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Neema and Mitesh Amin, with daughters Kirin, 6, and Riya, 8, relax in their contemporary home in Chester. Though most of the first floor is open, separate living spaces are clearly delineated, with a sunken living room, varied ceiling treatments, and mahogany planters and slatted screens.
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The kitchen features sleek Acrilux cabinets from UltraCraft in a silvery finish.
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The house is the only contemporary in a traditional neighborhood. The exterior was designed to blend in so it would satisfy requirements of the neighborhood’s architectural review board.
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The dining room opens to the foyer and features an accent wall painted in Benjamin Moore’s “New York State of Mind.” The art is by Isabelle Menin, the lights are from Ferguson and the Ritz dining table is by Bross.
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The back of the Amins’ home is covered in large windows that overlook a saltwater pool and the James River. The windows in the kitchen/dining area slide into a recessed opening to create a seamless flow between the in-door and outdoor living spaces.
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The home’s drop zone features a wall of Acrilux cabinets from UltraCraft in blue, providing ample storage space for the family.
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The cozy library/music room features more Acrilux cabinets, here in an energetic red.
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The large foyer features an open, cantilevered staircase set behind a glass wall.
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The Amins entertain often in their home, and the spacious media room serves as a hub during football season with its multiple TVs, full bar and a large wine room designed by Mitesh to hold about 180 bottles.
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The master bedroom includes a balcony that offers views of the James, where it is not uncommon to see a barge float by or a bald eagle soaring above. An Ortal fireplace keeps things cozy in the fall and winter.
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The luxurious guest bathroom features a sunken infinity tub with a ceiling-mounted spout from Kohler that fills the tub with a linear column of water.
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A girl’s bedroom features a painted wall mural with three-dimensional paper flowers by local artist Abernathy Bland. Neema saw her work at the restaurant Foo Dog in The Fan, which has a similar installation over its bar. The bed is by Lago.
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Kirin and Riya relax in their spacious second-floor playroom.
Stepping through the front door of Neema and Mitesh Amin’s Chester home, a visitor doesn’t know where to look first. To the right, a wooden screen marks one corner of the dining room. On the near left, glass panels enclose a wooden staircase that bends its way upward.
Directly ahead, a sunken family room beckons with spare yet comfortable sofas and a wall boasting both a TV and fireplace. A wall of windows reaches from the floor to the 14-foot ceiling and pulls the eye outside, to the in-ground pool with adjacent entertaining pavilion.
And then there’s the river.
The house sits on a 1.8-acre lot adjacent to the James, east of Interstate 295’s Varina-Enon Bridge in Chester. The couple found the site by chance, while visiting the nearby house of a colleague of Neema’s. “We didn’t even know about the neighborhood,” Neema says. “Once my husband saw this area, that was it.”
At the time, the couple was living in an apartment, having sold their Westover Hills West house in anticipation of finding a new home more convenient to their medical offices south of Richmond. But it took a while for everything to fall into place.
Before construction could begin, dirt had to be trucked onto the lot to fill a large dip, says architect Michael Foltz, of McAllister + Foltz Architecture PC. Then, Foltz had to design a house to suit his modern-minded clients as well as satisfy the neighborhood’s architectural review board.
“The Amins would have been happy with a cube,” he says. “But the neighborhood is very traditional. We went with a subdued, yet contemporary vision.”
Foltz says his goal was to “capture every view we could” — following the river’s path at the rear while being mindful of the cul de sac’s curves.
Construction began in December 2011 and continued until March 2013 — but stopped during January and February 2012, so as not to disturb breeding patterns of bald eagles who make their home along the river. Neema says the delay was actually helpful: “I used the time to catch up on picking finishes.”
“Our kids growing up in the house that we love makes it our dream house.” —Neema Amin
Without the aid of a professional interior designer, Neema and Mitesh poured their own time and energy into the project, learning as they went. “We were involved in every aspect [of the building],” Neema says. “There were very few things that we disagreed on,” Mitesh adds.
Their strategy was to defer to one another on matters that the other found significant. As a result, the in-ground saltwater pool — which Mitesh wanted — was built immediately instead of waiting until their daughters were older. Inside, Neema prevailed with the open floor plan and built-in planters so greenery could be incorporated in a clean and unobtrusive way.
The project was not without its challenges. The couple wanted to use JESCO recessed LED lights instead of larger, traditional can lights. But would they be bright enough? To check, the electrician built a prototype room so the lights could be assessed before they were installed.
In the kitchen, the couple was persistent in their desire to have the quartz island top extend from its cabinetry base without any connection to the ceiling or floor, which would interfere with sight lines. Emerson Builders of Chester found a solution: the installation of a steel beam, hidden under the counter, runs down through the cabinets and is anchored under the tile floor.
The couple enjoys taking advantage of the house’s features by entertaining often, either outside, with a complete kitchen pavilion, or in the media room, with a full bar, multiple TVs and a wine closet designed by Mitesh. Friends and colleagues know to look forward to the family’s annual Halloween party.
Both agree the house turned out just as they hoped. “If we were ever to move, there are very few things we would change,” Mitesh says. “This flows well and has what we need.” Neema adds she’s happy they took the plunge when they did. “People wait to build their dream houses until later, but we wanted to enjoy it now, while our kids are growing up,” she says. “Our kids growing up in the house that we love makes it our dream house.”
