Jason Becton and Patrick Evans, owners of the MarieBette Café & Bakery, reaffirmed their commitment to one another while moving to their new home with their daughters and two dogs. Photo: Rob Garland
Moving is stressful.
Moving to an old place that needs a gut renovation is more stressful.
Fighting with your spouse every step of the way? That’s a major test.
Jason Becton and Patrick Evans, owners of the beloved MarieBette Café & Bakery, were at odds about their new place. “Jason wanted nothing to do with the project in the beginning and definitely didn’t want to ever live in the house,” Evans says.
It was a rough start to a transition that would take a year to complete. “The house was in bad disrepair when we bought it, and it was hard for Jason to see the potential,” Evans continues. “It wasn’t until it was stripped down to the studs that he was able to start seeing that it could be a nice place—not to mention a home for our family.”
Becton and Evans persevered, taking great care to restore the charming cottage, inside and out. “We like to think we brought back the house’s original aesthetic and flow,” Evans says. “Also, when I first saw the house it had a red roof that had faded from its original color. But it was one of the things that caught my eye and I wanted to keep it. The triple gabled roof is also unique and I thought the color really brought attention to that feature.”
The partners in life and in business moved into the rehabbed place about three years ago, and they are glad to call it home—along with their daughters Marian, 8, and Betty, 6, and their dogs Seeta and Ponyo, rescues from Blue Ridge Greyhound Adoption.
Today, it’s a full house but a happy one, the product of a huge effort and an emotional journey. “It caused a few tense moments in our relationship, but in the end it worked out for the best,” Evans says. “We have learned to trust each others’ instincts and try our best to support each other, even if it’s not a decision we agree on.”
The kitchen and living room are the heart of the renovation. A suspended partial ceiling made of reclaimed wood defines the cozy space with the fireplace. Photo: Andrea Hubbell
Enlisting your best friends to design and manage the renovation of your home can be a risky endeavor, particularly when you encourage them to exercise creative freedom in designing what you hope will become your dream house. If you don’t like their work, can the friendship survive?
“When I’m standing at my kitchen sink, I feel like I’m at command central,” Sarah Shields says. “I can be cooking, conversing, and keeping an eye on all things from that special spot.” Photo: Andrea Hubbell
That was the question friends often asked photographer Sarah Cramer Shields and her husband, Matt Shields, a Charlottesville High School engineering teacher, when they entrusted HubbHouse founders Brian and Andrea Hubbell to remodel their 1910 farmhouse. Sarah, Matt, and their boys, Albert, 6, and Cramer, 4, bounced among four living spaces during the eight-month project, keeping up their busy lives while Brian and Andrea worked on the house.
“We knew we needed more space with two boys and two 80-pound dogs living in 1,200 square feet,” Sarah says of her family’s Belmont home, which she purchased in April of 2006. In 2015, the couple added a backyard structure to accommodate a small rental unit and Sarah’s photography studio, but they hadn’t upgraded their original house.
“We were desperate for a smart, thoughtful, beautiful, creative addition,” Sarah says. “And the only people we would ever want to do it would be our best friends. We literally told the Hubbells to do what they wanted. They know us and our lifestyle so well.”
Neatly integrated into the first floor, the back porch leaves plenty of room for grilling and socializing. Modern details like the welded-wire mesh below the railing contrast with the classic clapboard and board-and-batten siding. Photo: Andrea Hubbell
The couples’ friendship began in 2011, when Sarah and Andrea met while waiting in line at Mudhouse on the Downtown Mall. But the double “dream team” renovation didn’t begin until seven years later, and in the intervening time they grew very close.
As they started the process, the tight friendship helped, as did the Hubbells’ backgrounds. Both are trained as architects and had worked as architectural designers in Charlottesville. Before launching HubbHouse in 2016, Brian directed user experience design at a local tech firm, and Andrea worked as an architectural photographer (often for this magazine). She’s also a licensed realtor, now working for Nest Realty.
HubbHouse specializes in buying fixer-uppers to remodel and put back on the market. But Brian says he and Andrea had been “designing [the Shields’] renovation and addition in our minds for years.” They knew that the new space needed to support the Shields’ high-energy lives, including their love of hosting friends and family for birthdays, playdates, and dinner parties. “Once pencil finally hit paper, the general form of the addition came almost immediately,” Brian says.
The Hubbells knew they would lean modern instead of traditional, yet still hold on to the historical roots and framework of the charming two-story farmhouse, including the inviting front porch. “We wanted the addition to feel, at first glance, like it had always been there, but upon further scrutiny, express its own unique identity,” Brian says.
That meant, for example, leveraging the moderately sloping backyard to emphasize the sectional characteristics of the addition. This led the designers to drop the level of the new space by 18 inches and add a couple of steps, creating a pause at the connection of the two structures.
In designing the family room and kitchen space, Brian focused on areas of rest and relaxation. For example, above the large sectional sofa and modern gas fireplace, he added a carefully detailed hanging panel of reclaimed heart pine. This compressed and defined the family room without the addition of walls, which would have obstructed sight lines and hindered movement. In the kitchen, the Hubbells added a cozy breakfast nook as well as a stunning waterfall countertop island with four stools that serves as the kitchen’s gathering place and centerpiece. The Hubbells wanted the Shields to be able to cook, hang out, and enjoy casual dinners in one inviting, gorgeous area, so Brian designed the roof of the new back porch to meet the home’s original roof lines, tying together the old and the new.
Upstairs, the incredible views of the mountains meant allowing for a second-floor master suite that showcases the scenery as the sun rises. Filled with windows and light, the southeast-facing master bathroom has become a family attraction, with a double vanity designed around the couple’s differing handedness (Matt’s a lefty, Sarah a righty), large walk-in shower, and modern soaking tub that is favored by adults and kids alike.
The couples stayed in touch by group text during the renovation, checking in on little details and sharing creative ideas. They also met once a week, usually at the project site, to discuss bigger issues and keep abreast of progress.
Ultimately, after a few unexpected discoveries during construction, the renovation was complete in February 2019. “We had the best possible scenario,” Andrea says. The Shields have a stunning new home, and their best friendship is stronger than ever.
A wall covered with clematis vines provides a buffer, while the garden bed below—defined with cinder blocks and planted with blueberries and strawberries—anchors one end of the yard. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
We have all seen the perfectly groomed gardens on TV house-flipping shows and in magazines, including this one. Pinterest is a slideshow of landscapes that are intended to inspire creativity but often just lead to feelings of inadequacy. It’s as if these picture-perfect settings were chia pets—just add water and watch them grow!
The truth is grittier. Few homeowners can afford to hire professionals—designers, stone masons, carpenters, gardeners—to make the magic happen. Instead, with a great sense of urgency, they rush to the local Southern States or Lowe’s, where they pick up bags of mulch and topsoil, concrete pavers, potted plants and saplings, and, oh, that beautiful shovel—gotta have that too.
Shaded by tulip poplars and sweetbay magnolia trees, a galvanized tank from Southern States serves as a plunge pool on hot summer days. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
The plan is to spend a few spring weekends getting dirty and sweaty, a small sacrifice for the tidy and colorful yard that will soon materialize.
Hate to break this to you, but no. That old saw about Rome not being built in a day applies to your own half acre. But a yard that works for you, looks good, and provides a sweet spot for you to hang out with friends and family? A place where you can admire the cardinals and monarchs, and curse the mosquitoes and the squirrel that raids your bird feeder? You can have all of that, without maxing out your credit card, if you just slow down.
As an example I present my sister Julie’s yard. It has taken four-plus years to achieve its current state. It has required a lot of hard work—mainly by her, our sister, our niece, and me, but with some professional help. Yes, we have worn out the pavement between her house in town and Southern States and Lowes, and also taken occasional trips to far-flung nurseries for deals on plants and trees. We have paid with strained backs, sore muscles, smashed fingertips, and patches of skin rubbed raw beneath our gloves.
But we’ve come a long way (a garden is never done but rather always evolving), and we intend to stay the course—whatever it may be, because we make a lot of stuff up as we go along and Julie has a restless mind.
Julie estimates the total investment in materials and professional help at about $10,000. And, full disclosure, all of the design work has been free, because she’s a landscape architect, both a UVA professor and private practitioner in the field. Her professional status has also earned discounts at nurseries and garden centers, so I suppose that the total cost without those savings would be about a thousand bucks higher.
A tiny greenhouse—nothing more than a folly—provides a focal point at the end of the concrete-slab path. The pavers rest in a raised bed filled with stone dust. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
But even without those advantages, I believe that anyone with some imagination, a lot of determination, and a vision of how she wants her yard to look and function, could create a similarly pleasing place. The primary requirements are patience, a willingness to make mistakes, and a tolerance for imperfection. Plus, once in a while, a day spent toiling on something that has to be completely redone.
That’s when you crack open a cold beverage and retire to the porch or the air-conditioned living room, and complain about how much your damn back hurts. It’s all worth the effort, I swear, because there are few things greater than the satisfaction of imagining something and then making it real.
Here’s what we did, and by “we” I mean mostly Julie:
Paid to have the yard graded, steps installed, and raised beds for tomato plants built.
When she moved in, the yard was a tumbledown riot of knotweed partially obscuring the ruins of a brick coal shed. Julie’s pal Zoe, a landscape designer and contractor, fired up the skid loader and created two flat spaces separated by a hill that stretches across the middle of the yard. She called in help to build raised cedar-plank beds to plant tomatoes, and cinder block stairs connecting the upper and lower levels. This was a big expense—$2,000 to $3,000—but necessary to establish the yard’s basic form and foundation.
Saved the brick and other detritus, such as old plumbing pipes, to repurpose later.
One of Julie’s core ideas, with any landscape, is that you should use as much of the existing material on the site as possible. Minimize or even eliminate the stuff that goes to a landfill. It saves time and money, and it’s environmentally responsible.
Cinder block steps connect the upper and lower portions of the yard. In the sloping, densely planted beds on either side of the stairs, zinnias provide pops of color. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
Planted the hill to prevent erosion.
First, we grew radishes from seed. They’re cheap, spring up fast, and last a good long while. You can even eat them, and so can the rabbits. Another year we tried clover, which turned out to be a mistake—the roots grew deep and were tough to dig out the following year. On the up side, the plants loosened up the dense clay soil. In years three and four, we planted “zinnia hill.” The low cost and profusion of color turned out to be the epitome of cheap and cheerful, a favorite phrase of Julie’s. Bonus: She saves and replants the seeds the following year, and the butterflies and hummingbirds drawn to the flowers put on a show.
Installed a tree grove on the lower tier.
Sweet bay magnolias and tulip poplars planted in a cluster provide a visual and physical buffer. Julie says the trees “tuck in” the yard. They also block the view of the UVA hospital. The vegetable beds are situated on the other half of the lower tier, leaving open space to let in sunlight and let you see the sky.
Put in the lawn.
We splurged on sod from a farm in Somerset. Instant lawn! But over the years, what was once a perfect green carpet has become a mix of clover, crabgrass, and who knows what else. Who cares? It’s a flat patch of green that anchors the upper tier, and gives Julie’s little white poodle a place to leave fragrant little presents.
Planted the black locust grove.
This was a key move, and one that made me understand Julie’s basic organizing idea: Establish the middle and then “paint” around the edges. In this case, we put in 40 black locust trees along the southern fence line of the upper tier. We used whips, or bare-root specimens, ordered from a nursery in the state of Washington. We amended the soil with compost, peat moss, and mulch. Just one seedling died, and after two years the trees have created a green wall that sways in the wind, provides shade, and increases privacy. Talk about being “tucked in.”
Bricks, stones, and other rubble collected from the site line the bed of the black locust grove. Planted as short bare-root whips, the trees grew nearly 20 feet tall in just two years, providing shade and privacy. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
Created the rubble garden.
The bricks and other “junk” that we’d moved to the side? We lugged them up the hill and scattered them at the base of the locust trees. Saved a lot of money (no need to buy mulch), though all of the lifting and schlepping and brick tossing made me hit the Advil hard.
Realized the dream of a plunge pool.
It’s just a galvanized trough. Julie bought it at Southern States. We laid down a few wooden pallets to form a boardwalk that leads to the tub. It sits in the shade of the poplar and magnolia grove. After a day of working your butt off in the hot sun, a cold plunge is heavenly.
Anchored the north side of the upper tier.
We needed a counterpoint across the lawn to provide balance opposite the locust grove, soften up the northern edge, and add more buffering. The solution is a bed bordered by cinder blocks and filled with fence-climbing clematis, blueberry bushes, and strawberry plants—a tri-level composition. Didn’t get to eat a single blueberry, though. The birds beat us to it.
Paid to fence in the work yard, add stairs off the back porch, and install the outdoor shower.
This was another major move, one that Julie had been drawing (and redrawing, over and over again) for a couple of years. Our pal Don, a skilled craftsperson, built a fence along three quarters of the driveway and closed up the end with a galvanized steel gate. There’s still enough room outside the gate for Julie to park. But now the previously underused driveway has become a work yard, with a potting bench and plenty of room for garbage and recycling cans as well as gardening tools and other stuff. Everyone needs a place to put “stuff.” Don made the outdoor shower, using metal plumbing pipes and connectors, based on a simple design by Julie. She bought a solar water heater online. Don bolted it to a pallet. Next, Julie will make canvas panels to enclose the shower. The back stairs are made of concrete block to match those that lead from the lawn to the poplar and magnolia grove.
Built a small greenhouse.
It’s kind of a folly, but it cost less than $125 in materials, including antique windows I found on Facebook Marketplace. I’m decent at carpentry, but it took a group effort to make the thing. I doff my cap and bow to Don, Julie’s neighbor Edward, and her friend and former student Karl Jon, who also created the CAD diagram so you can see how the greenhouse comes together. It now serves as a focal point at the end of the raised stone path.
Fed by a garden hose, an outdoor shower—with canvas walls yet to be installed—is made of plumbing pipes from Lowe’s and a solar water-heating tower anchored to a sturdy wood pallet. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
Oh, right—the stone path!
This took two or three weekends to build. We dug shallow trenches, installed a wooden border with one-by-six-inch boards secured by wooden stakes, and then filled in the base of the walkway with stone dust from Allied Concrete Co., on Harris Street. The treads were a gift from Julie’s old friend Alexander Kitchin, of Fine Concrete, who was unloading unused inventory before he moved his shop. Julie obsessively positioned the slabs and tapped them into place with a rubber mallet.
Added four more trees and pine straw as finishing touches to the upper tier.
As the school year approached, Julie turned her attention away from gardening to preparing to teach. Our last push really just took a couple of hours, planting four tupelo (also known as black gum) trees along the back of the house and covering the ground with long-needle pine straw. In time, the tupelos will provide shade and a partial shroud for the outdoor shower. After many years, they will grow to 50 to 60 feet, and the garden—including inevitable additions and revisions—will mature. In a decade, the landscape will have changed dramatically, but we’re in no hurry. We’ll be happy to witness its gradual transformation.
Greenhouse build
The tiny greenhouse took a weekend to build. It consists of a square base with a central floor support, slats atop the base, four antique window frames with six panes apiece, and sides cut from a single four-by-eight-foot sheet of 3/8-inch plywood. Construction requires a moderate skill level and a little help from your friends (who might handle a circular saw better than you do). All of the materials—from Facebook Marketplace and Lowe’s—cost less than $125.
Tucked into a hardwood grove, the house lives up to its nickname, A Walk in the Woods. Photo: Peter LaBau
After meeting in college, the couple got married and pursued their respective careers—she as a librarian and he as a patent attorney—living for many years in Delaware. About two years ago, when the time came for them to retire, there was little question they’d end up near Keswick, specifically, on a piece of land connected to her mom and dad’s farm.
“I distinctly remember when I first came to visit her family,” says the husband. “I thought, wow, what a nice area. There’s a lot of nature, and yet it’s not far from Charlottesville.”
The rooms on the main floor sit on the same level, easing transitions as one moves from one part of the house to the next. A partial ceiling defines the kitchen and dining areas. Photo: Peter LaBau
Many years ago, her parents had bought the land where the couple’s new home now stands to protect the views. But having a few acres to situate a house and having one built for you are two very different things. “I had never worked with an architect—that’s just not me,” she says. “I’m a librarian!”
Ah, but librarians are good at research, and after many hours of looking at architects’ websites, she discovered Charlottesville’s Peter LaBau of GoodHouse Design, which specializes in residential design. “I talked to Peter, and we had a comfortable rapport,” she says, adding that LaBau’s co-principal, Jessie Chapman, was also a key player in the project.
“We agreed on that point,” he says. “And my personal preference just happened to be to live in a house in the woods—so that’s what we have.”
The home lives up to its nickname, A Walk in the Woods.
“It’s in the woods, but there’s a lot of light,” she says. “Every morning I wake up and look outside, and the fields and the forest present different colors. It makes me want to go outside, but because of the openness of the design and the large windows, there’s a feeling of being outside without having to go there.”
Also, having grown up in the area, she had spent time in many local friends’ houses, historical ones that had been added onto over the years. “There were a lot of different levels, steps up or steps down into different rooms,” she says. “I knew we didn’t want that—we want this to be our last house, so ease of movement from one room to the next was an important consideration.”
In the master bathroom, natural stone tiles pull together all the surfaces, including a painted vanity, built-in wood bench, and textured tile shower walls. Photo: Peter LaBau
The rooms on the main floor sit on the same level, easing transitions as one moves from one space to the next. But the house isn’t uniformly horizontal. It presents three primary upper volumes—the garage, the bedroom wing, and the loft above the main living area. “We wanted enough space where, when everyone came to visit they could have some alone time and close a door,” he says.
Guest bedrooms on the first floor and in the loft accommodate frequent visits by the couple’s sons. “One is married, one is engaged, and one is dating,” she says. “No grandchildren yet—but we have plenty more room.”
Technical considerations
Before construction began, LaBau and associate Victor Colom staked out the proposed position of the house. “So, we knew the direction the front of the house would be facing,” the husband says. “Peter is deep in thought. Finally, he says, ‘Wait a second. We need to rotate this whole thing 10 degrees to the right—that is the view you want.’”
The couple agreed that the architect was right—just like he was about many other technical and design considerations. “It is a house designed to look like it evolved out of the site,” she says.
Because of that organic feel, the couple considered cladding the exterior in reclaimed pine or cedar. Then the husband asked colleagues at work about the materials. “They said, ‘Oh, the woodpeckers! You’re going to attract every one from miles around.’”
Also rejected was a roof made entirely of raised-seam metal, even though the couple both liked the sound of rain falling on such a surface. But after the husband visited a friend in North Carolina who had a home with a metal roof, and overhanging oak branches, the couple backed off of the idea. “When the acorns were falling, it sounded like gunshots going off,” he says.
Regardless of the roof (it’s shingled, by the way), the couple still loves the secluded feeling of living among so many trees. “It’s zoned rural, and it remains rural,” she says, noting that the closest neighbors are a quarter to a half mile away. “When the trees leaf out, you don’t see light from the neighbors’ houses at all.”
Dark features such as the dining table, bar walls, and cabinetry hardware accent the room, where white stone, tile, and painted surfaces dominate. Photo: Virginia Hamrick
The Charlottesville woman grew up in California wine country—St. Helena, to be precise. Her home, where she lived until she was 16, had a farmhouse feel: open, airy, and not fussy in the least. It was a place for family and friends to gather and literally see one another, without too many walls getting in the way.
She and her husband, a Charlottesville developer—working with interior designer Jeannette Andamasaris, a principal of Brooklyn-based Figure studio—have created just such a space on the first floor of their three-floor townhome. It is one of many standing cheek-to-jowl along the railroad tracks east of the Downtown Mall. Made of white-painted brick, the couple’s home is classic and fresh, intentionally evoking an urban rowhouse, with large south-facing windows opening up a façade that might otherwise feel monolithic.
The front door opens to reveal a single volume, with a high ceiling and a sight line directly to the large kitchen island, a rectangle formed by three slabs of white stone. It is leathered marble, the wife explains, and when you run your hand over it you can feel the texture created by the slightly raised gray veins. The surface is also porous and not too shiny—a polished finish would exude a certain formality, the opposite of what the couple wants.
“There are going to be watermarks, wine stains, splatters of tomato sauce,” she says. “Fine with me! This is a home, not a museum.”
A sink with dark matte fixtures punctures the marble, which connects visually with the material that forms another rectangle, this one affixed to the rear wall and concealing the exhaust hood above a Wolf six-burner stove. Above concrete countertops, white subway tile climbs all the way to the ceiling and surrounds two large windows. The same tile comprises the backsplash of the bar adjacent to the kitchen island, a design choice that connects the cooking space to the bar, which transitions into the dining area.
The latter is simply a dark wood table with six chairs, subtly set off from the kitchen by a long, tubular light fixture that hangs from the ceiling and has an industrial look. The move from the dining area to the living space, in the front of the room, is also seamless.
“We just really wanted an open space with maximum light,” says the wife, who, with her husband, has a nearly 3-year-old daughter and three dogs. “We love to cook as a family, and sit down and eat as a family, and just hang out with the dogs.”
Growing sod is a 12- to 18-month process, beginning around the first of September, when the Hutchisons seed about 200 acres with a fescue-bluegrass mix. The mature grass is kept trimmed to three inches, harvested into 2-by-5-foot strips, then rolled and bundled for sale. Photo: Skyclad Aerial
Ever wonder where those Yodels-like rolls of grass come from that you’ve seen stacked on pallets or laid out in front of a newly built home? From a sod farm, of course. Growing and harvesting sod is a practice that thrives mainly out of sight (and out of mind). But in Orange County, Andy and Audrey Hutchison at Somerset Seed & Sod have been a go-to source in the instant-lawn trade for decades.
“My wife has been involved in the turf grass industry for 35 years or so,” says Andy, explaining how he came to be in the business. When he and his brother bought a large piece of land in the early 2000s, they knew they couldn’t make it pay by growing corn or soy, so they decided to try sod. Mostly serving landscape contractors, the business grew by word of mouth. Today, the Hutchisons tend about 200 acres of sod, selling roughly half of that each year.
Growing sod is a 12- to 18-month process, beginning around the first of September, when the Hutchisons seed their acreage with a fescue-bluegrass mix. “We use a fair amount of organic fertilizer, and typically we’ll mow it four or five times before it goes into dormancy in the winter,” says Hutchison. The following summer, crews trim the sod frequently to keep it about three inches high, so that it’ll be ready to harvest when fall arrives.
An automatic sod harvester cuts the turf in 2-foot-by-5-foot strips and bundles it into rolls. To replace the soil that leaves the field with the product, Hutchison grows cover crops and tills them in, reintroducing organic matter.
As with any agricultural enterprise, there are environmental considerations. Hutchison prides himself on not installing plastic netting at the time of seeding, which some companies use to hold the sod rolls together. “It takes more time to grow the product,” he says, “because I’m relying on the root system and not on netting.” The method also keeps plastic from going into the ground at the point of installation.
Hutchison says his retail business usually picks up in the spring, but the best season to lay down sod is actually fall, at the time you’d normally quit mowing. “In the fall throughout the winter, sod will establish its root system with little to no irrigation,” he says. Prep the area like you would for a veggie garden: pull weeds, till, and add some compost. Next comes the sod, unfurled like green carpeting and as satisfying as a fresh coat of house paint.
It’s an iconic movie moment—Our Heroine sweeping down the dramatic curving staircase toward Our Hero or the Supporting Cast of 1,000. Of course most of us don’t have a grand staircase or even any stairs at all. But if you do, here are some classy, functional, or just plain fun ideas for your new or current home.
First, the terminology. Each part is important and each can lend itself to enhancing your décor.
The tread is the flat component you step on.
The risers are the vertical elements between the treads.
The balustrade is the rail system including the handrail and its supports.
The balusters are the vertical supports between the tread and the railing.
Treads Treads are usually made of wood and can employ a wide range of grades. Formal staircases areusually constructed from high-quality unblemished wood—often stained. For other stairs, lower quality wood is frequently used instead. The treads are sometimes stained, but more often are painted to provide uniformity for wood that may have knotholes or unmatched grains.
Treads can be completely carpeted or enhanced with a well-secured runner, which can make a statement in color or texture.The runner can also serve as a transition from more formal areas to a more casual floor.Ideally, it should be relatively easy to remove for cleaning.
Risers The risers are the vertical components between the treads and they offer a nearly endless blank canvas for interesting decorations. Risers can be stained or painted to match or to contrast with the treads. Paint can be a uniform shade or a palette of colors or even a series of mini-murals.Ceramic tiles also make an interesting contrast to the treads.
One family replaced their risers with small shallow shelves which were just the height of paperback books. Another clever homeowner devised drawers under the cellar treads (which had no risers) for storage of seldom used items like an oversized turkey-shaped platter and ice skates. His wife painted the drawer-front risers with “blackboard” paint, then used chalk to designate the changing contents.
Balustrade This system offers opportunities for a variety of decors from colonial to uber-modern. The major support posts, or newels, are generally at the bottom and top of the stairs, the middle of a long straight rise, and at the landing of a turning staircase. They must be sturdy, but can have a design from formal to whimsical.They can be of the same wood as the stairs themselves or provide a dramatic contrast. The handrail may also be decorative, but must be easy for people to grasp.
Balusters These vertical supports provide an excellent place for interesting décor, but remember to check building codes for the required distance between individual balusters for the safety of children.
Balusters are frequently made of wood, often “turned” to create interesting patterns, but pipes or panels can also be used. Other options might be rustic wood, stylish wooden panels, or welded metal. One dwelling had welded balusters with the shapes of branches complete with leaves.
In some cases, see-through panels of Plexiglas or smoked safety glass can replace traditional supports, lending a sense of openness.Balusters can also be replaced with floor-to-ceiling installations of rope, pipe, wood strips, or cables.
Mini Art Gallery The wall beside the stairs is a prime spot for displaying artwork or photos. It’s often the perfect location for a particularly large piece of art or a selection of various shapes and sizes. It’s also a great spot to display a collection such as flower prints or children’s art. One homeowner displayed dozens of antique automobile license plates climbing the wall.
Check the internet for clever presentations. Some have identical frames and matting while others unify a collection of different sizes and shapes with uniformly colored frames.This could also be a place for very shallow shelves for books or mementoes.
Underneath Depending on the layout of a staircase, the space beneath it can offer functional options. It could house a coat closet or even a powder room, particularly if it is reasonably close to plumbing connections. There might also be space for a stackable washer and dryer combination, again with nearby plumbing.
A special hideaway for the kids is another great way to use space under the stairway since they don’t need a lot of headroom.Just provide carpeting, small shelves for seating and storage, some lighting and good ventilation. The space might even have a child-height door or a “hidden” entrance provided by a swing-out panel.
Finally, the area under many stairways offers extra storage space. This could be simple open shelves or cubbies for family members. A tidier but more expensive option is built-in cupboards with doors or drawers.
One interior designer drew up plans for roll-out shelves faced with panels which, from the outside, appear to be a plain wall. The three-foot-deep shelves provide generous storage and, when pulled out, give good access to the short units at the lower part of the stairs and to the back end of all the shelves.
Stairs don’t just go up and down. With some imagination they can offer drama, extra functionality, and additional storage in your home.
Marilyn Pribus and her husband live in an Albemarle County home with no stairs at all, but when she was a little girl in upstate New York, she had a “fort” under the cellar steps.
You’ve probably heard the term “curb appeal” that often hovers over discussions of the marketability of a property, but just what is it?
“Curb appeal is an individual preference,” declares REALTOR® David Sloan of Sloan Manis Real Estate in Charlottesville, “but I think of a home that is well-landscaped, with a yard that is cut and green and well cared for. The house itself is bright and painted and neat and inviting.In fact, that’s the one word—inviting—that says it all, regardless of architecture, design or location.”
Studies show that many buyers won’t even get out of the car if they don’t find a place inviting. And with an estimated 80 to 90 percent of people doing online reconnaissance, never forget they can be turned off from even viewing a property based on the listing photos alone.
Addressing a place’s curb appeal is critical in marketing a property, so we’ll offer you some easy, and in many cases inexpensive, tips for maximizing exterior sales appeal. For starters, you want the property to look clean, welcoming and comfortable with that certain something that attracts potential buyers. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to provide in most cases
An Appealing Yard We sometimes tend not to “see” things we look at all the time, like a slightly dented mailbox or a rusty downspout. Usually you just drive home, but now take time to approach your property on foot studying it carefully and critically for places to spruce it up. The yard itself offers prospective buyers their first impression, so be sure it’s in top shape.
Remove dead branches in trees and shrubbery. If landscaping is overgrown, do some judicious pruning or hire experienced yard workers. And perform the trimming at least six weeks before putting the property on the market so bushes have a chance to sprout out again.
Ensure the lawn is fresh and green. At least a month before the house will be on the market, consult with a nursery about refurbishing the lawn with quick-acting fertilizer, reseeding, or replacing bad spots with sod.Be sure it is nicely mowed all the time and edged tidily along the driveway, sidewalk and gardens.
If you already have nice flowerbeds, apply fresh mulch.If you don’t, spring for some handsome containers with cheerful, seasonal flowers by the front door. And always be sure the yard is clear of “stuff” from children’s toys to hoses on the lawn to trash cans in plain sight.
The Dwelling’s Best Foot Forward Take a critical look at your front sidewalk, steps, and porch. If there are cracks, can they be repaired? Are there mossy bricks or mildewed concrete to clean? If you will be showing the property at night, have walkways well lighted. Inexpensive solar lighting can provide an inviting pathway to the front door.
The front door is the home’s face to the world, so be sure it’s spotless. Give it a fresh coat of stain or bright paint—red is especially inviting and seen by many as auspicious.
Be sure the doorknocker, doorbell button, and lockset are up to date and shiny and that they match each other and the house’s style. Check that your house number is clearly visible from the street and easy to read.
A seasonal wreath on the door is very appealing. Be sure porch light fixtures are dust- and spider-web free, and the bulbs work. Invest in a fresh welcome mat. If the porch or driveway is stained, consider a good scrubbing.
In fact, pressure washing is a relatively inexpensive way to freshen up any property. The appearance of driveways and sidewalks, most siding and decks can be freshened up quite easily. Pressure washers can be rented by the day.
Be sure the garage door is clean as well. If it requires repainting, opt for the same hue as the house, but in a slightly darker shade. Highlight any attractive and distinctive features your home already has. For example, you might touch up the trim and shutters if you have them. It you have a dramatic chimney, be sure it’s free of ivy and the mortar is fresh.
Buyers are especially aware of roofs because of the expense of replacement. Replace damaged or missing shingles. Be sure there are no rusty, mossy, or mildewed areas. Clean out gutters. Repaint or replace any rusty, loose, or dented gutters or downspouts.
Window glass should be sparkling clean inside and out. Take a good look at your windows from the outside and, if possible, have the curtains or blinds look more or less uniform. Having the blinds raised and curtains open is friendly instead of looking like there might be something to hide. If visitors are expected on a gloomy day or in the evening, welcome them by having all rooms brightly lit.
Consider replacing your mailbox or, at the very least, repainting it. Straighten your rural mailbox post and paint it to match your house or front door. You can even plant a small garden around the post.
Always remember REALTOR® Sloan’s key word for curb appeal: “Inviting!”
Marilyn Pribus and her husband live in Albemarle County near Charlottesville. When they sold their California home, their REALTOR® recommended serious pruning of shrubbery which did indeed make the house seem more welcoming.
Picture of simple white study area in teenager room
More and more, these days, people work from home, either full-time or part-time. As a home-based entrepreneur, however, you’ll soon find working with the computer in a corner of the kitchen, with the printer in the family room and your files atop the dryer in the laundry, is a recipe for inefficiency and frustration.
It’s time for a home office, not just for your convenience, but also as a selling point in the future. An office is an appealing addition to any home, whether it’s a bedroom or other small room that has been converted or a dedicated space that is often a choice in new construction.
On the other hand, it’s wise to create an office, studio, or workroom that can easily be converted to another use by a buyer who doesn’t choose to work at home.
The most popular space is a spare bedroom. Use a desk that can be closed to conceal your computer, file cabinets that can double as bedside tables, and a wall bed that, when folded up, shows nothing but a decorative panel or painting.
An alternative is to use a portion of your living or dining room, which are often near the front door. This is desirable if clients come to your home, and you may be able to differentiate the area with partitions or bookshelves.
Some people convert a garage, patio, porch or attic. This often entails building permits and considerable expense since you may need to install windows, wallboard, heat, air conditioning, and wiring.
Even a walk-in closet or storage room can serve. A skylight or light tube brightens a windowless space and scaled-down furnishings can make it appear less cramped.
The major complaint about home offices regards space—there’s never enough. Remember that while your space doesn’t all have to be in the same place, it’s more efficient if it is.
Here are some pointers:
A professionally furnished office will make you feel more business-like. For inspiration, plug “home office” plus “design ideas” into Google. Among the 20+ million hits you’re sure to find some perfect solutions.
Your most important furniture is a chair that fits you perfectly. “Test-drive” several and don’t skimp.
Be thrifty on other items. Create a desk from a door atop two file cabinets. Check out garage and estate sales, discount warehouses, or Craig’s List. Consider floor models or “as-is” items.
Have excellent lighting for your work surfaces.
Go up the walls for storage above and even below the desk. Fit slender shelves behind a door and a foot below the ceiling for seldom-used items. Opt for modular units that can be transported and reconfigured in case you move.
Choose desk and file units on castors so they can be stored out of the way. Fold-up tables can supply the necessary work surfaces.
A separate business phone number with voice mail is more professional than having family members answer.
Tax Considerations
While this information offers general guidelines, remember that tax situations differ from person to person. It’s always wise to consult a tax professional.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a reputation for close scrutiny of home-office tax deductions. In fact, some people don’t deduct their office for fear of triggering an audit which means they miss out on perfectly legitimate deductions.
Remember, you have no obligation to pay more taxes than required by law and the IRS spells out its rules in Publication 587: Business Use of Your Home available at www.irs.gov. The benefit of a home-office deduction is that it can reduce your self-employment tax payments to Social Security and Medicare, which amount to a bit more than 15 percent in 2016 for incomes up to $118,500.
Your office, with minor exceptions, must be your principal place of business used regularly and exclusively for that purpose. “Regular” means more than occasional and “exclusive” means no personal use allowed. For instance, a dining room used both for meeting clients and family meals is not eligible for the home-office deduction.
While an office in a separate room is easily identifiable to an auditor’s eye, space that is clearly demarcated by partitions or moveable walls is acceptable. Your office is deducted as a percentage of your total living area. (Tax software does this for you.)
Self-employment earnings are reported on a Schedule C and Form 8829 addresses the home office. A percentage of some Schedule A-deductible items including mortgage interest and property taxes are deducted on 8829 in proportion to the business area of your home.
In addition, some ordinarily non-deductible items such as utilities, rent, or repairs to the property may be deductible—again in proportion to the area of your home office. Homeowners may depreciate the home-office area although this may lead to tax complications if you sell the property.
Whether or not you take a tax deduction, your home office, the furnishings and equipment used exclusively for business such as a printer, office rug or filing cabinet are entirely deductible.
A home-office deduction may not be used to create a business loss, however it can be carried forward to the following tax year. The IRS generally has three years to audit your return and longer in the case of suspected fraud, so keep impeccable records. If you move, take pictures of your home office. In the event of a subsequent audit, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Marilyn Pribus and her husband live near Charlottesville. She has deducted home office expenses without being audited for many years, but learned recently that as a freelance writer and musician, she must have an Albemarle County business license.
Here it is a new year and maybe this is the year for your new home. Whether you’re looking for your first mortgage or you’ve been down this road before, it’s crucial to review the ins and outs of the mortgage world. Here are some questions you need to ask to be sure you get all your ducks, as they say, in a row.
What kinds of mortgages do you offer and what would be the best one for me? Not all lenders offer every type of mortgage. Loans can vary in length, the amount of down payment they require, whether or not interest rates are fixed during the life of the mortgage, and other factors.
The most common mortgages include those guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) or Veterans Affairs (VA), as well as Fixed-Rate Mortgages (FRMs), Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMs), and Interest-only Mortgages. Reserve Mortgages are somewhat different, but many of the questions are the same.
It’s important to know which loans you can qualify for. For example, only honorably discharged veterans and their spouses with a valid Certificate of Eligibility, enough income, and suitable credit can qualify for a VA-guaranteed loan. In addition, property guaranteed by a VA loan must be for personal occupancy. Other loans have their own requirements.
A first step to finding your best fit on a mortgage is to complete an application—which does not create an obligation. The application must include information such as your employment, income and assets, your credit rating and existing debts, how much you have available for a down payment, and the source of that down payment. Proof of these financial figures can come from paystubs, at least a year of income-tax returns, and reports from credit agencies. With this information in hand, a lender can determine the best type of mortgage for you.
How long will it take to process my mortgage loan application? This depends not only on the lender’s staff, but also on the availability of inspectors, appraisers, and others involved and can take from a few weeks to a couple of months. On your part, be sure you have all your required documents and do a careful check of your credit report for errors or situations you may need to explain. In addition, this is definitely not the time to change jobs or incur new debts, either of which could create significant changes in your financial situation.
What will be the cost of the mortgage and what additional closing costs should I expect? Lenders are legally obligated to provide a Good Faith Estimate (GFE) of expected closing costs within three days of the loan application and buyers should plan on spending between 2 and 5 percent of the cost of the property. The GFE will include a complete estimate of mortgage costs such as prepaids and fees charged by the lender and other parties.
In most cases, the GFE will include “points.”Discount points—one point equals one percent of the mortgage—are tax-deductible and reduce the interest rate paid on your mortgage. Origination points include the costs of establishing the loan.
Additional closing costs might include a title search and title insurance, recording fees, property appraisal, survey, home inspection, upfront mortgage insurance premium, and other items. The actual closing costs will be itemized on the settlement statement (called a HUD-1) and will be reviewed for you as part of your closing.
You can use several GFEs to compare costs from several potential lenders and also use GFEs for possible negotiations of fee sharing with the lender and/or the seller.
What is this mortgage going to cost each month? It’s also important to know what your monthly payments will be once the loan is closed and the new place is yours. Are these payments fixed or might they change? Will the payments include insurance on the property, mortgage insurance, and escrowed tax payments?
A large down payment often means a lower interest rate and better loan terms. With a down payment of less than 20 percent, however, you will probably be required to obtain mortgage insurance, increasing your monthly payment—possibly by a significant amount. Mortgage insurance is generally paid with both an up-front premium at closing and an annual premium that is included in monthly payments. These are based on the type of mortgage and the value of the property. Remember, mortgage insurance provides coverage for the lender, not the borrower.
Some lenders charge a penalty if you prepay on the mortgage.This might make a big difference if you think you may be able to retire your loan early. (Especially in the early days of a mortgage, interest is by far the largest portion of each payment, and paying several months of principal each month can significantly decrease the length of the loan.) Some lenders might offer a lower interest rate if you accept a loan with a penalty.
Can I choose the title company or attorney used for the closing? Yes, and while it may seem like a lot of extra work to check on this when you’re already dealing with seemingly endless paperwork, it might be worthwhile to make a few calls to be sure you have the right Settlement Agent. While some buyers retain a real estate attorney to conduct their closing, in Virginia, other registered Settlement Agents, including title companies and financial institutions, are also legally allowed to do so.
Buying a home is one of the biggest investment decisions of your life, so it pays to ask the right questions and get the best deal possible.
Marilyn Pribus and her husband live in Albemarle County near Charlottesville.
