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The mural by Richmond artist Jewett Campbell is original to the house. The early Mies van der Rohe chrome and leather chairs are from Art Style Design RVA.
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Barrett Brown says her design aesthetic reflects her childhood experiences living in Japan.
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Inspired by the time he spent as an apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin, Bud Hyland incorporated elements from Wright’s 1936 Usonian houses in the design of his home.
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Clerestory windows below the angled roof admit daylight, while the large windows at the back of the house unite the indoor and outdoor spaces.
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Brown’s loom-filled weaving studio is in the room Bud Hyland once used as his office.
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Richmond artist Charles Renick created “Three Contemporary Figures,” a sculpture of cast green granite and marble chip, for the Hylands in 1950.
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Guests love the light-filled, treehouse feel of this cozy nook, Brown says.
Down a leafy lane just south of the Huguenot Bridge is a house passerbys could easily miss. Even though it’s right next to the road, its low-lying one-story design, neutral paint color and simple, unadorned exterior almost keep it hidden in plain sight. But the unassuming modern house is anything but insignificant.
Built in 1949 by Richmond’s most prolific and notable midcentury architect, Frederick “Bud” Hyland, the structure reflects his time spent as an apprentice to America’s modern architect master, Frank Lloyd Wright. Hyland designed more than 30 houses in Richmond, but he built this one for himself and his wife, Ruth. While others have lived there after Hyland, today, it’s the treasured home of Barrett Brown, who regards her role as steward with reverence.
Brown, a retired language teacher at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, recalls stepping inside the front door of the house in 2011 and taking in the view of trees through the kitchen door with her late husband, John Mingus. They knew immediately that their house hunt was “done.” After living in an older home in Church Hill for 20 years, they were excited about a change, but they were unfamiliar with Hyland and his work. They learned quickly and became aware of a quiet mandate from midcentury lovers citywide: Don’t mess up the house! While the couple made subtle adjustments, the house remains as Hyland intended — a reflection of Wright’s penchant for seamlessly marrying structure to the contours of a site.
Perched on a precipice that drops sharply to a ravine, “it feels like you’re in a treehouse,” Brown says of the home. Leaves in season lend requisite shade to English ivy, hostas, ferns, hellebores and azaleas planted among large rocks. An old spring feeds a small pond full of goldfish, but was originally used as a plunge pool on hot days.
Evidence of Wright’s influence is found throughout the home’s interior, beginning with the entryway. Brown explains: “A modest entrance, a narrow hall leading to the wide-open living room full of light — compression and release.” Other Wright-esque details include cypress wood surfaces from paneled walls to bookcases, brickwork on the fireplace and hearth, no ceilings (what you see is the inside surface of the roof), shed roofs and overhangs, and a small basement that seems begrudgingly added, as it’s accessed from outside only.
The couple had no modern furniture when they moved in, so they set about mixing their more traditional decor with some new pieces. Sarah Paxton, co-owner of furniture purveyor La Diff, helped with some selections, including two shiny red bar stools pulled up to a kitchen peninsula, which was previously added to a nearly original kitchen, and a handsome curved sofa in the living room.
Seated on the sofa, Brown takes in the view she says she's lucky enough to see every day. With many windows positioned at different heights, the living room is bright, even as the afternoon sun moves west. “I love the light and the way it moves around,” she says. To achieve that effect, Hyland followed one of Wright’s well-known design approaches: blurring the line between inside and out through plentiful windows that serve as portals to sky and lush greenery. Brown fondly remembers her husband preparing to lift their bedroom window shade each morning with a question: “Ready for the reveal?”
The house is more than a dwelling. It has a persona that dictates what works. “It’s all about the house. It rejects what is not right,” Brown says. “The house has strong opinions. Ruth Hyland said that when the house was empty, it was at its most gorgeous, and it’s up to its residents to not get in its way.” Living there has been a joy says Brown, who plans to stay indefinitely. “It’s a very easy house to be in.”
