Peabody Architects

At Home in the Blue Ridge Mountains

This house is part of a family compound. Several houses and various out-buildings share a 176 acre parcel of land in Rockbridge County, Virginia, with spectacular views to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The owners wanted to upgrade the general level of quality and add a small, separate office. In the process, we relocated the dining room and kitchen, expanded the south porch, and added another porch to create an entry to the new kitchen. The renovation also included installing a geo-thermal heat pump. This had two advantages for the owner — it reduced monthly energy bills by using the steady 55 degree temperature of the earth to heat and cool the home, and it allowed them to get rid of the compressors which sat near the front door.

We designed the office to resemble a traditional dependency structure. It sits across the driveway from the main house and houses both office and exercise rooms. A front porch with chamfered wood posts complements the simple stucco exterior.

All cabinetry was designed by us and custom fabricated. Carey Reid Kirk, of Annapolis, designed the interior finishes and furnishings. Albiston Associates, of Charlottesville was the landscape architect.