Home & Design
House - /m/083vt
House - /m/083vt

Goldstein sited the stone, stucco and mahogany house on a vast, pristine expanse of land. © Eli Meir Kaplan

Interior Design Services - Great room
Interior Design Services - Great room

The great room’s stone hearth adds a rustic touch to the modern interior. © Richard Greenhouse

Interior Design Services - Countertop
Interior Design Services - Countertop

Porcelanosa supplied the kitchen cabinetry, countertops, backsplash and appliances. © Richard Greenhouse

Window - Interior Design Services
Window - Interior Design Services

Jordan and Laurie Goldstein and daughters Alexa, 13, and Sari, 9, enjoy the great outdoors. © Eli Meir Kaplan

House - Real Estate
House - Real Estate

The pool was built on an axis with the home’s central great room. © Eli Meir Kaplan

Furniture - Porcelanosa
Furniture - Porcelanosa

Practical, easy-to-clean tile from Porcelanosa covers the floor near the entry. © Eli Meir Kaplan

Interior Design Services - Living room
Interior Design Services - Living room

Crate & Barrel sofas cluster near the fireplace. © Eli Meir Kaplan

Stairs - Wall
Stairs - Wall

In lieu of railings, Goldstein enclosed the stairway to the lower level with aircraft cable. © Eli Meir Kaplan

Wall - Floor
Wall - Floor

A rec room wall paneled in reclaimed barn wood pays homage to the rural surroundings. © Eli Meir Kaplan

House - Architecture
House - Architecture

Goldstein designed the master bedroom volume to cantilever over a stone base. © Richard Greenhouse

Rural Escape

Jordan Goldstein’s modern retreat forges a strong connection with its bucolic Blue Ridge landscape

Rural Escape Just 90 minutes away from his Bethesda home, architect Jordan Goldstein’s new weekend retreat might as well be a world apart. Nestled on 23 acres of pristine farmland in Virginia’s Rappahannock County, it’s far removed from city congestion without a neighbor in sight.

Isolation is exactly what Goldstein was after, in more ways than one.

“I’ve always wanted to do a modern house on a blank canvas for our family, a getaway that would allow us to be together and also connect to the land,” explains the architect, a managing director at Gensler.

After visiting friends in the area and falling in love with its natural beauty, he and his wife Laurie decided to find a spot for their vacation home there. Jordan took a daylong scouting trip with a real estate agent to get the lay of the land. The first three lots were ruled out for existing buildings, the lack of a view and the presence of a bear, respectively. But the fourth property on their tour—a sweeping parcel with views of the Blue Ridge Mountains—seemed like a good match.

When he brought Laurie,  a public relations specialist, and their daughters Sari and Alexa to the site, Goldstein’s hunch was confirmed. As he recalls, “The freedom we immediately felt there was liberating.”

They acquired the land and the architect got busy designing their new getaway, hoping to foster the same sense of togetherness that he experienced on boyhood ski trips spent at his parents’ Pennsylvania vacation condo. But he also wanted to create a dialog between the home and its environment.

Another goal was to involve the whole family in the process. To that end, he designed three different homes and presented models to Laurie and the girls as though they were clients. “Our daughters were actively engaged and that was wonderful,” he says.

The scheme the family ultimately chose met Goldstein’s original criteria. In the heart of its simple and efficient layout lies an open great room where lounging, cooking and dining take place. It is flanked by the master suite on one side and bedrooms for each daughter on the other. The lower level includes a rec room, a guest room and a small home theater.

Making the home a reality on the “blank canvas” of its site posed more than a few challenges. There was no road, no power and no sewer or water lines. Builder Erwin Opitz helped drill a 290-foot well for water and install a septic field and propane tank. The Goldsteins extended power lines a mile from the closest source.

The finished home offers the family a cozy embrace while inviting them to contemplate far-reaching vistas through abundant windows. The west-facing great room showcases dramatic sunset views. “In this particular canvas,” Goldstein explains, “the rolling topography, the mountains, the vast blue sky all work into the space like art.”

Reflecting the home’s elemental nature is a simple exterior palette of stucco, mahogany and stone. In a nod to old barns in the area, the master suite is cantilevered over a stone retaining wall. “The idea of a stone base and a form above it is a modern interpretation of those old barns,” says the architect. “I wanted to echo that inside using old-barn cladding on some of the walls.”

In contrast to barn-wood walls in the master bedroom and rec room, the interior finishes reflect a modern aesthetic. Goldstein relied on Porcelanosa as a “one-stop shop” where he purchased everything from the slate-like porcelain flooring for the entryway to kitchen and bath cabinetry, tile, appliances and plumbing fixtures.

Since its late-2014 completion, the Goldsteins have enjoyed their rural retreat in all seasons. Although the house is equipped with the latest in smart-home technology, being there is more about unplugging from busy schedules. “I find it very hard to let go and relax in my Bethesda home,” Jordan Goldstein admits. “Yet when we’re in Virginia and there’s that separation, it is therapeutic.”

After sunset, they often gather around the pool or their new fire pit. “It’s dead quiet and when you’re under the stars with no light pollution,” he marvels, “it’s unbelievable.”

ARCHITECTURE: JORDAN GOLDSTEIN, AIA, Gensler, Washington, DC. BUILDER: ERWIN OPITZ, Opitz Construction, Flint Hill, Virginia.

You may also like:

Fresh Slate
House to Home Solutions revives a master bath with functionality and style
Modern Makeover
KUBE architects remakes a historic Sears kit house with bold, innovative interiors
Out & About
Chesapeake Views Winter 2016 Inside Look Party
HOME&DESIGN, published bi-monthly by Homestyles Media Inc., is the premier magazine of architecture and fine interiors for the Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia region.

The company also publishes an annual H&D Sourcebook of ideas and resources for homeowners and professionals alike. H&D Chesapeake Views is published bi-annually and showcases fine home design and luxury living in and around the Chesapeake Bay.

The H&D Portfolio of 100 Top Designers spotlights the superior work of selected architects, interior designers and landscape architects in major regions of the US.

Stay Connected with HOME & DESIGN Newsletter

Copyright © 2024 Home & Design. All rights reserved. | Back to top
magnifier