actually a light pink limewash up the main stairway, she points out, that becomes more saturated in Saks’ second-floor bedroom. The media room on the third floor is a deep, warm gray—walls, furnishings, carpet—which gives it a cozy den feel.
But there are also touches of whimsy. The small entry is wallpapered in blots and swirls of black, gray, and gold (a design called “Rorschach Diamond” by luxury wallpaper brand Timorous Beasties), and features a three-section walnut bench custom-made by local artisan Tate Pray, and a Luke Lamp Lighting fixture that resembles a lasso hanging on a hook. The first-floor powder room has Gucci wallpaper with life-size white herons on a pink background, and a pendant light that echoes the shape of the birds.
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
Andamasaris says all the lighting in the house was redone—“it’s a way to make the spaces more sculptural.” The track lighting up the stairwell was replaced with Bocci inset wall lights (more of a feature, and much easier to replace the bulbs). The seating area in the kitchen has a matte black metal wall fixture by Wo & We, with two arms that can provide soft, indirect lighting along the wall, or focus it down for reading recipes.
The most striking feature on the open-plan main floor, however, is another configuration of Luke Lamp Lighting ropes over the dining table. “These are amazing lights,” Andamasaris says. “They are completely customizable [in shape], they have dimmers so you can adjust the level, you can even put them under water.” In this area, the three rope lights provide a focal point that helps shape the space, and reinforce both the warmth and the creativity that Saks was seeking. (The furniture is from Maiden Home; the burl wood tables, Scout Design Studio.)
While Saks is still working on choosing and placing artwork (especially from local artists), in several rooms the light fixture serves as art. Saks’ bedroom features a floating curvilinear brass pendant by Gervasoni; the Arceneaux fixture (by RH) in a guest room is formed of cast resin to create a warm glow. Another bedroom has a three-armed Mouille pendant from France & Son—and a Flag Halyard chair from PP Mobler that looks like the Lunar Excursion Module, and is sink-into-it comfortable, says Andamasaris. The twin-bed attic bedroom (“for kids at heart,” says Andamasaris) has an original Noguchi paper lantern.
Photo: Lincoln Barbour
“We all had the cheap version in college,” she laughs. “But when you see the real thing, created using handmade papers and ribbed with bamboo instead of wire, it’s wildly different.”
A favorite space for both Saks and her designer is the corner window in the master bedroom. Andamasaris placed two large corner chairs to create a spot for gazing out the window or relaxing before bedtime. The windows provide two walls of light and sun, and the oversize pillows, white fur throws, and flowing floor-length drapes from U-Fab soften the space. “I try to use this corner as much as I can,” says Saks. “It’s a perfect spot for a cat.”
When she’s called a serious decathlete, May Kelly demurs. “I just love to be in the outdoors,” she says. “But I have to be moving—I enjoy it more.”
“Moving” for Kelly means lap swimming, bicycling, running, and hiking. When she and husband Jim bought a Whitehall-area house on a knoll overlooking Shenandoah National Park in 2017, Jim says they knew right away the “postage stamp-sized pool” in the back yard wasn’t going to work.
Figuring out how to revamp the property to fit their needs took about a year, says Jim. A lap pool was a large part of the ask, but May also wanted to turn the existing backyard pool area into a formal garden. They decided to add a master bedroom suite on the home’s north end. And their family enjoys bocce, so there also had to be a bocce court in the mix.
Photo: Virginia Hamrick
In 2018, the Kellys hired landscape architect Anna Boeschenstein of Grounded LLC to take on their project. The first challenge: The couple wanted the lap pool to take advantage of the spectacular mountain views. “That meant a long element on a steep topography, and finding flat spaces that fit around the existing [house] layout,” Boeschenstein says.
Boeschenstein and project manager John Gendreau of Abrahamse & Company solved that by building retaining walls along the western and northern hillsides, allowing them to place the lap pool along the home’s long axis and then wrap around the extended master bedroom end with a hot tub and a small patio with a fire pit. On the eastern façade, Boeschenstein converted the former sunken pool area into a parterre garden bounded by the drive, the existing guest house, and a new pergola with the bocce court behind it.
There’s no question the salt-water endless-edge lap pool is a stunning addition to the Kellys’ hilltop home. Because its narrow patio runs the length of the living, dining, and family rooms, the feature draws the eye out into the surrounding mountain vistas as the land drops away. The patio’s bluestone paving encloses three sides of the pool—at each end is a bed of native grama grass and ornamental Mexican feather grass, which is decorative, but not intrusive to the views. The pool installation was handled by Charlottesville Aquatics (the Kelly’s master bedroom addition provided a basement space to install the pool equipment out of sight).
Adding the spa area posed some challenges as well. The square hot tub and its seating area were set down a few steps, tucked into the hillside to keep clear sight lines around the pool. Boeschenstein planted green mound boxwood, a low-growing hybrid perfect for borders, around the spot. To help hold the slope below, she added more forsythia to the existing mix—“it’s fast-growing, and holds a slope well”—as well as Mount Airy dwarf fothergilla, with its showy and aromatic flower and multicolored fall foliage.
Photo: Virginia Hamrick
The small patio on the house’s north end provides the master suite with a private outside space. Paved with the same bluestone as the pool and spa areas, the patio has a stone cube firepit that allows year-round use.
The bluestone paving continues around to the east-facing terrace overlooking the new sunken garden. “I had seen formal gardens at the Morton Arboretum outside Chicago and loved them,” says May, who with her husband lived for years in the Chicago area. “Anna is the one that told me what I wanted was a parterre.”
Two existing large boxwoods and two coral bark Japanese maples that Boeschenstein added frame the steps leading from the terrace into the square parterre garden. Each corner has a triangular planting of little lime hydrangea enclosed by green mound boxwood. Crushed gravel paths outline four angled triangular beds bordered in Morris dwarf boxwood. The beds contain a mix of narrowleaf blue star, Japanese anemone, coneflowers, Siberian iris, dense blazing star, purple Joe Pye weed, peonies, bee balm, and mountain mint for changing color and foliage through the seasons. The central focus is a crystal sphere water fountain that the Kellys found; it adds a soothing sound, and catches light at all times of day.
Shaping the entire landscape took about a year. Fortunately for May, the pool was finished in 2019—just in time for the pandemic. Pre-COVID, while swimming at the ACAC pool, May got to know a couple of women who are national-level senior swimmers. When gyms in town were shut down, she invited them to practice in her new lap pool.
The garden, as gardens do, is still maturing. May gives credit to head gardener Alfredo Martinez and his crew—“they work really hard”—and to Boeschenstein’s plan: “The garden looks better every year.”
When did Heidi Gilman Bennett know she wanted to renovate the kitchen in the 1980s Ednam house she and her husband had just bought for their move here from California? “Before we even moved in,” Bennett says with a laugh.
The family loved the house in the woods on its hillside site, “but the kitchen was original,” Bennett says. “It had never been renovated. It was dark, outdated.” And the cooking space was enclosed by a cul-de-sac circular counter that trapped whoever was working in the kitchen.
Bennett wanted a designer who could help her create a more modern kitchen space, “but not something out of character for this house.” She found Kendra Guiffre of blueply design: “I liked her design sense, and since she has kids, I knew she would ‘get’ us as a family.”
Guiffre, a Wahoo who has a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas in Austin, recalls the first thing that struck her about the Bennett kitchen: “Green was everywhere”—the walls and cabinets, as well as the walls and vaulted ceiling in the adjoining family room. The shade was an attempt to tie the indoor spaces with the forested setting, but it made the space darker.
The biggest challenge was creating circulation that made sense. Surrounded by the living room, dining room, breakfast area, laundry/mud room, with access to the patio/garden and the basement, the kitchen had a half-dozen doors. The cul-de-sac working area took up most of the space. And the visual flow was hampered by a two-shelf cabinet hanging in the middle of the ceiling above the cooktop.
Because Bennett wanted more light and more interaction with (and access to) the garden and the patio outside, Guiffre replaced the breakfast nook’s mullioned windows with much larger single-pane Marvin windows, and moved the refrigerator so she could take down the wall between the nook and the kitchen. She added a casement to the corner window above the sink, adding an outdoor shelf for pass-through to the patio, and replaced the three-door patio entrance with a double sliding door. A large central island replaced the cul-de-sac—its under-counter storage, as well as floating shelves and two revamped pantry areas, helped minimize the need for upper cabinets on window walls. And the odd hanging shelf unit is gone. (“My husband took that to the basement to use as storage,” Bennett says).
Photo: Chris Inman
Guiffre did take some cues from the old layout. Because the living-kitchen-family room axis skews to the right, she replaced the circular cul-de-sac with curved counters that move people through the spaces without navigating around tight turns or pointed corners. (“It took a lot of geometry and working it through,” she recalls. “We had the outlines taped out on the floor” to make sure the clearances would work.) The custom cabinetry, built by Jeffrey Cherry of Creative Construction, is a marvel of clean design and organization; the curved doors open into fully usable storage space, and Bennett shows off the hands-width vertical pull-out shelving unit next to the cooktop that holds her olives oils, vinegars, and spices.
Bennett and Guiffre also decided to keep two elements of the old décor that worked with the home’s wooded setting. “We liked using green—it fit this house and this setting,” Bennett says, but they chose a warmer tone (Sherwin Williams’ Featherstone) and scaled back the area into portions of the woodwork and cabinetry. They also decided to echo the family room’s pickled pine wood curtain fascia by using pickled fir wood veneer with a clear finish on the upper cabinets, the upper panel above the island, and the floating shelves, quarter-sawn for a tighter vertical grain.
Bennett loves her new kitchen’s clean and light-filled look. The project took longer than expected, largely due to post-COVID supply delays, but she and Guiffre also wanted to take the time to get it right. They went back and forth on putting backsplash tiles on the bar counter and the island/wall junction, but decided in the end to stay simpler. They debated about veined marble for the counters as well, but ended up choosing the clean look of MSI Frost White quartz from Albemarle Stoneworks.
Bennett appreciates how her new kitchen fits into her older home. Guiffre says she worked to reflect both the existing palette and the connection with nature in the original design, while noting that the kitchen redesign has improved the flow throughout the rest of the house as well.
“But I’ve still got work to do on the living room,” says Bennett.
Walking into Wag, the new veterinary clinic that Jesse Bejar opened last November in the heart of Ivy, you immediately get the sense that this is not your typical vet clinic. Maybe it’s the wall of tennis balls behind the reception desk, or the clean, modern design aesthetic. The vibe is playful, fun, and anything but ordinary.
“The idea we had was for a community-based practice, one that’s more homey, fun, and enjoyable than a normal vet experience,” says Anna Boeschenstein, a local landscape architect who’s married to Bejar. For years, Bejar dreamed of opening his own practice—he and his wife regularly talked about their vision for what would someday come to pass.
After more than 20 years working in other vet clinics, Bejar says the pandemic finally nudged him toward going out on his own. “During COVID, trying to balance the demands of work with caring for 6-year-old twins—that’s when I realized that I needed a lot more flexibility,” he said.
When an ideal property was developed in Ivy, Bejar and Boeschenstein started to get serious about the concept for the new space. “Anna took the lead on researching the design,” Bejar says, and she eventually made an important design contribution: the impossible-to-miss tennis ball wall, which greets everyone who walks in the front door.
Photo: Stephen Barling
With a tight budget and specific limitations on how much he could augment the interior of the shell Wag would eventually inhabit, Bejar turned to Alisha and Mike Savage, with STOA Design+Construction and Savage Clark Architect, for the design/build work. “STOA didn’t have prior experience with this kind of project—they mostly do residential design/build—but Alisha was good at diving into the project and learning about the flow of the vet clinic,” Bejar says, noting that they really homed in on how create a “good flow” for the animals as they enter the building, get into the exam rooms, and then back to the treatment rooms.
Bejar describes the clinic as something of a reverse mullet—party in the front and business in the back. The “front of house” (comprising the entryway, reception area, and exam rooms) is fun and open, with playful design elements, colorful exam entryways, and big windows to let light in. The back of house, where surgical procedures and treatments take place, is more cut-and-dried, Bejar says.
Animal care clinics come with a laundry list of design and building considerations—managing all the fur and dander, keeping sick pets quarantined without contaminating the rest of the building, keeping sound transmission to a minimum—just to name a few. Alisha says they enjoyed the “dual challenge” of keeping the design fun and uplifting while addressing and thoughtfully designing to meet those specific technical requirements.
Alisha says she and Mike tried to be nimble with the design and technical expectations, while staying sensitive to the overall budget. “We’d use off-the-shelf cabinetry and then engage our in-house woodworking expert to create special elements,” she says. “This was more cost-effective than subcontracting the special elements out to a custom cabinetry shop.” She notes that strategic use of color can be a suitable supplement for an investment in costly materials—e.g. the tennis-ball-colored exam entryway details.
Ultimately, says Bejar, “We wanted the clinic to be clean and unique, not like every other medical clinic you visit. We wanted it to have a sense of being playful and enjoyable.”
Photo: Stephen Barling
Balls on the walls
Fido’s in for some fun when he arrives in the lobby at Wag, which features a massive installation of hundreds of perfectly aligned tennis balls. Veterinarian Jesse Bejar’s wife, Anna Boeschenstein, a local landscape architect, was inspired by British artist David Shrigley’s “Mayfair Tennis Ball Exchange,” an interative art installation in which hundreds of tennis balls line shelves of the exhibiting gallery. The exhibit evolves as visitors are invited to swap the new balls in the exhibit with old, dirty, used ones. “I got really excited about the potential to use inexpensive materials in cool ways,” Boeschenstein says of her inspiration for the wall.
Wag’s tennis ball installation isn’t interactive, but it is playful and on-brand with rest of the clinic. Design elements throughout Wag tie in with the wall’s electric yellow hue—the exam room entryways are trimmed with the same color. STOA architect/general contractor Mike Savage used a computerized millwork machine to space, align, and drill holes for each ball. With access to that same tool, he says, a similar installation could be created for a child’s room with basketballs or soccer balls.
Katharine Brooks developed her craft at some of the biggest art houses in New York City. Then, after the fine-art expert and her husband moved to Charlottesville 11 years ago, she took time off to raise a family. Now, she’s back with a new solo venture: KNB Art Advisory.
C-VILLE Abode: What made you start your own firm?
Katharine Brooks: I’m originally from Guatemala, and I was a Latin American art specialist at Christie’s. That’s where I was truly introduced to the art world. You’re exposed to so much incredible art and so many collectibles. I was meeting collectors and going into their homes, appraising art and helping them build their collections. I had always thought of art as something you see in a gallery. Seeing the way people live with art and how it added to their life lit a fire inside of me.
What do you tell your clients about buying art?
Regardless of your budget, there should be meaning around you. Life is short; instead of buying a poster, you should surround yourself with artwork that means something to you personally. Some people think that art is just for millionaires. But there are many local artists that are doing fascinating things that are affordable. As a collector myself, sometimes I am investing in artists, but sometimes I just buy pieces because I love them. I think there is this mysterious fear in the art world. But if I can help people find artists they love, I know it can add a great amount of joy to their life. It’s a passion project. I get excited when I find something that has meaning for someone else.
Is art a good investment?
I think it is challenging. There are always options by well-established artists that have a record of auction prices. What can be tricky but incredibly lucrative is finding new artists. The problem is new artists come out and sell at auction and then plummet in value. If you are coming to art purely from a financial point of view, you need to see the full auction record, but you also have to be aware that auction houses will estimate works at a lower value than a gallery will sell them. And, flipping art is not really favorably looked upon.
The transition from New York to Charlottesville must have been difficult.
It was really hard to give up my career and life, but we wanted to raise a family—the classic conundrum. I was at the epicenter of my career. I was doing appraisals in Jack Nicholson’s home and selling art to Oprah. I’m not trying to say I’m anything special, but I had this passion. By the time we launched around May of last year, I had already started helping friends and acquaintances with their personal art collections.
What makes KNB Art Advisory unique?
I am trying to be more personalized. I don’t want to be married to one artist. As much as I learned from the gallery setting, I didn’t love having inventory that I felt like I had to sell. I want to find the right thing for the right person. There are more artists now who are not marrying themselves to one gallery or rep, as well.
What do you say to clients who are unsure of their own taste?
I think that is the most challenging thing. It is so personal. I have one client who only likes to collect works that were painted in the year they were born. I have another client that has a thing about red hats. She wore one as a little girl, and it became this iconic thing. If I ever see anything with a red hat, I shoot it over to her. For my own taste, I love abstract works. And I think sometimes landscapes are easier to live with in your home. But I also think the beauty of art is that there is no wrong. Anything can be art. What is the first thing everyone asks you when you are a child? “What’s your favorite color?” And that’s a good place to start. Everyone has that innate feel for what they like. No one needs to answer to why they like something.
What’s the best way to start your art collection?
I would say staying local. That is the most comfortable way. You can meet the artist, and most artists are willing to do studio visits. You can see their process, the materials they use, and examples of their work. It gives you a personal connection.
