Fletcher’s Mill, Virginia, USA

We recently came across the beautiful Fletcher’s Mill, a residential project in Sperryville, Virginia when we saw it featured in Home & Design Magazine’s Spring 2020 issue. Designed by the Washington DC based Richard Williams Architects, it features our medium sized Gooseberry Pendant light in the kitchen. Thanks to Richard Williams for sharing the photos and details of this project with us, head over to the Richard Williams Architects website to see lots more images of this wonderful space!

The Fletcher’s Mill residence, Virginia

A new residence (4900 SF) and guest house (850 SF) are sited on a knoll that is the upper part of a meadow that slopes gently down to a small freestone river. The compound formed by the two structures is the terminus of a long and level plateau bordered by woods, and of a new entry drive. From this vantage point, this new minimalist house of concrete, cedar, copper, bluestone, and steel windows features views of the meadow, the river itself, and two nearby peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This modern house set directly in the working agrarian landscape of the Virginia Piedmont recalls local traditions once strongly held. Traditional too is the prevalent use of thickened walls (housing ample storage), a palette of natural materials, and a massive tall chimney anchoring the linear forms and terraces to this particular earth.

The site section was carefully considered to achieve comfortable and direct access to the landscape, as well as a prospect from which to view it. By skewing slightly off parallel to contour, the 2-story main house heels into the slope of the meadow at the edge of the plateau to enable each living level to connect to grade. The principal living spaces arrayed along the long axis feature broad views of the lower river meadow to the south, and the wooded hills beyond the river. The main circulation spine linking these spaces is strategically sited to frame views at each end of the close-by mountain peaks.

Often an afterthought, in the design of this project the screen porch was the starting point for the site parti and the organization of the program. It and the raised deep end of the pool, occupy the choicest point of the entire property. The east-facing porch is connected en suite to the kitchen and principal living / dining space beyond, making it a destination all times of the day for all but the harshest seasons.