Five county homes will be featured during the Floyd Center for the Arts, House and Garden Tour of Floyd County, on Saturday, June 29. The homes are excellent examples of the diversity and style embraced by Floyd County homeowners.
The 2019 House and Garden Tour is the fifth annual event for the Floyd Center for the Arts and all proceeds go to support the arts in Floyd.
“Like prior years, we expect this year’s tour to delight visitors with an eclectic mix of old and new, historic and contemporary” said Linda Fallon, the center’s board president. “Tickets are now available online or by calling the Art Center.”
Laura and Chuck Cain’s home on Ridgeview Road was once a dairy farm. It has undergone a considerable remodeling. The oak front door’s stained and etched glass pieces are original. The much-enlarged living room showcases a whale’s huge baleen, fishing floats and other collected pieces. There are artworks by the family’s children, collections from their 12 years in Alaska, and three large face jugs by N.C. potter Bulin Craig. Flower gardens near the house, meadows, and a nearby stream enhance the porches and terrace, making the home, as the owner says, “a party house.”
“Baile na nGael:” Gaelic for “Irish House,” is the sign at the entrance to this many-times enlarged and remodeled farmhouse, dating from c 1900 on Canning Factory Road. Kathleen Sowder has filled the house with many Irish artifacts and antiques include a Waterford “slag glass” fire screen and a chunk of green glass from a N. Ireland beach. A rarity: a handwritten page of a Virginia law book from 1888-89 is open on the desk in the “gentlemen’s parlour.” The owner’s finely-made crewel works in Irish patterns are seen throughout the house.
Chad and Kimberly Quesenberry’s home in Willis is a light-filled, two-year-old timber frame house on 112 acres that looks toward Buffalo Mountain. The open-plan living area and throughout includes artwork from many countries the owners have lived or visited, collections ranging from bird feathers to shark teeth to decades-old plants. The kitchen features a 450-pound table of oak, walnut and cedar. Kimberly Quesenberry, a serious gardener, winters her plants in the nearby greenhouse, built in the style of the main house. The greenhouse will also be open during the tour.
David and Cathie Plyler’s home off of Conner Grove Road is an almost-new Craftsman-style house presents a welcoming aspect: rocking chairs on the house-wide front porch and windows on all sides that maximize the views. Handsome horses graze in front and Buffalo Mountain rises behind the home. With muted colors and antiques mixed with repurposed vintage pieces, the house has a sense of calm. A dramatic open-plan kitchen features a huge armoire, beadboard ceilings and leathered granite countertops. (Five rescue dogs have their own shower facilities to one side.)
Silvie Granatelli and Jim Newlin’s house and lower-level terrace in Meadows of Dan look toward the North Carolina mountains. Inside, it’s a showcase for Silvie Granatelli’s pottery, the works of her friends, and many other artisans. Custom cabinets, tables, and lamps were handmade by Floyd-area woodworkers and designers; some antiques are Jim Newlin’s family pieces from N.C. The second-floor guest rooms exhibit her love of collections, from vintage postcards to blue and white jars. The Granatelli studio will be open for the tour, but her work will not be for sale.
The House and Garden tour of Floyd County is underwritten, in part, by Atlantic Union Bank and benefits the Floyd Center for the Arts (www.FloydArtCenter.org). The self-guided tour will be held rain or shine from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person and may be bought in person, by phone (540) 745-2784, or online.
The ticket price includes a gourmet box lunch, offered at the center between 11:30 and 1:30.
For more information, visit FloydArtCenter.org or call (540) 745-2784. The center is located at 220 Parkway Lane South in Floyd, ½ mile south of the stoplight on Virginia 8. Regular hours are: Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
