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HIghland Hills architect Charles Goodman
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These four houses are among six that will be open during Modern Richmond’s tour of Highland Hills on Saturday, Sept. 23.
Real estate websites talk about “hidden treasures” all the time, but in this case, it’s true. Some people who live in Bon Air are even unaware of Highland Hills, a neighborhood of about 80 homes designed by Charles Goodman, an architect influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van de Rohe, and a preeminent Midcentury modern designer in his own right. He worked primarily in the Washington, D.C., area and designed National Airport in Arlington.
Highland Hills is one of two Goodman-designed neighborhoods in Virginia, but it is lesser known than Hollin Hills in Alexandria, which has more than 400 homes and strict design covenants. Over the years, Highland Hills has undergone many changes — some to the detriment of Goodman’s original designs — but a number of its current residents adhere to the code of simplicity and minimalism advocated by the architect.
TOUR
On Saturday, Sept. 23, during Modern Richmond Tour’s Modern Richmond Week, Highland Hills will be the site of a block party and walking tour of six homes in the neighborhood from noon to 4 p.m. These 1950s houses share architectural elements such as low-pitched roofs, expansive windows, carports, walk-out patios, aluminum-siding and central brick hearths. House plans were marketed by the National Homes company and were built from kits produced by architect Charles Goodman’s (above) Washington, D.C.-based firm in the 1940s and 1950s.
Aside from Goodman’s architectural signatures, Highland Hills is characterized by clusters of homes that typically don’t face the street head-on but instead sit among the trees, creeks and curves of the landscape. Goodman wanted to promote community and natural beauty in his neighborhoods.
Matt Brown has lived in Highland Hills for five years with his young son and daughter. He grew up in Crestwood Farm, not far from here, but Highland Hills was still a new discovery for him as he was looking for a home in Bon Air. As an illustrator and graphic designer, Brown has been hooked on Midcentury design for years.
His home is filled with Midcentury furniture he began collecting in the 1980s. He points to a wooden-based lamp that wouldn’t be out of character in Don Draper’s office and then drinks water from a glass decorated with a turquoise argyle pattern.
His three-bedroom ranch features large, open living spaces — previous owners removed a wall between the living room and kitchen — with a hallway down the center of the house separating the public areas from the bedrooms. After doing some research on architect Goodman, Brown was inspired by a National Homes advertisement to add a period-style fence to create a courtyard joining his house and carport. He enjoys gazing out of the wall of windows in his kitchen onto his garden. “The first thing I do in the morning is open the curtains and look out the windows at the plants I planted,” he says.
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Matt Brown’s home still has its original carport. After seeing a vintage National Homes advertisement in Look magazine for a home similar to his own, Brown got the idea to add a paneled fence to create a courtyard space at the front of his house.
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Brown has been collecting Midcentury furniture since the 1980s and enjoys displaying it in its natural habitat.
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A wall of windows, a hallmark of architect Charles Goodman, overlooks the courtyard and connects the house.
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Dianne Rand remodeled her kitchen in 2001, adding cherry cabinets to match the trim found throughout her house.
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The previous owner, an architect, added on a large family room, creating an open floor plan in the home.
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Rand added on the garage in recent years, keeping with the home’s original architectural style.
Dianne Rand also devotes time to her gardens, which range from an Asian-inspired meditation garden to beds of zinnias and black-eyed Susans. Inside her home, artwork featuring animals and nature greets visitors. There’s even a close-up photo of a mushroom taken by Jere Kittle, a Highland Hills neighbor whose house also will be on the tour.
But Rand’s favorite part of her home is its treehouse feel, with windows looking out on the yard full of oaks, pines and other foliage. “It’s like I’m living outside,” she says. “I love the openness. I feel like my house is meant to be shared.”
Rand bought her house in 1997 after feeling the urge on a rainy Sunday afternoon to go house-shopping in South Side. She’d been to Highland Hills years earlier but didn’t quite remember where the neighborhood was. But after several turns, she saw what would become her home, owned then by an architect. “As soon as I walked in the house,” Rand says, “I knew it was for me.”
Also on the Sept. 23 tour of Highland Hills is the home of neighborhood newcomers Jen Anderson and Jim Broyhill, who are planning a fall wedding. They’ve lived in their home for less than a year, and, like other residents, they feel lucky to be in the neighborhood.
“I quote-unquote ‘discovered’ it seven years ago” while looking at homes to buy, Anderson says. Alas, there was nothing available in the neighborhood then. Flash forward to last year, and the couple had a contract on a house in the North Side but had just received news that the basement had major structural problems.
Anderson’s mom called her and said she’d spotted a house in Highland Hills for sale. Broyhill told his fiancee, “You’ve got to go for it.” So they did, with no regrets.
Today, the duo is working on landscaping and plans to put up a ceiling in the unfinished basement. The previous owners made a lot of updates to the main floor, so Broyhill and Anderson don’t have much work to do on that end, except making some furniture purchases. Midcentury style, of course.
“We want to make it original and legit,” Broyhill says.
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Jen Anderson and Jim Broyhill have lived in their house for less than a year and were attracted to Highland Hills for its Midcentury architecture. Anderson’s favorite feature of the house is its large windows.
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Though it appears to be one story from the front, the house sits on a sloping lot and has a large walk-out basement, one of the few in the neighborhood.
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A bold green door adds a pop of color.
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Jere Kittle has lived in Highland Hills since 1973. She was drawn to her home’s clean lines, windows and the view.
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Charles Goodman’s Highland Hills homes are known for this distinctive chimney design, which intersects a band of windows.
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Kittle lives simply, with few carefully chosen pieces of furniture and art.
Jere Kittle and her daughter live in the house that Kittle and her former husband purchased in 1974 as a young married couple. As a graphic designer, Kittle was drawn to the home’s clean lines, as well as the windows, the sunlight and the view. Next to the house, she’s created a Zen garden.
“I live with fewer attachments. It’s good to live that way,” she says. “The design forces you into it.”
Kittle calls herself an introvert, but one of her first memories of the neighborhood involves “roofing parties,” because many of the homes needed new roofs when she and her husband moved in. Like the Amish, Highland Hills residents pitched in and helped build roofs for their neighbors. “I can’t imagine moving,” Kittle says.
