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In the living room: a table by Bunny Williams Home; chairs from Hickory Chair in Rogers & Goffigon fabric; and a Thibaut ottoman with Samuel & Sons decorative tape trim
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A gilded wood bench by Ferrell-Mittman upholstered in a Schumacher striped silk, and a gilded iron table by Visual Comfort
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The media room employs a “Fall in Virginia” palette, with custom arm chairs by Thibaut; a sofa, loveseat and ottomans by Hickory Chair; and a bar designed by Mindy Bain.
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The primary bedroom features a custom chaise lounge by Hickory Chair and draperies in Colefax and Fowler fabric with Samuel & Sons silk trim.
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Bain designed the primary bath floor in White Thassos and Blue Celeste marble with a three-part border to give the effect of an Oriental rug.
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In the grandchildren’s room, custom Hickory Chair daybeds with Ralph Lauren ticking stripe fabric are paired with drapes and a valance in Lewis & Wood fabric with Samuel & Sons velvet tape trim.
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Bain designed the 5-by-10-foot mahogany island; the pendants are by Vaughan, and the wall cabinets are painted Farrow & Ball Hardwick White.
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Bain added Samuel & Sons’ silk bullion tassel fringe and tape trim to the sofa cushions; the lamps are Visual Comfort with Edgar Reeves shades.
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A Louis XVI-style chair by Ferrell-Mittman features a velvet pillow by B. Viz Design with antique Ottoman Empire raised gold embroidery.
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In the guest room, a custom bed from Hickory Chair is upholstered in Quadrille fabric. The 19th-century Italian commode is one of a pair that were sourced in New Orleans.
The view as you enter the home tells you all you need to know.
This apartment — part of Westhampton on Grove, the mixed-use development that replaced the Westhampton Theater in Richmond’s West End — occupies the entire floor of one of the development’s two buildings. Because there’s no shared entry space, the elevator opens directly into the residence. Visitors are greeted by custom hand-painted Paul Montgomery wallpaper, white oak flooring stained to a rich dark walnut, 10-foot ceilings and multilayered millwork that flanks doorways and windows in the foyer.
The effect is exactly what the homeowners, Jeff and Shelley, were looking for.
“I wanted people to step off this elevator and say, ‘Wow!’ ” Jeff says. “I wanted it to look like The Jefferson Hotel.”
The couple — high-school sweethearts from Benedictine and St. Gertrude’s schools (now The Benedictine Schools of Richmond) — knew they wanted to return to Richmond for retirement. While they had lived most of their adult lives in Texas, the pull of family in Virginia, including Shelley’s 96-year-old mother, was strong. In 2017, they began working with Scott Garnett of One South Realty, but they weren’t enthusiastic about what was available.
“We needed a 3,000-square-foot condo without any stairs,” Jeff says. “That product did not exist in Richmond when we started looking.”
The couple eventually got wind of the Westhampton on Grove project and struck a deal with developer Stefan Cametas. “All we had was a handshake,” Jeff says. “He never put [our unit] on the market.”
Their early commitment was a godsend. The couple worked closely with Mindy Bain, principal of M. Carter Design, who was already designing the building’s interior architecture, cabinets and fixtures, to rethink the floorplan and styling. Just off the entry, a wine closet and tasting room now fill the area originally intended for an office. The work space was relocated down the hall.
Bain sourced furniture and antiques, enhancing them with luxe fabrics and subtle details to create formal — yet eminently livable — spaces. Wall finishes are neutral but offer texture in silk and grasscloth. Window treatments make statements with muted patterns in floor-to-ceiling drapes topped with valances.
“From the beginning, they said they wanted a clean slate, to bring almost nothing” from their Texas home, Bain says. “They really had a vision for how they wanted to entertain and have company.”
Jeff adds, “We had completely renovated [our Texas] house, so we’d been down the path of picking every knob, every color. We asked Mindy for A-B-C choices, and 85% of what’s there is Mindy’s recommendation. I don’t think we ever got to a C.”
The couple couldn’t be happier with their new digs.
“Shelley likes to go to all the nearby places: The Continental, Beijing on Grove,” Jeff says. “And I love that I can put on music and cook dinner for my mother-in-law, with the doors open to the deck, and an early evening breeze.”
