A New Journey Begins​

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I always knew that after my career in Texas, I would return to Virginia.  Because of my years as a student at Washington & Lee, and my parents’ return to the area, Lexington initially held more interest than any other community.  The many happy memories of Christmas and Thanksgiving in Lexington certainly provided a strong gravitational pull for me.  

 

But in 2012, I saw an advertisement for Waverley Hill in Staunton, just half an hour north of Lexington.  I was initially candid with the listing broker that I did not want a house that large – much less that required renovation – but my love of architecture lured me in to see it nonetheless.  Designed in 1929, at the apex of the Georgian Revival period, and by one of its biggest champions, William Lawrence Bottomley’s Waverley Hill carried a historic and architectural confidence that immediately captured my attention.  A dear friend of mine – a top-selling agent on New York City’s upper east side specializing in homes of a similar era – happened to be with me when I saw it, and said “well, if you don’t buy it, I will.”  That was the nudge I needed.  Thank you, Richard Brown!

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I have often thought that my life has been influenced – and assisted – by a series of well-placed and carefully timed guardian angels.  The experience of looking at Waverley Hill proved to be no exception.  Circumstances that first appeared as huge challenges, and created great sadness, often later showed themselves to be important lessons.  In 2013, shortly after buying Waverley Hill, I experienced the abrupt end of an important relationship.  While deeply saddening, the time that followed gave me a healthy space of a few years during which I basically “camped out” at the house, choosing to do very little in terms of renovation.  Slowly, almost independently from my will, I began to absorb the architecture and landscape, and my vision for the house took form.

What resulted from this delay was the formation of a strategic plan that had me make far fewer changes to the house in an effort to preserve its original spirit and character.  Had I not lived several years with the nearly original home – untouched save for the kitchen and a few bathrooms – I’d almost certainly have overdone the renovations to follow.  I also used the time to take an exceptional tour of Bottomley’s work in Richmond and Charlottesville, organized by The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, and organization on whose national board I served.