-
Get Cooking!
GET COOKING! cool colors, retro styling, and professional quality are all the range these days. The kitchen range used to be a hulking, radiating vortex of warmth. As the family dog knew, it was the place to be; from it came two of life’s greatest necessities—heat and food. Somewhere along the way, kitchens moved away from their center a bit, or perhaps, the center of the house moved away from the kitchen. Regardless, the range shrank (literally and psychologically). In recent years
-
Life of the Bath
We need it, but we also want it. Perhaps because the bath has associations that reach far beyond its practical uses. Taking a cue from its own past, the contemporary bath, according to interior designer Ginny Burns of Coppermine Terrace Interiors, is a more public space nowadays. “People luxuriate in them. They entertain in them. [...]
-
Windows
Photo above courtesy of Pella Windows By, Kevin Varrone Windows by Kevin Varrone To visit the home is to feel at once contemporary and ancient. The structure is both highly crafted and naturalistic, simple yet complex. But these are comfortable juxtapositions, and the space itself is comfortable: comfortable to be in and comfortable in its environment. . If eyes are windows to the soul, what are windows to a house? “To many, windows are just windows,” said Ann Principe of K.C. Compan
-
Hearts of Glass
By Kevin Varrone Kevin Varrone is a poet, teacher, and freelance writer living in Baltimore. For more of Kevin’s work read his article on bath fixtures. Hearts of Glass By Kevin Varrone Photos Courtesy of Tanglewood Conservatories “He saw glass as those who love it perceive it. He understood that it was the gross material most nearly like the soul, or spirit…that it was free of imperfection, or dust, rust, that it was an avenue for glory.” ––Peter Carey, Oscar & Lucinda
-
Generators: Talkin’ Bout My Generation
By Kevin Varrone Kevin is a regular contributor to Chesapeake Home. Talkin’ Bout My Generation by Kevin Varrone It was a dark and stormy night. And so begins every scary story worth its salt. Lightning flashes, thunder crashes––the lights go out. The ghosts and goblins and things that go bump in the night don’t have a chance, though. Before they can summon their black magic the lights go back on and the television springs to life; the furnace fires up again, the freezer k
-
The Dining Table
by Kevin Varrone The Dining Table by Kevin Varrone To keep up with the fast pace of life, we seldom “dine.” We eat, of course, but the art of dining is often relegated to special occasions—which is why the tables at which we dine should be all the more special . . . There’s an Italian saying that goes, “Tutti a tavola a mangiare.” It means, “Everyone come to the table to eat.” This grandmotherly command hints at the importance of family and friends
-
Life as a House
By, Kevin Varrone Kevin Varrone is a regular contributor to ChesapeakeHome. Life as a House A Comfortable Collaboration by Kevin Varrone photography by Anne Gummerson Too many cooks spoil the broth, right? Not if you subscribe to the theory that two heads (or more) are better than one. Such was the case with this shingle style home in Ruxton, Maryland. When a big family (with an active lifestyle) wants a big home (yet intimate and liveable) on a big plot of land (closely integrated with the hous
-
Condo by the Coast
A secluded back deck furnished with elegant teak offers cool morning shade and late afternoon sun. ByKevin Varrone Simply Seaside By Kevin Varrone Photography by Anne Gummerson Jay Jenkins’ Rehoboth, Delaware, condo may only be a short bike ride from the ocean, but it’s a design mile from the common conception of the beach house. Forget wicker furniture, bright floral patterns, and shell art: none of them are in evidence here. In their place, a simplified aesthetic brought to life th
-
Traditional Elegance
By, Kevin Varrone Kevin Varrone is a regular contributor to ChesapeakeHome. Home Sweet Homeland by Kevin Varrone Photography by Randy Foulds “The Joneses are daring with color and pattern.” A large French advertising poster, leopard print table skirt, and marble tile flooring exemplify the Joneses’ bold and eclectic taste. Three-fourths of the way up the gently terraced and meandering walkway leading to the Baltimore home of lighting designer Bob Jones and his wife, Lola—
-
City House, Country House
By Kevin Varrone Kevin is a regular contributor to ChesapeakeHome. He has written on everything from baths fixtures and design to conservatories and entryways. Photography by Anne Gummerson CITY HOUSE COUNTRY HOUSE KEVIN VARRONE Photography by Anne Gummerson Once upon a time a city mouse went to dine with his friends in the country. Ok, it wasn’t really the country, they didn’t serve beans and bacon, and this isn’t one of Aesop’s fables with a tidy moral at the end–
