The Becherer House designed by architect Robert M. Gurney is a low and slow homestead that invites you in with its warm, traditional feel, but it’s certainly not without its contemporary touches. This pastoral setting here in Albemarle County, Virginia sets the stage for a cool, casual lifestyle. Lined with screened porches, and topped with gabled roofs and a smoking chimney, this place has all the elements of a countryside home. Come on in and take the tour!
Surrounded by a rustic dark-stained fence, the house sits on the crest of a hill, giving it the perfect vantage point for viewing the rolling pastures and forest that surround it.
Horses grazing close to home complete the picture-perfect vistas that urban dwellers can only dream of.
The house sits close to the ground, strengthening its connection to nature while maximizing the serene scenes and offering easy outdoor access.
The house’s scale creates a sense of intimacy and warmth that a true home demands, but its smart layout stretches farther than you’d think, creating lots of living space behind its glass facades.
The glazing creates a lantern effect at night that draws you in like a moth to a flame. The home glows warmly from within, welcoming residents and guests to enter and enjoy all it has to offer.
The home’s traditional gabled roofs are clad in black, standing seam metal, with facades finished in clapboard siding that screams rural charm.
The U-shaped placement of the three gabled-roof volumes creates a private courtyard, not that there is much “public” to worry about here in this peaceful location! The layout also adds intimacy to interiors, wits its windowed walls facing each other. The glass walls give the central pavilion a “see-through” appearance, with the woods visible on the other side.
A bluestone terrace leads across the front on the home, past its many windows that give passersby a sneak-peek at what’s inside.
A sheltered entrance is tucked between two volumes, offering a private entryway sheltered from wind and rain.
It’s the perfect place to drop your boots and hat on your way in.
The home’s traditional exterior is given a modern element with glass walls wrapping its main-floor living areas. Interiors reflect that same classic / contemporary sentiment, with warm, honey-colored wood floors and feature walls, vaunted ceilings, and floor-to-ceiling glass walls on either side. The glass walls flood interior with natural night and views.
The eat-in kitchen is open and bright – the perfect place for food prep and casual family meals. Wood cabinets offer earthy storage, with a place for everything hidden out of sight yet easily on hand. High ceilings give this small kitchen a sense of added space.
The kitchen opens onto the dining and living area, where a modern marble fireplace surrounded by a wood feature wall adds instant warmth with a contemporary edge. Suspended lights hang down from the high vaulted ceilings, giving the space a subtle but modern detail overhead.
The dining area features glass walls which extend sightlines well beyond the home’s boundaries. Just on the other side, an alfresco sitting area overlooks the fields and forest.
And with a fresh landscape like this, the porches are probably among the home’s fave hotspots.
But even when you’re inside, nature find its way to you through the expansive windows at every turn.
The bedroom is a simple spot, an escape from the daily rush. Decorated with little adornment, but for a modern steel-canopy bed and the piece de resistance – the views.
Even the ensuite bathroom boasts a breathtaking view! Accessed through a tall hallway, this spa-inspired space is made to pamper body and mind.
Here are some floor plans to illustrate layout:
Robert M. Gurney Architect
via Contemporist
photo credit: Maxwell MacKenzie
