A Grand Historic Home in Virginia’s Capital City

by Eleanor Lynn Nesmith | Photography by Kip Dawkins

Although patience might be a virtue, sometimes a little prodding from a close friend yields its own rewards. Kim Gottwald had been perfectly content in her late 19th-century Colonial Revival home in Richmond’s historic Three Chopt Road neighborhood, but the interior décor was never quite to her liking. For this single mother with six children under her roof, however, other issues took precedence. Then a few years ago, interior designer Janie Molster stepped in. “‘What are you waiting for?’ I asked Kim. ‘It’s your time now’,” she recalls.

And Molster would know. She and Gottwald grew up in North Carolina, and they have been friends since their college days. “Her six and my five children practically grew up together,” adds Molster. “Interior design is a lot easier when you understand and can identify with a client. I was confident I could interpret her vision and make this house her own.”