2015 Charlottesville Idea House Tour

By Zoë Gowen
July 01, 2015
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

America’s reigning queen of decorating, Bunny Williams, returns to her hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, to design a charming farmhouse with Rosney Co. Architects at Bundoran Farm, a development that values nature. Welcome to the Southern Living 2015 Idea House in Charlottesville, Virginia. Here you will be able to see every photo of the 2015 Idea House designed by Bunny Williams a New York-based decorator who grew up not far from this Charlottesville Idea House. Take a close look at the Southern Living 2015 Idea House photos and you will see how Bunny decorated this classic Virginia farmhouse with an expert mix of antiques and contemporary pieces to make this 2015 Idea House seem like an instant home. The architects for this Charlottesville Idea House were Rosney Dixon a local firm who created the house to reflect the hunt country’s vernacular style. Welcome to the 2015 Idea House tour.

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Welcome to the 2015 Idea House

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“Your home should be the most comfortable place you can imagine,” says Bunny Williams. And beautiful, of course. Welcome to our 2015 Idea House, designed by Rosney Co. Architects of Charlottesville, and set in the nine-year-old, 2,300-acre conservation community of Bundoran Farm. We asked Bunny to do what she does best, so we could document every idea and tip needed for you to create the gracious home of your dreams. Read on for the frankest Southern design advice we’ve had to offer in all of our 49 years.

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Portico

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

A columned portico welcomes visitors into the home.

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Foyer

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“My mother always had a red Oriental rug [like this one] in our front hall to take Virginia’s dark red clay soil off your feet,” Bunny says. "She’d say, ‘Look at the color of your soil, and get a rug with that background.’ ” To round out the entry, Bunny also advises having a big table and a vase to hold fresh flowers or branches.

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Library

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Bunny says to think of the room as an “elegant man cave.” She insisted on having a TV (behind the leopard-print armchair), because “most husbands watch football.” There’s also seating for a crowd.

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Library

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

"Heart-pine paneled rooms are ubiquitous in old farmhouses," says Rosney Co. "But avoid the glossy, honey-colored finishes from the eighties. Most wood can be restained."

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Library

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Shelves filled with books, not just objects, give a room character.

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Library

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“Don’t buy the art that’s in vogue; buy what interests you. Get what catches your eye at the antiques shop down the road. Come back home and put it out. A lot of people call this layering, but I just call it having fun.”

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Library: Get the Look!

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

FABRICS On sofa, Judd Green, and on wooden armchair, Cosma Blue; leejofa.com RUG Moose; dashandalbert.com PAINT INSIDE BOOKCASE Rosemary; sherwinwilliams.com

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Living Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Two seating arrangements anchor the floorspace. “To make sure that five or six people can have a good conversation, place a sofa that seats two or three with a chair on either side and another chair that can be pulled into the group.” A side table or lamp accompanies each chair. “People always need a place to put down a drink, and they want a light for reading,” says Bunny.

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Living Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

A large room with soaring cathedral ceilings speaks to the views outside but also makes decorating tricky. “You’ve got to express the height,” says Bunny. An 8-foot-tall, antique English Regency mirror above the sofa and a medley of paintings hung museum style fill the walls and keep eyes roving up. You also need a plan for furnishing such a large space. Here, a Moroccan rug is “a needed warm texture against such a high ceiling,” says Bunny.

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Living Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Using what could serve as a window seat as a table filled with objects turns the windows (and the view) into a focal point.

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Living Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“I always put the beds under tables, so a dog feels like it’s in a little house. Faux-leopard beds are great because they don’t show dirt.” (Shown here: Pillow Style Bed; wallybed.com)

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Living Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“The play of an antique or traditional chair next to a modern table is what keeps a house very current. Contrast makes things interesting.” (Shown here: T42 Chair and Zigzag Drinks Table in Glossy Black Lacquer; bunnywilliamshome.com)

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Kitchen

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Bunny says, “When creating a classic white kitchen, be careful with the shade. It can’t seem stark—it needs to be a nice warm white.” Rosney Co. modernized the typical rambling farmhouse floor plan with an open kitchen in the center of the home. “There’s no formal dining room in the house, just the eating area in the kitchen, which opens to the porches,” they explain.

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Kitchen

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“Think of the island as the breakfast table.” Rather than max out counterspace, they maximized storage with two side walls filled with floor-to-ceiling cabinets and appliances. This also freed up two walls for windows and French doors. Wooden floors, limestone counters, off-white cabinetry (Estate Collection in Glacier Pewter; wellborn.com), and cream-colored walls “infuse the kitchen’s modern design with a casual farmhouse feeling,” says Rosney Co.

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Kitchen

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry conceals the refrigerator on this wall and the pantry on the opposite wall.

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Dining Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“This is where everyone will really live,” says Bunny, who insisted on wavy glass-front cabinets so “you can’t see in completely” above a buffet counter on one wall. A TV hangs on the other.

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Dining Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

For an unexpected centerpiece, try potted lettuces.

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Dining Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Plush chairs from Bunny’s line surround a Georgia-made table (tritterfeefer.com), which Bunny set with blue-and-white plates inspired by her own china. “Stick with one color to make collecting easier,” she says.

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Dining Room

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Framed photos from Bunny’s Ballard Designs collection help “disguise” the TV.

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Dining Room: Get the Look!

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

COUNTERTOPS Castille Beige honed limestone; parisceramics.com HARDWARE Geometric Rectangular Pull in Satin Nickel; emtek.com CHAIR UPHOLSTERY Heritage Denim (18010-0000); sunbrella.com

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Mudroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“No one in my house ever actually hangs up a coat. They just drop it on a hook,” says Bunny, who installed six hooks and two cubbies that line the back hall—turning the hallway into a bona fide mudroom.

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Mudroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“In most of our homes, we design the ‘support spaces’—like the laundry room and pantry—to connect in an out-of-the-way location in the home. We don’t want them front and center, but they should not seem like a total afterthought,” says Rosney Co. “In spaces like these, really durable floors are essential.” Here, distressed limestone stands up to the traffic.

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Mudroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

These plates add a pop of color and pattern to a hardworking space.

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Mudroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Add texture with a decorative pillow from the Southern Living Home Collection at Dillard’s.

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Pantry

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

“Navy cabinets and a ceramic graphite backsplash dress up the pantry, but the area is still functional,” says Rosney Co. Limestone counters, antique plates, and brass pineapples brighten up the space.

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Pantry

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Omitting doors on the upper cabinets (Estate Collection in Bleu Bronze; wellborn.com) kept the room from feeling tight. “The area is off the back hall by the kitchen and living room. When guests see it, they know they can help themselves,” says Bunny.

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Pantry: Get the Look!

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

TILES Floors, Bourgogne Claire Light Distressed Full Range limestone; countertops, Castille Silver limestone; and backsplash, Black Metal Subway Tile; all available through parisceramicsusa.com HARDWARE Geometric Square Knob in Satin Nickel; emtek.com

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Master Bedroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

“I used a lot of blues and browns in here to keep it from feeling too feminine or too masculine,” says Bunny. The toile on the club chairs drives the scheme, which is accentuated by the blue-and-beige-striped curtains (the only curtains hanging in the house). “In most rooms, I didn’t want to detract from the view, but in bedrooms you need to be able to control the light.” You also need a chair or two for sitting and bedside tables that are actually big enough to hold all of your things.

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Master Bedroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

A soft-blue upholstered bed, simply outfitted with a cream coverlet and white sheeting, keeps everything from getting too fussy.

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Master Bedroom

Credit: Photo: Laurey W. Glenn

Bold botanicals hanging alongside a colorful abstract painting over the bed at first feel mismatched but actually convey a true collector’s authenticity. Bunny also says, “Flanking a picture with brackets really adds to a room’s decor.”

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Master Bedroom