When a couple of medical professionals (she was a nurse, he a radiologist) planned their retirement, they planned big lifestyle changes. They were living and functioning in Indianapolis but wished to be closer to their kids and grandchildren from the Washington, D.C., area, and they wanted to grow grapes for wine. They found 25 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains, close to the West Virginia border and about a 75-minute driveway from D.C., and assembled a new farm that enjoys the ideal conditions for grapes and breathtaking views.
Farm existence from the Blue Ridge Mountains is very different from the life they led to Indianapolis. “When we were planning out the closet spaces, the husband explained all he had were four hooks for four pairs of jeans,” says architect Stephen Vanze of Barnes Vanze Architects. “They planned on getting serious farmers, and they are.”
Here is how he made a farm chemical to nestle into the hills as if it has been there for centuries.
at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple whose children and grandchildren live nearby
Location: Bluemont, Virginia
Size: 5 bedrooms (2 pristine) on 25 acres
Barnes Vanze Architects
“The first time my customers took me up the mountain, it was obvious where the home ought to be sited,” Vanze says. It sits on the hillside at the edge of the forest, with vast views of the areas of blossoms, the mountains and the valley.
Barnes Vanze Architects
Barnes Vanze Architects
Clusters of buildings inside big farms are common in the area. Vanze’s instinct was to split the design into bits that emulated these compounds. The red barn serves as a garage at the top level and shops tractors and other farm equipment below. A stonemason created the base from native rock.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
Within the chemical, the garage-barn would be to the left, connected to the main living spaces through an open breezeway. The main bedroom suite can be found in a separate structure connected through an enclosed breezeway on the right side.
Graham Landscape Architects worked on the siting and the creation of the entry court.
Barnes Vanze Architects
HardiePlank cut to resemble board and batten siding, a front porch, white paint and a black metal roof are nods to the region’s rural structure.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
“As you approach the home by the entry court, the view is totally hidden,” Vanze says. Once you’re through the front door, the whole valley is revealed through a 40-foot-wide floor-to-ceiling glass wall at the home living area.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
A very long hallway along the front porch also functions as a gallery to the couple’s large book collection. A ceiling adds to the farmhouse style.
Barnes Vanze Architects
Vanze designed the dwelling spaces round the view. The living room area and attached terrace are all for with relaxing together with the grandchildren after working at the vineyard.
The fireplace surround consists of 3 fieldstone pieces chosen by the stonemason, and around the flip side is an outside fireplace that the family can enjoy while out on the deck. The floors were recovered from a tobacco barn.
Barnes Vanze Architects, Inc
The couple’s interest in growing berry stems from their understanding of gourmet wine and food. The hearth on the kitchen fireplace is counter height so they may use it for cooking.
Big windows with transoms maintain the view to the valley open in the kitchen, dining room and living room area. A breakfast nook at the corner and also a dining room (only out of sight to the right) have excellent views, also.
Cabinets: pine; counters; Absolute Black granite; flooring: slate
Barnes Vanze Architects
Throughout the breezeway the main bedroom suite is private and comfortable.
First-floor program (click images for larger views):Located off the garage and through the breezeway are a mudroom and laundry room, a smart strategy for enabling the owners to pull off dirty farming clothes and throw them directly into the washer.
Second-floor program: There are two guest rooms for kids and grandchildren on the second level in the main building.
Lower-level plan: Vanze living room for more bedrooms and living room from the walk-out cellar. These renovations were not immediately necessary, so the couple put off them for a later date.
Live at a great farmhouse, old or new? We’d really like to see it. Please post a photograph and tell us about it in the Comments!