Anice Hoachlander
Hunt Country Hilltop House, Fauquier County, Va.
Spread out on a hunt country hilltop, this home recalls old Virginia farmhouses whose telescoping wings were added over time. Its classic lines are ideal for the site, a high ridge with views of mountains and equestrian trails.
Materials are carefully tied to regional precedents, too. A central brick section housing the dining, living, and family rooms is bracketed by clapboard appendages containing the kitchen/pantry/mud room and a master suite, a nod to rural buildings. And the detached guesthouse’s board-and-batten siding echoes the simpler, less expensive materials found on outbuildings.
Merit Award
Category Custom home, more than 6,000 square feet
Entrant/Architect Barnes Vanze Architects, Washington
Builder ILEX Construction & Woodworking, Middleburg, Va.
Interior designer Tom Boland, Los Angeles
Landscape architect Poke Gardens, Marshall, Va.
See all of this year’s winners in the Builder’s Choice archive.
The 21st-century takeoff introduces plenty of updates, however. A long pergola joins the main house to the guesthouse and pool. Well-placed porches—off the kitchen, living room, mudroom, and master bedroom—provide gathering spots for groups or quiet contemplation. “This couple often has weekend houseguests, so they wanted their master suite to be an enclave away from the house with its own little porch and views,” says Barnes Vanze principal Stephen Vanze. “And they have dogs, so there are places to knock the mud off.” From floor plan to materials and details, this project is a stellar example of how to insert a modern program into a classic house type.
