Lessons from the Idea House

by Virginia Crum

Few things thrill me like a house tour.  Everything about homes, whether grand, humble, or even falling down, interests me.  Their architecture, their positioning in place, their interior spaces, and perhaps most of all:  their interior design, is fascinating to me.

Get the official Southern Living Idea House Resource Guide HERE.


So the Southern Living Idea House is one of my favorite annual events.  If you're not familiar with them, they are commissioned by Southern Living magazine, built to spec from Southern Living-commisioned plans, and decorated by a world-class decorator.  The house incorporates all the latest trends, bells, and whistles.  It should also reflect an idea of home living that is very much on point with how we are living our lives today.

2025's Idea House is once again in Charlottesville, Virginia, making it an easy day trip from our Buckeystown, Maryland home.   A decade ago, 2015, the Idea House was in Charlottesville, and it was a tour de force.  From the architectural design to the incomparable decorating by Bunny Williams, it inspired me to come home and rethink so many things about how my own house was organized and utilized.  A truely inspiring Idea House.  

This year's offering had moments of that extraordinary nod to how we live now and how our homes could make life easier, better.   So come take the tour with me, and let me know what you think about the 2025 Southern Living Idea House:

THE ENTRY

The welcoming entry.  The front door as a 'bay window' is gracious indoors and out.  These rusticly built, yet classically designed planters on either side of the door played perfectly off of the polished front door, painted a rich, chocolate brown with magnificent brass hardware.  The simple, classic lantern light above worked nicely.  It's a shame that the entry mat was oddly sized for the double door, and actually diminished the effect the entry would otherwise have had.   It is in the details that a space is elevated from the ordinary, and I thought this was a curious oversight in such a major project.


The coffee cup cracked me up.  I can't tell you how many abandoned coffee and wine cups we pick up every day we're open here at Chartreuse & co.  It's just one of those things that comes with having people come through a space.

The exterior bay entry opens to an octagonal interior entry.  The light-filled space flows into the living room directly in front of you (with a sweeping view across the backyard to the lake), the dining room to your left, and the private part of the home:  the stair hallway and half bath which lead to the Primary Suite on the first floor and the additional 3 bedrooms on the second floor. 

This inspiration for this charming and dynamic space is the towering, vertical trees that surround the house and lake.  The striped wallpaper was chosen to reflect this natural element.  The effect was somehow light, yet cocooning.  Entirely welcoming.  The intense pattern of the paper and curtains was balanced with the simplicity of the lighting and the stunning reclaimed Spanish marble tiled floor.

Above photo credit:  thescoutquide.com (Somehow I missed getting a picture of this fabulous floor.  I must have just been overwhelmed!)

Every space in the house contained some element of DIY.  In this entry, the lucite shelves provide an invisible seat for the brown-patterned Asian vases.  However, when placed on the shelves, from below you would see the base of the vase too prominently.  Ms Moss fixed this defect simply, by covering the base of each vase with a piece of the wallpaper, thus intergrating the vase even more thoroughly into the design, and eliminating an awkward visual. 

THE LIVING ROOM

Above photo credit:  Adam Wayland

You're drawn directly from the Entry into the Living Room by its spectacular wall of glass and expansive view.  

Throughout the house you'll see an inspired use of fabrics.  No more the 'greige' plain solid fabrics we've seen all too much of.  Such safety is thrown to the wind as Ms Moss embraces pattern, combining abstracts and florals in a thoughtful way that makes each one more interesting and beautiful. 

All this textile pattern was underlaid with a sublte sisal rug.  The fireplace is imported limestone and created a truly architectual 'moment' in this bright room.  The chandelier was perfectly scaled and themed with its leaf-like detailing.  In addition to some sort of DIY in each room, Ms Moss also deftly incorporated antiques and vintage pieces, creating a curated, collected feel in this brand-new home. 

With all the pattern in the room, the simplicity of the ancient mantle and the lighting provided a visual rest.  The antique tapestry brought in the leafy outdoors beautifully.

To either side of the wall of glass, the living room provided direct access to the outdoors, where a flagstone terrace looks out over the scenery.  I'm really not sure what the point of the glass screen in front of the left-side door is.  I think it's intended as a visual balance to the mantle/fireplace on the other side of the room.  But it just felt in the way, adding nothing aesthetically or functionally. 

Standing in the middle of the living room, you have the glass wall in front of you, bookended by the two doors to the terrace.  On your right, the mantle centers the wall, with the terrace door on its left, and open access to the library on the right.  On your right you find this main seating arrangement in the corner closest to the entry (opposite the portal to the library on the opposite wall), with an open access to the kitchen to its right.  

The walls of this room are painted a soft chartreuse green.  While that sounds almost impossible, it is a lovely blend of bright and soothing.  The velvet of the sofas is a darker version of this color, with the chairs upholstered in the same fabric as the windows.  The fabric is stunning, and played with the wall color perfectly.   I wanted to love this cozy corner - chartreuse, upholstery, beautiful fabrics, but the wall art was just too much.  Was this the DIY project for this room?  Did we really need TWO walls of this grid of words?  Is this is to give you something to do in case conversation wanes?   Imagine this space with a single large piece of modern landscape art replacing one of these word walls.  Such an improvement.   It was a truly disappointing space due entirely to the overdone wall art choice. 

LIBRARY

This may be my favorite room in the house.  It's both cozy and elegant, a tough balance to achieve.  As in the living room, the patterns and prints sing here, and complement each other, rather than fight. 

The rich chocolate paint on the trim and bookcase grounds the space.  The beautiful color shows off the books and serves to mask the big black box that is the essential TV.  

Also, regarding the books, I appreciate getting away from the contrived trend of making all your books look the same.  The point of a library that you actually use, is the diversity of thought and genres contained within it.  This variety will shine when books are allowed to be themselves.  It also makes it much easier to find what you're looking for.  PRO TIP:  organize your library by genre, and alphabetically by author within genres.  It'll make your library much more useful, and its aesthetics will be just fine.  That said, if you have a penchant for cheap paperback/romance fiction, put that genre in a bookcase with doors, and close them.  Seriously. 

With so much going on in the textiles, using simple lamps with clear lines and simple shades works perfectly here.  Also, notice how tall the lamps are.  In this situation you're looking for lighting that will fascilitate reading.  Tall lamps like these shed a soft blanket of light over your reading surface.

This image demonstrates the subltey of the wallpaper choice.  It reads almost as just a texture on the wall, yet it makes the room so much more nest-like to be wrapped in this soft print. 

Note the use of antique art and furnishings in this softly upholstered space.  Such objects and furnishings create a collected, engaging space.  When in this room, you just want to flop into a chair and pick up a book.  Truly a successfully designed space. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This alcove in the library is as beautiful as it is practical.  This little space (about 6'x6') is brightened by a wall-sized window and a small bar which allows those enjoying the room to get a coffee or cocktail without having to run to the kitchen, and disturb whatever may be happening in there.   

The mix of patterns continues to play in this space:  the marble, the wallpaper, even the lampshade.

 

THE KITCHEN


Leaving the library, cross the living room and head to the kitchen at the other end of the house.

Firstly, the chartreuse green walls of the living room create a charming frame for the bright white of the kitchen.  

This kitchen has 4 doorways.  Like almost all of the common spaces of the house, these portals all have pocket doors, allowing them to be seamlessly open most of the time, but equally seamlessly closed as needed.

Going directly through the kitchen from the living you, you find yourself in the butler's pantry - a hallway stretching the depth of the house between the kitchen and dining room.  This handy space also has direct access to the screen-in porch to the rear, and the mud room/utility space to the front of the house.

A sink, coffee maker, and fridge in this space helps keep people from underfoot while the chef is in the kitchen.

Here's a view of the screened-in porch, looking back in to the pantry and the kitchen beyond.   The stone fireplace in the porch area is stunning, and makes it a 4 season space. 

The above picture shows the width of the porch, and how it accesses the breezeway to the garage and artist's studio.

Back in the kitchen, note the brown buffalo check fabric lining the French-screen doors of the cabinets.  It appears to be the same as the fabric in the window treatments of the entryway.  I love the replication of it in this much more informal setting.

I'm not a huge fan of curtains generally, but this house may have made a convert of me!  The linen fabric in these café curtains in the kitchen were discreet, ethereal, and practical.  They appear to be French linen (there's a full Resource Guide at the end of the post).  These windows look out over the lake to the rear of the house. 

Above photo credit:  Adam Weyland

Here's a full image of the entire kitchen space.  The sink side, I liked very much. The vintage rug is extraordinary.  But the oversized island is so big and heavy that it fills the space, making it feel cramped.  If someone is sitting at one of the chairs by the plate shelf or the cabintets, no one is getting by there.    The room just can't support that large island.   And, honestly, it looked like laminate.  I'm sure it's solid wood, but just doesn't work aesthetically or practically in the space. 

One more note on the kitchen:  I love transferware, and pretty plates in general.  They are works of art, and I use them that way myself.  Often.  But this full wall feature felt like an assistant had been sent to a vintage shop to gather all the transferware available, and then it was just put in there without much editing or design.  Each piece is too much the same in size, shape, and design to give any interest at all.  A few platters, maybe a little potted herb or quirky brass figure, even a cookbook or two would have made for a more interesting set of shelves.  If it was to be just dinner plates, embrace the concept and make it all the same so that it becomes like wallpaper.   This display was neither fish nor fowl, and just didn't do it for me. 

THE DINING ROOM

The color on the walls here is a rich aubergine, and compliments the fresh greens of the art and chair fabric beautifully.   The space is small, and narrow - kudos to Ms. Moss for finding such a narrow dining table to make this space work.   The furnishings are a gracious mix of vintage and new, and the light streaming in from the front picture window bathes the space.

My only issue with the dining room, is it's in a house set up to handle 6-8 people overnight, and presumably many more for entertaining, yet this dining room accommodates no more than 6 people at a time.  The only other dining spaces in the home or actually outside.  There's a large table in the screened porch, and another one of the terrace off the living room.  But what are the inhabitants to do for Christmas dinner if they have themselves, the kids, and 3 or 4 guests?  And that's not a big gathering.   This isn't so much a decorating issue as it is an architectural design issue.

All that said, the dining room is very pretty, and flows beautifully in to the entry hall.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE STAIR HALL & HALF BATH

Above photo credit:  Laurey W. Glenn

This space, which separates the private portion of the home from the common spaces, provides a gracious thoroughfare directly into the Primary Suite on the first level. 

The fabric in the curtains finds a great outlet as wallpaper in the hidden half bath.  Looking at the picture above, notice the paneled wall behind the settee.  There's a discreet black nob in the wall.  That knob actually opens the wall revealing a delightful half bath under the stairway.

Half bath photo credit:  Adam Weyland

 

The energetic paper on the walls of the bathroom is matched with the fabric in the curtains in the hall.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PRIMARY SUITE

 

The Primary Suite, accessed directly from the Stair Hall via pocketed doors, is connected by a private hallway of its own. 

Directly to your left as you enter this sanctuary, is a cork-walled coffee bar - one of my favorite things in the entire house!   A walk-in closet is directly off this essential morning space. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using curtains to make this space softer and more discreet is inspired. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again - great vintage rugs throughout the house. 

 

 

 

 

Turning around toward the front of the house is this larger closet/dressing room - large enough for a vanity and window seat.  It was a lovely and relaxing space, but I couldn't warm up to the chintz and ruffles in the window curtain.  Just a little too 80s for me.  Also, on a practical note, this space looks directly out onto the driveway, nad it's on the first floor.  So anyone in the evening, pulling into the house would look directly into this room.  It would make me a little crazy.  Just sayin'.

 

 

 

Turning back down the private corridor toward the bedroom, you come upon this stunning bathroom.  Everything about it is perfect:  the shower, the tub, the little shelf, the acrylic stool, the antique screen.  I want one!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a detail of that screen.  Drool-inducing beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite corner of the bedroom. 

 

 

Though I was disappointed that there was not direct access to the outdoors.  And no fireplace.  I just feel like when it's an idea house, it should have all those details that you would want in  a dream home. 

 

 

 

 

 

This bedroom is the same shape and size as the screened porch on the opposite side of the house.   Love the vaulted ceiling.

 

In this picture you can look back down the private corridor and see the access from the Stair Hall on the right. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detail of the vaulted ceiling and it's floral light fixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECOND FLOOR  LANDING

I love spaces like this.  They can be so cozy, and this one is just that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOUNG GIRL'S BEDROOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JACK'N'JILL BATHROOM

This is such a lovely space come from the young girl's bedroom.  It feels very happy and feminine from this view. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEENAGE BOY'S BEDROOM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JACK'N'JILL BATHROOM (as seen from Teenage Boy's Room)

Now look at the same bathroom, as seen from the Boy's Room.  It has a different energy when viewed from this perspective.   Whether it was serendipity or genius, this morphing of the mood of this space between the two very different users of it struck me a brilliant design.  I just couldn't get over how different it felt as each room defined it. 


GUEST BEDROOM/BATH

 

My sister wasn't fond of this room, but I loved the Eastern  influences and sense of a well-traveled existence that the room gave off.  It also had the best view of any bedroom in the house. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The mirror is a cheap one from a box store, but with a frame wrapped in an exotic fabric.  Ms. Moss brought these DIY elements into each room as a way to demonstrate that humble pieces can be elevated in a very simple way.  It's the details, and you as your home's decorator can provide these yourself. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love these whimsical curtains.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The traveler's theme carries into the bathroom with ikat-covered sconce shades.  I would have hung the picture above the vanity.  It's just one less thing to be an issue in a bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE MUD ROOM

Above photo credit:  Adam Weyland

The color in this space, which leads from the pantry to the garage breezeway, plays against the horse-country theme and warm wood tones.  While I'm not a fan of plaids, the cushions work perfectly here, and punch against the vintage rug.  This space combines the essentials - seating for putting boots and shoes on, and storage - with grace and savy.  The café curtains work, as does the vintage artwork.  I just loved this space - and wish I had a space I could dedicate like this. 

The color saturation (trim and walls all in the same color) keeps the space cohesive and makes it feel larger than it actually is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off this easy space are two essential rooms:  laundry and half bath.  This half bath sings with a full cover of wallpaper.  In fact, wallpaper used throughout this house is used onthe ceiling in smaller spaces.  Far from making it feel smaller or busy, it makes you feel like you're walking into a precious box.   The color on the trim in this room is pulled from the paper, but feels like it's a deeper version of what you just left behind in the mud room.  

Continuing the paper on sconce shades pulls it all together nicely, and the antlers and horse-y art are of a piece with the them of the whole area. 

The vanity marble and simple, vintage wood-framed mirror finish and complement the space perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a bit of elegance in a super practical space.  Keep in mind when you're creating a mud room that the space is also your family's entry hall most of the time.  Give it th attention that such an introduction to your home would need.  You and your family deserve a beautiful (and practical) welcome home, too. 

PRO TIP:  I always leave a table lamp on at the entry we use when we come home, if it'll be after dark when we return.  This isn't just a safety thing.  It's truly more inviting to walk into your home with a soft table light there to guide you in and warm the space. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For some this is a favorite space:  the laundry room.  I'm not a fan of doing laundry, but I do appreciate a workable laundry space.  

While this one is charming - the baskets, sweet paper (again on the ceiling, too!) - for me it's just too cramped.  There's a 2'x4' counter opposite these appliances (also not a fan of front loaders).  It just doesn't seem like enough room to me.  But then I may go too far - I have a 10' long, antique kitchen table as my folding/sewing table.  So anything less just seems like it's not so well planned.  

Following the hunt theme, the ceiling light is cute as a button with it's tack-room-esque feel. 

THE ARTIST STUDIO (Off the Garage)

Walking out the door of the Mud Room finds you in the breezeway, from which you can head into the 3-car garage, or go straight into the artist's studio.   This space doesn't have the afterthought feel that most living spaces off a garage seem to have.  The large windows pull in beautiful light.  The space includes a full bath and another one of those wonderful little bars that are throughout the house in key spots.  This space is designed to double as a sleeping space, too. 

The colors used in the space are picked from and inspired by the color pallette print on the daybed.  And while that works well on these two walls, I'm not so convinced as we turn to the left and continue to see more colors popping up...

 






 

 

 

 

This window probides great light for any artistic endeavor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This quiet space is just what you need to clear your head and find a little inspiration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This mobile of art inspiration was a fun addition.

 

Here's the color that just went too far, though.  The yellow was a little too public-school  looking, and the red in the hallway into the bath was jarring. 

 

 

It's the smallest full bathroom in the whole house, but contains all the essentials, and gives the opporutnity to play a little.  The paint-brush wallpaper is clever, is a little busy here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, I just love these little bars everywhere!  Having coffee at the ready while you're out in the studio makes life so much easier for the artist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, so using peg board isn't exactly innovative, but I really appreciate the polish with which it's used.  It's not treated as a hardware store accessory, but as a wall covering, installed floor-to-ceiling and painted a subtle color.  The use of baskets softens the material, and using it to make hanging artwork easier makes it filling out of the suite's theme.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

My sister, Margaret, and I had a great time touring the house, where we encountered loads of fellow decorating-enthusiasts, and even some Chartreuse & co frequenters!

Get the full 2025 Southern Living Idea House Resource Guide HERE.

 

 

 

 

If you have the chance to visit Charlottesville and the 2025 Southern Living Idea House, make a day of it and enjoy an afternoon at Pippin HIll Farm & Vineyards.  The wine is very good, the food excellent, and the atmosphere beyond compare.  Make reservations for the Veranda seating.  It's the perfect cap stone to your tour day.

 

 

 

 

 

LESSONS - PRO
1.  Use your wallpaper to completely wrap a small space - ceiling included.

2.  Add convenience where ever you can, and by that I mean a drink bar in every corner of your house you can manage.  Loved these!

3.  Embrace dark colors, espeically in a library/den environment.

4.  Use prints and patterns extravagently.

LESSONS - CON (what didn't work for me in this house)

  1. Where ever possible, allow access to the outdoors.  This house missed too many opportunities to embrace the outdoors.
  2. Pay attention to details.  In a project of this size and exposure, every detail needed attention.  There were too many spots where I felt aspects of the design and/or the final staging were handed off to assistants who perhaps didn't have the ability to finish to the level Ms Moss would have done herself.

On a whole, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.  Of course, no two designers would do something the same way, and that's the beauty of the creative process. 

Have you been, or are you planning to go?  I'd love to hear your impressions, and what you liked and didn't like in the 2025 Southern Living Idea House.

Thanks for reading,

Virginia

 

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