Virginia light

Falling in love with the wooded neighborhood, the owners purchased this suburban house with a long-term plan to renovate it gradually to suit their needs and style. When they came to us, they had already renovated the primary suite and kitchen years earlier. Through travel and lived experience in the years since that first renovation, their aesthetic had shifted toward a more modern sensibility. Now they wanted the house to feel cohesive, as though it had been renovated all at once, while also addressing needed upgrades and repairs.

The site itself offered opportunity. Set at the end of a wooded cul-de-sac, the house steps down a sloping lot. From the street it reads as two stories; at the rear, the walkout basement opens fully to the pool and landscape. Yet despite its setting, the interior felt dark and inward-facing. Making the house feel larger and lighter became our guiding principle.

The project began modestly: a renovation of the walkout basement, the main-floor living and dining rooms, and the upstairs bedrooms and baths. As the design developed, the scope expanded into a comprehensive reworking of the house, including the entry sequence, a new stair, custom furniture, and millwork throughout.

The first move was to clarify circulation. Walls were selectively removed to open the entry while maintaining moments of compression and release. The living room was partially screened, revealing itself gradually as one passes by. Its entrance was realigned with a new stair — a sculptural, free-floating zig-zag form exposed deliberately to celebrate the form while allowing light into the once-dark stairwell. To further that endeavor, a frosted glass sidelight at the office door borrows abundant southern light from above.

In the basement, a favorite corner used for games and puzzles felt dark despite its connection to the backyard and pool. We opened the walls with glass and added a second door for both visual and physical access, transforming the once-dark corner into a place closely connected to the landscape and nearby hot tub.

In the living spaces, traditional elements were recalibrated. A tall, oversized fireplace surround was replaced with a low horizontal composition that visually expands the room. Custom built-ins provide storage and display for the owners’ growing glass collection without crowding the space. Indirect lighting subtly animates walls and ceilings, creating warmth without visual clutter. A new bar, wine cellar, and renovated bath extend the lower level into a cohesive gathering space.

Upstairs, efficiency was essential. The children’s bedrooms were modest in size; integrated beds, desks, shelving, and concealed shoe storage maximize function without excess. In the bathrooms, awkward layouts were reorganized and the space below sloping ceilings used for recessed storage.

The guiding principle was simple: intervene lightly. Simplify. Bring order. Allow space, proportion, and light to do the work.

But the work was not finished.

Years later, the clients returned to us to renovate the primary suite. The existing bath was crowded and dark, dominated by an oversized tub and a steam shower that had deteriorated over time. We reorganized the circulation, grouped plumbing efficiently, and freed open space near the window. A restrained material palette and layered lighting create calm brightness. Low storage with an integrated firebox creates a cozy atmosphere with ample storage to keep the room tidy. A porthole window in the shower — echoing one used in the children’s bathroom — brings borrowed light into the hallway. Built-in bedside tables peel seamlessly from the wall, floating above the floor.

What began as incremental updates ultimately became a complete reimagining — a cohesive, warm contemporary home grounded in its wooded setting.