A Place in the Pines

For our 2025 Southern Living Idea House, we planted ourselves in the Virginia countryside, where we built a modern homestead with enduring style

- BY BETSY WATSON

GROWING SEASON

With tart cherry andstar magnolia trees,the orchard out frontsets a bucolic tone.

THE WINDING LANE to our Idea House takes its time revealing all its charms. The rambling path unfolds first between stretches of sky-high pine trees and then meanders past tiny, spring-fed streams before finally opening up to the home itself, a welcoming two-story dwelling that's carefully positioned on 5 woodsy acres along a lake in Keswick Estate, a pastoral neighborhood just outside Charlottesville. “I think the long approach gives everyone a great sense of anticipation,” says designer Charlotte Moss of Charlotte Moss, LLC.

To deliver on its promises, we rounded out our crew with other Virginia-rooted visionaries: architects Julie Kline Dixon and Keith Scott of Rosney Co. Architects, landscape architect Eugene Ryang of Waterstreet Studio, builder Allan Pettit of Alexander Nicholson, and developer Molly Hardie. “Lots of times at the end of construction, there's either zero or very little that looks like it’s been there for a while,” says Allan. But that isn't the case here. “This was done intentionally and in such a way that it doesn’t seem like the landscape that surrounds it is all brand spanking new. The house feels grounded, attached, and part of the land,” he explains.

This is due in part to Eugene’s slow and steady approach to establishing a true homestead. From the front yard orchard plantings to a meadow sown to invite birds and pollinators, time is an essential element of the design. “It's about what it will become,” he says. “It's a bit different than instant gratification.” With a reverence for historic precedents and a patient regard for the future, our talented team cultivated a character-filled haven that feels at ease in the foothills.