Chairs from Macau and paintings from Vietnam are just a few of the treasures that fill the living room in the Vogts’ home, which will be featured during Historic Garden Week on April 26.
Sarah and Jeff Vogt call their Mooreland Farms classic brick Colonial “home,” but its design inside and out tells the Vogts’ story of living all over the world.
Native to the Richmond area, Sarah attended Collegiate then U.Va. She and her husband, Jeff, who’s originally from Wisconsin, met while working for President George H.W. Bush’s administration, and they have lived and traveled all over the world while raising four children, now ages 13 to 22.
In 2006, the Vogts were living in Hong Kong for Jeff’s work when they received news of the tragic loss of Sarah’s 17-year-old nephew, a student at Christ Church Episcopal in Christ Church, Virginia. They immediately flew to Richmond, and during that time of grief, they felt an enormous outpouring of support from the community. Sarah says that friends repeatedly asked, “When are you going to give it up and move here?” With four young children, they felt the urge to be closer to family and friends, so they made the move and bought their Mooreland Farms home. A few immediate changes made it more livable for their family, with a bigger renovation to follow in 2011, when they added a new kitchen, family room and pool.
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Warm stone reclaimed from Provence, abundant natural light and gracious backyard views make the ktichen space a favorite for gathering.
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In the dining room, a chinoiserie breakfront is a cherished family heirloom. An Itien painting of a Vietnamese folk woman is one of Sarah’s favorites.
Sarah, who runs her own interior design business, says that while she loves working with textiles and playing with patterns, her real passion is for collecting art. Strolling through her home, she fondly recalls where each piece was acquired — paintings from trips to Rome, to Salzburg, to Palm Beach; artifacts and furnishings from Tibet and Jaipur, from high-end galleries and thrift stores alike. And Sarah is as delighted by an $8 find from a junk shop as she is by a piece of fine art. “I truly do think if you love something, you can make it work,” she says.
The Vogts’ foyer contains an eclectic mix from all over the world. An oil portrait by Hanoi artist Van Tho hangs over a 17th-century Italian console from Comer and Co. in Kilmarnock. Another wall features one of Sarah’s favorite groupings: a mixed-media piece by Cuban artist Kadir Lopez; a 1938 charcoal drawing by an artist from the Works Progress Administration; a charcoal drawing Sarah bought in a Paris junk shop; and a still life by Diana Bunting. And on another wall, there’s an abstract acrylic by son Jake, painted when he was in second grade. The living room, just off the foyer, contains a collection of Western American art as well as many other pieces from the Vogts’ stints abroad.
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A gallery in its own right, the Vogts’ foyer features an eclectic mix of art and furnishings representing just some of the family’s favorite moments experienced around the globe. Salvaged wood columns hail from 19th-century France, standing like sculpture after being trimmed to fit the space.
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The Vogts’ backyard was reimagined by Marcia Fryer Landscape Designs to create a kid-friendly yet Zen-like retreat for this busy family.
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Once an open porch, the enclosed space now serves as Jeff Vogt’s office, with cozy furnishings and a collection of American Western art from his grandfather.
In the dining room, paintings of Vietnamese folk women by Hanoi artist Itien grace the pale green walls. The pink of one subject’s dress is repeated in the silk drapes Sarah found at local consignment store Impulse — just one example of her uncanny ability to source just the right thing at the right time for the right space. A chinoiserie breakfront from Jeff’s grandfather is an original designed and crafted by family friend “Mr. Baker” (yes, that Baker, of Baker Furniture) — the piece served as a prototype for reproductions for their eponymous line.
But it’s the new kitchen and family room area, perfectly appointed for cooking, gathering and entertaining, where the Vogts spend most of their time. The cabinetry, designed by Sarah along with Marc Cohen of Trademark Woodworking, reflects a casual elegance with an Old-World vibe. Of particular note is a distressed hanging cabinet with glass doors inspired by a photo Sarah had seen in a high-end design magazine, gracefully reproduced here. Other special touches include flooring made of tiles reclaimed from Burgundy, and tiles on the backsplash area created using stone blocks from a barn in Provence. Wood beams on the ceiling have been aged and stained to add a rustic touch.
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A sun-drenched sitting area is tucked into a nook overlooking the backyard.
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A grid of green provides softness and visual interest to the pool area.
Several seating areas — places for dining and lounging and everything in between — overlook the backyard designed by Marcia Fryer Landscape Designs. Fryer transformed a steeply sloped yard into a space that is equal parts Zen-like oasis yet also a fun and welcoming gathering spot for active teenagers. “Jeff wanted a ‘water feature’ and suggested a wading pool. I said, ‘We cannot have four kids and a wading pool,’ ”
Sarah laughs. The result is an Asian-inspired lap pool with terraced flagstone decking, a side porch with a fireplace, and a small patio with another fountain for quiet reflection.
The Vogt home will be featured during the Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, to be held for the first time in the Mooreland Farms neighborhood, on Thursday, April 26. “The tour is a way to call attention to the value of caring about gardens in our state,” Sarah says. Tour proceeds benefit the restoration and preservation of historic public gardens and other Garden Club of Virginia projects.
The Vogts’ renovation has resulted in more than just a pretty space; the new space unifies their family. Sarah explains, “The idea was: How could we have a space where everyone could be doing their own thing, but still be in the same room? And it really is amazing, because it brought us together.”
