For nearly one hundred years this house near Deltaville, Virginia has welcomed the rising sun to the east and warmed itself by the sun setting in the west. It is one of countless houses of its kind built by unknown craftsmen in Tidewater Virginia.
It may be considered among the finest houses in America, not because it is exceptional but because it is ordinary. The great English architect Philip Webb was unhappy with his design until it looked commonplace. An artistic house is made to behold, a common house is made to be held in our hands.
The beauty of this house comes from the fact that we don’t notice it. The brick clay was dug from a hill nearby, the oak and pine boards were cut from local trees, and the same house was made over and over. Like a wildflower in a thicket, it is without consciousness of beauty, style, or fashion. Straightforward, natural, modest and without contrivance, it has the same qualities we admire in a person.
In Zen there is a saying that at the far end of the road lies effortless peace. The beauty of this house lies in its effortless peace.
