Text: Tiffany Adams
Photography: Stacy Zarin Goldberg
The lure of the Blue Ridge Mountains had long beckoned when the now owners of this Loudoun County, Virginia, property found their forever home. “We came here from the Washington, D.C., suburbs in the early fall after searching for much smaller homes in the area,” says the husband. As the pair made their way up a long, winding drive laden with a changing seasonal landscape, the appeal was almost immediate. Upon arrival at the residence, the charm of a C. F. A. Voysey–inspired cottage also spoke to them through features such as the slate roof and fieldstone facade, both of which seem fitting for the hillside forest setting.
7. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
6. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
5. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
4. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
3. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
2. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
1. Erika Bonnell Updates Classic Cottage in Virginia
While they were immediately enchanted with the land and the exterior of the home, there was more to the story. Built in the 1990s, the house was in foreclosure and had fallen into disrepair. Similarly, the property’s near-40-acre arboretum—which remains one of the largest privately held on the East Coast and features a prized collection of conifers from around the globe—was overgrown and in desperate need of attention.
What may have looked like work to others was a dream opportunity for the couple, starting with the structure. “The house had tremendous bones and millwork. We wanted to brighten it up, make it warm and friendly and bring in our own eclectic sense of style,” the husband says of their vision. “Because of the size of the project, we knew we needed a designer to help us put all the pieces together,” he adds.
The pair reached out to Erika Bonnell Interiors for advice on blending their aesthetics while making updates. “They both have a strong point of view when it comes to design, and they didn’t want to lose that,” Bonnell says. Specifically, the husband’s style leans more contemporary with a penchant for Scandinavian and mid-century modern pieces, while the wife is somewhat traditional, preferring antiques and vintage pieces as well as found objects. “We have an international style as well as a deep appreciation of American art and antiques,” the wife says. “It’s more of a collected look.”
To address both styles, Bonnell traded some of the home’s heavier features for lighter, more breathable options that allow beloved furnishings to take center stage yet kept character-rich elements, like the hand-scraped floors, intact. Notably, the dining room’s dark damask wallcovering and heavy valances were replaced with a scenic wallpaper reflective of the home’s setting and white window coverings that can be pulled back to allow light into the room.
“They have an amazing collection of art and interesting furniture,” Bonnell says. “They purchase things that speak to them; my challenge is to connect and highlight them in a cohesive way. Every space has a bit of each one of them,” she adds, pointing to the wife’s collection of vintage glassware in both the dining space and kitchen.
Outdoors, the couple not only revived the arboretum but also added a vegetable garden as well as cutting and butterfly gardens, an apiary, and an orchard with peaches, plums, and nectarines. “For us, it’s really about bringing back the land and being good stewards of it,” the wife says. “This has been a whole new learning experience for us, and the house has really become a haven for so many people. We have friends who will call us up and say they need to come for a weekend.”
