Susan Castriota - artist Snowberry Circle Home
"Snowberry Circle"
Wesley Tour of Homes Booklet
October 6, 1996
If you haven't visited Mount Vernon lately, this grand home patterned after our first president's famous residence will refresh your memory. The "Mount Vernon look" of memory is actually the rear of this house, with stately white wood columns overlooking the surrounding countryside.
The front of the home is built around a courtyard which is connected to the main living areas by two "widow's walks." Even the mailbox will introduce you to the Colonial/Federal period which this house represents! Landscaping by Tom Whalen has been designed to provide color all year round.
Interior Design by Rhonda Kifer Design Associates, the traditional decorating style inside reveals great attention to detail. The furnishings provide the ambiance of an 18th century upper-middle class home. The many pieces of hand painted furniture and the exquisite mirrors are imported from Italy, each one unique. The oil paintings throughout all date from the early 1700's to the late 1800's. Especially striking are the custom-made carved rugs, preferred by the owner over the Orientals typical of the period. In shades of wine, hunter green and taupe, they add a rich elegance to each room.
Stepping into the main entrance, you will see to your left the keeping room, which in Washington's day would have been used as a place to entertain guests before and after dinner. The wall covering here displays a Toile de Jouy pattern, picturesque scenes which depict the activities of a family at that time. Note the black painted curio containing some of the homeowner's Liadro collection. It is a perfect fit for the small corner for which it was made.
Draperies of velvet, a fabric often used in the Federal period, adorn the windows of the entryway and keeping room. The wide widow's walks, leading away from the central section of the house and eventually to stairways to the second floor, are lined by palladium windows set off by ferns in large black and gold fish bowls.
Around the widow's walk from the keeping room is the family room, guarded at the doorway by a lifesized redwood mountain man. You can't miss him! Other objects of interest here are a first casting of a large Remington on the mantle, a lovely collection of David Winter houses, a hand painted rabbit cabinet, art from the Williamsburg collection, and of course, a sketch of Mount Vernon.
A colorful wallpaper with an all-over fruit design provides a cheerful background in the kitchen for the white wood cupboards, farm table and the copper collection above the center island. From the kitchen, step out onto the porch for a beautiful view.
In the dining room, mahogany furniture representative of the 18th century is highlighted by a magnificent Liadro on the buffet. The carved carpeting of the living room carries the design of the acanthus leaf, also found in the handsome dining room mirror.
The master bedroom leans towards the Victorian, with a four-poster mahogany bed topped by a canopy of fringed handmade lace. Standing by the fireplace, a lovely antique doll, once belonging to the homeowner's grandmother, complements the rosy, lavender tones of the oil painting above.
A charming child's bedroom has a border of pastel jungle animals parading around the center of the walls. One upstairs room is strictly for play, with its blue hand-painted furniture, trundle bed, and lots of things just for fun.
The playroom leads to a third floor bedroom and bath. Formerly an attic, you would never know it now. A windowed cupola lights up this "Captains Room," which carries its nautical theme right down to an authentic captain's wheel from a real ship. Colonial blues, reds and off-whites are carried out in the wallpaper design of a variety of ships.
These homeowners have provided our tour with a home of the 90's that gives us a rare glimpse into a bygone era.
Flowers courtesy of Boss Florists
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