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The 2023 Richmond Symphony League Designer House, the Taylor Estate on Monument Avenue (Photo by Susan W. Morgan)
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Rooms reimagined: A rendering of the breakfast room by Geraldine Duskin, Art Style Design RVA
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Rooms reimagined: A rendering of the foyer by Melanie Kliewer & Melissa Fuller, Ethan Allen Richmond
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Rooms reimagined: A rendering of the bedroom by Jamie Ivey, Ivey Design Group
After a hiatus of five years, a Richmond Symphony League Designer House will open its doors this fall, showcasing the talents of nearly two dozen area interior professionals, all eager to demonstrate their skills in transforming a specific space into something special.
“They come up with ideas you never would have thought of,” says Designer House co-chair Joanne Barreca. “Some are quite whimsical. [The house] is a wonderful showcase of their work.”
The Designer House, the signature fundraising event for the Richmond Symphony League, was last held in 2018. Dual challenges of the pandemic and securing a suitable property to host the showcase caused their traditional biennial schedule to be disrupted, delaying the debut of the 19th home in the series.
“It’s quite an ask,” Barreca says. “People have to move out [of their homes] at their own expense and move their belongings out. We had hoped to open the house in the spring, but there was work to be done. The contractors said they needed more time.”
This year’s home, located at 2325 Monument Ave., was designed by renowned Richmond architect W. Duncan Lee and built in 1915 for Jaquelin Plummer Taylor, founder of Universal Leaf Tobacco Corporation, at a cost of $45,000 — roughly $1.3 million in today’s dollars. For decades, the home was the primary residence of Helen Marie Taylor, who married into the family in the 1960s and famously prevented the covering of Monument Avenue’s original pavers in 1968 by standing in front of asphalt trucks, later prevailing in a lawsuit she and others filed.
Two floors of the 12,000-square-foot house will be open to the public, along with two original Charles Gillette gardens and a carriage house that is being repurposed to serve as a cafe and boutique. The street-facing stucco exterior gives few hints to the many architectural details found inside, including exquisite millwork and plaster artistry.
“That puts limits on what [the designers] can do,” Barreca notes. “They’re also not allowed to use wallpaper on the first floor, because there are so many chair rails and panels. This house will really challenge their imaginations.”
La Bella Note, a gala with music by Richmond Symphony musicians, opens the show house on Friday, Sept. 8. Public tours run Sept. 11 through Oct. 9. “Thirsty Thursdays” will offer evening tours with musical entertainment, wine and beer.
The Designer House is a labor of love, Barreca says, adding, “The Richmond Symphony League’s main goal is to raise money for the symphony. It’s a way for visitors to see a home they’d likely never see, and they can get ideas and see what designers can do. It really is our signature event.”
For more information, visit designerhouserva.com.
