The holding time that I chose to take came at a strategic period within the renovation and restoration of Waverley Hill.  It is a challenging balance to strike; to create a place that is both inviting to modern sensibilities, yet honors the original intent and vision of the architect.  When confronted with renovation decisions, I quickly learned to have one foot each on the accelerator and brake at all times, to prevent the error of making too many changes, and weakening the architect's original vision.

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Had I not had this holding period, with many winter evenings given over to fires and thought, I may well have not been receptive to the epiphany that arrived to me.  I can clearly recall walking through the house, as if in a dream, beginning in the library – the most personal and intimate space in the house – and progressing through a series of doorways, into the ever more public dining and drawing rooms, and feeling a sense of arrival on the garden loggia, greeted by the beautiful, wide-open views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

 

It was finally time for the renovations to begin.  Had I missed this opportunity to slow down, however, I'm sure I would have been too aggressive with the changes I made.  Ultimately, it helped me to move forward with a "less is more" approach, working to uncover and celebrate as much of the architect's original work as we could find.  After a disappointing initial experience with a local architectural firm – which combined lacklustre plans with suggestions of dubious tradesmen – I moved on to some exceptionally talented creative sources. 

 

Under the capable direction of Wilson Fuqua, the highly revered classicist architect from Dallas, and nationally admired architect Madison Reid Spencer of Charlottesville, the restoration began.  Happily, we chose Welsh Construction as the general manager.