The Southern Living Idea Home 2025 embraces the modern homestead on its 5-acre Virginia Piedmont setting. Waterstreet Studio's design is culturally and ecologically dynamic, echoing the area's agricultural past and present while celebrating the existing ecology of the site. The winding entry drive approach leads you through a successional meadow before being compressed between a pine and deciduous forest and then releases you into a small orchard that frames the view of the house.  The juvenile orchard – symbolic of the required time for the landscape to mature and bear fruit, speaks to the agrarian vernacular of Albemarle County. The site features diverse ecological typologies: a pine forest, maturing deciduous forest, and riparian areas including wetlands.

Seamless indoor-outdoor living is key, with a front porch overlooking the orchard and a covered breezeway leading you to the kitchen garden. The rear terrace and screened porch connect the interior living spaces to the play lawn bordered by native perennials and grasses. The project features 1706 plants from 141 species, including 71 edible, herbal, and medicinal varieties across 7545 square feet of garden beds. This sanctuary invites homeowners to connect with nature and appreciate the evolving beauty of a nurtured landscape.

LOCATION:
Charlottesville, VA

CLIENTS:
Southern Living Magazine
Molly Hardie - Developer

PROJECT TEAM:
Rosney Co Architects - Architect
Charlotte Moss - Interior Designer
Alexander Nicholson, Inc - Builder
Laurey W. Glenn - Photography
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