Octagonal Farmhouse

Location: Culpepper, VA

This historic home sits on a beautiful 35-acre tract of farmland in Culpeper, VA. With two-story columns, German siding, a standing seam roof and an unusual octagonal cupola rising above the entry foyer, this distinctive farmhouse needed skilled architects and builders for the additions and renovations.

The existing kitchen was too small and an older family room addition was cold and confining with a low ceiling and poor light. A new family room, breakfast room, and modern island kitchen were designed for the first level with an emphasis on raising the light level and capturing views of the surrounding farm and countryside. A new laundry room/mud room was incorporated as well. Work on the second floor included renovations of the existing master bedroom suite, including a new master bath with Jacuzzi tub, his and hers vanities, a steam shower, an enclosed toilet, and his and hers closets. As a former diplomat, the new design also needed to accommodate entertaining and large gatherings.

As with many historic projects, the architect’s major design challenge was how to add an addition to the historic home that would be sensitive to the original and still meet the program requirements. The design solution included the removal of the rear family room and adding an octagonal shaped two-story family room that would architecturally blend with the existing octagonal entry tower. A heavily windowed hallway connects the new addition to the existing farmhouse, flooding the interior with light and providing great views of the pond and rolling hills. The original kitchen was redesigned into a butler’s pantry and the power room was relocated to make room for the new mud room/laundry room adjacent to the new kitchen. The designs on both levels work within the framework of existing windows in the original farmhouse. Interior finishes include heart pine floors and oversized wood trim to match existing window and door details throughout the entire house and the new addition. A new open trellised porch was added off of the family room. Carefully detailed open beams and trellises define the outdoor living space.