If there’s one house I really miss, it’s a weekend home I had in the Virginia Blue Ridge a few years back. Part of what I loved about the place were the rural surroundings—views of Old Rag Mountain and its undulating neighbors in the chain. (The mountains really do appear blue-tinged from a distance because of the isoprene emitted by spruce and fir trees.) But what was truly wonderful about the house was how it immersed you in views— both long-range and close by.
The house achieved this with walls of windows on three sides of its great room. There was a deep back porch that filtered the western sun, and another deep front porch that titrated the southern exposure. The room had a double-height living area at the center, then the ceiling dropped over the flanking dining and fireside sitting areas. We called the central zone the cocktail lounge, because it felt social and celebratory, while the dining and sitting areas were far more intimate and cozy—all this in just one well-planned room.
The house was built by an interior designer and a builder for themselves, and they knew what they were doing. Sure, there were some flaws, but they got the major moves just right. Floor planning really is everything, and it goes wrong in so many houses. As we know, it’s among the most expensive aspects of a house to fix later on. The biggest mistake? Windows in just one direction.
Every now and then, I pine for another weekend home in the mountains. And then I remember the terrible traffic getting to and from. I recall the exorbitant carrying costs of two houses, and the stress of trying to maintain them both. Unless you have deep pockets and can hire everything done for you, you spend all that imagined relaxation time pulling hard labor at each location. (Although I do admit I enjoyed mowing the rural lawn with the tractor.)
What’s the answer to this vacation house craving if you don’t want to or can’t afford to own more than one property? This issue of RD offers a solution—design your primary home as if it were a vacation house. Did my weekend place require those long-range mountain views to wield its power over me? Actually, the closer view of the pond and its paper birch trees was more bewitching; and a favorite reading chair nestled by the fire was the best place on earth come wintertime.
The houses we feature in this issue are located in beautiful places, but most are full-time residences. And if you examine their key features, it’s clear to see they would still lift the spirits even without their long-range vistas. A curated view of a garden, courtyard, or stand of trees would do the trick, too. Humans crave nature and natural light, but also shelter and protection. We don’t need to spend hours on the highway every weekend to find the prospect and refuge we seek.