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The wallpaper is Lindsey in Sand; the fabric on the window treatments and side chair is Westmont Brown and Slate, the rug is Newport in Cobblestone, and the Dixon sofa in Kingsley Bark; all are from Thibaut. The chandelier and sconces are by Visual Comfort & Co.
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The island walnut countertop is by Scotsman Company, the brass hardware is by Art & Forge, the pendant light is by Visual Comfort, and the bar stools are Antibes from Century Furniture. The vintage plates were collected from local shops.
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Designed to sit low across the land, the 2025 Southern Living Idea House in Keswick was developed by Molly Hardie of Keswick Real Estate and built by Allan Petit of the custom builder Alexander Nicholson. Standing at one-and-a-half stories, the bedrooms are tucked under the large hip roof. The plants in the arrival court are from the Southern Living Plant collection.
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The Gabriella round dining table and Portofino dining chairs with cushions in Pierre Frey are by Woven. The painted green stripe Bouillote lampshade is from Charlotte Moss.
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The Norfolk Stripe wallpaper in chocolate and the Saybrook Check in brown window treatment fabric are by Thibaut. The Carrington Small Lantern chandelier in French Rust and the Mykonos Medium sconce in gilded iron are by Visual Comfort & Co. The antique reclaimed Spanish marble floor tile is from Versailles Surfaces.
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Sherwin-Williams paints in the living room include Chartreuse on the walls and White Flour on the trim and ceiling. Schumacher Daydream in Citron fabric was used for the window treatments, on the Allie Slipper chair by Century, and the Louis XVI armchair from Charlotte Moss. The Century Furniture Layla Banquette is upholstered in Schumacher Auden Chenille.
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The walls are painted Sherwin Williams Dutch Cocoa, the ceiling in Blissful Blue and the trim in White Flour. The window treatment fabric is Kravet-Lee Jofa Leuven in Cielo and Arable Fabrics Sanfor Airo Opt White and the extendable dining table and Belvedere upholstered side chairs are from Williams Sonoma. The china cabinet is from Kenny Ball Antiques.
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The walls, trim and millwork are painted Sherwin-Williams Studio Blue Green and the ceiling is in Alabaster. The flooring is French Sarbonne Limestone from Versailles Surfaces. The antique console table is from Kim Faison Antiques and the stag head is from Charlotte Moss.
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The wallpaper is Holly Trellis, the window treatment fabric is Garden Club in Blue, both from Thibaut. The secretaire is from Kenny Ball Antiques. Inside the secretaire are florals by Vladimir Kanevsky and plates from Charlotte Moss. The Bamboo chair is from Heyday Antiques.
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The wallpaper is Chatelain in Green by Thibaut. The Maury cabinetry hardware is by Art & Forge. The vanity backsplash and counter stone is Cipollino honed finish, and the Goodman Petite hanging shades in brass are by Visual Comfort & Co.
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The Charlotte in Petal closet hangings fabric is from Michael Devine Fabrics and Wallpapers, the runner is from Galleria Carpets & Rugs, the Dalfern desk lamps are from Visual Comfort & Co., and the custom lamp shades are from The Shade Shop.
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The Twin Pencil Post Bed in white lacquer is by Reid Classics, the bed hangings fabric is Calico Floral Stripe Lipstick from Lisa Fine Textiles, the quilt is from Heyday Antiques, and the Seaside Wavy Side Table in a custom white finish is by Society Social.
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The iron elephants are from Charlotte Moss; the black rattan lamp is vintage and the lamp shade is from The Shade Shop. The Aryana chest is by Chelsea House, the Bronze Ram Horn bookends are Michael Aram, and the Willowbrook Wheat window shades are from Horizons Window Fashions.
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The tete-a-tete, upholstered in Schumacher Shivalik Hills Tiger Gold fabric, is from Century Furniture; the antique tea table is from Kim Faison Antiques; the chairs by the back window, upholstered in Schumacher Erindale Spice, are by Charlotte Moss; and the grasscloth coffee table is by Society Social.
Since 1989, Southern Living magazine has built dozens of Idea Houses in communities across the South, showcasing the region’s best in residential design. The 2025 Idea House, in the Keswick Estates community just outside Charlottesville, was designed and built by a team of local experts commissioned by the iconic lifestyle magazine. Idea Houses are always ambitious, says Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living, as the team must work collaboratively to move the projects from concept to construction to completion in just one year.
Nestled in the midst of a 5-acre lot, the Idea House is invisible to its neighbors. A winding drive brings visitors through what will be eventually be a small meadow and between deciduous and evergreen woodlands before leading to a newly planted orchard and then the house, where a true Southern-style veranda welcomes guests. The diverse topography of the location spoke to the agrarian vernacular of the region and inspired the team’s modern homestead concept, says landscape architect Eugene Ryang of Waterstreet Studio.
“[The property] is so special, and it was so obvious that the house needed to reflect back to the site what it was,” says Julie Kline Dixon of Rosney Co. Architects, “and that — to me, architecturally — meant that it needed to feel like a retreat. … And when you think about retreat-style architecture, it’s more about how the architecture blends the inside with the outside and sits lightly on that land, rather than dominating that land around it. And to that end, we kept the architectural forms really humble. By that I mean low. [The house is] a true story-and-a-half.”
In a departure from other recent Idea Houses, the team focused on creating flow among the indoor spaces rather than an open floor plan. Different lighting and design perspectives give individual rooms different personalities that can be tailored to the ways they will be used. “Our firm belief is there are spaces that should be meant for gathering in big groups, but there are also spaces that should be sized and designed for quiet reading or solitude, and there should be spaces that are designed for making things and being messy,” Dixon says.
The landscape around the house, in particular its enormous pine trees, inspired the interior color palette, notes designer Charlotte Moss. “The landscape was just talking to me. And then when we walked in the front door once they had it framed up, I went, ‘Look at what we see. All we see is green and brown.’ And so I wanted that entry to not be hot pink or turquoise or lavender. I wanted it to [give the] feel [of] fluid movement from the outside to the inside, and then looking outside again. Because when you walk in the foyer, you look right through to the living room. ... The whole back of the living room is all glass, and you look outside. So, it just made sense to me to embrace the landscape with the color palette, to make it one fluid gesture.”
Moss says she worked with the hues of a magnolia leaf — the glossy green on one side and shades of brown on the furry underside — throughout the house, augmenting the palette in each room to express its personality. Shades of butter yellow and brown work together to complement vibrant chartreuse green walls in the living room, and soft blue hues join elements of deep brown in the library. Deep blue-green adds warmth to the boot room, while chocolate-brown striped wallpaper installed in a trompe l’oeil tented look gives the entry a sense of ceremony.
With no client to design for, Moss and her team envisioned a family of four. They designed the interior of the 4,500-square-foot, four-bedroom house for two imaginary children — a 12-year-old girl who loves to collage and her older brother who is a fan of Ferraris — and their parents. The house includes a family art studio, a library, a separate dining room and a primary bedroom retreat set apart from the rest of the house.
The interiors are layered with texture, color, and old and new elements. Floral fabrics mix with stripes and the geometric patterns in vintage quilts and woven textiles. To furnish the house — and supplement the limited budget provided — Moss brought in brands including Thibaut (wallpaper and fabrics) and Visual Comfort & Co. (lighting) as sponsors. She scoured local thrift stores for vintage finds; borrowed pieces from local antique dealers Kenny Ball, Helen Storey and Kim Faison; and added others from her own collection. “I think it’s those antiques that make this house feel lived in, time worn, generational and layered,” Moss says.
There are also a lot of DIY features in the house. “It’s important that everyone understands that we did some of these things ourselves,” Moss says. Some projects, such as the gallery wall of song lyric prints in the living room, make a big impact. Others add to the home’s personality, including the photographs Moss took of the lacy leaves she found during her first visit to the house and framed for display in the library.
The 2025 Southern Living Idea House in Keswick is open for tours Thursday-Saturday through Dec. 21. A portion of tour proceeds benefit local nonprofits Yellow Door Foundation, Hospice of the Piedmont and Building Goodness Foundation. Find tickets at keswick.com.
