PRESS KIT

SOME THEMES TO INSPIRE YOU!

Breathing life into a historic home

How the Designer House process works
Evolution of a Designer House room
A day in the life of a Designer House room
The story of the Taylor estate
What the house means to the community

IMPORTANT DATES

February 15

Designers announced by R•HOME Magazine

July 1 - 30

Designers plan physical delivery of installations and schedule with liaisons

Wednesday, August 2 and Thursday, August 3

The Designer House Bare Bones Event

The Designer House Bare Bones event is taking place over two nights from 5 to 7 p.m. The cost is $15 per night and includes a tour of this fabulous home prior to any designer updates! Nibble on a few snacks, purchase a beverage at the cash bar and then enjoy getting to see the BARE BONES of the interior of this home. After this event, our top designers are in charge and the transformation begins!

Tickets for Bare Bones available at www.richmondsymphonyleague.org

Friday, August 4

Designers begin installations

Friday, September 1

Designers complete installations

Friday, September 8

Grand Introduction Event with the Designers

The night includes music provided by the Richmond Symphony, private tour of the Designer House

and cuisine by David Napier's Whitehouse Catering.

Monday, September 11

House opens to the public

Monday, October 9

House closes to the public

TOUR HOURS

Monday - Friday, 10AM - 3PM
(Cafe hours 11:30AM - 2:30PM)

Saturday, 10AM - 5PM
(Cafe hours 11:30AM - 3:30PM)

Sunday, 1PM - 5PM
(Cafe hours 1:30PM - 3:30PM

Visitors will be able to enjoy a leisurely house tour, lunch in the café and shop the boutique.

Tickets can be purchased online at: richmondsymphonyleague.org

Cost of Ticket: $40

(Group tickets for 10 or more are discounted at $35.00 each)

Please contact Patricia Wasiuk at pfrog4@verizon.net with questions and assistance in booking your group.

NOTE:

Children under the age of eight, including babies, are not admitted. Low heels or flat shoes please. The house is not accessible for those with mobility disabilities.

•• Thirsty Thursdays - on September 14, 21, 28 and October 5 ••

Designer House will feature live music, beer and wine, and home tours from 5:30-7:30 PM

PRESS RELEASE - FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Richmond Symphony League 2023 Designer House Presents the Taylor Estate on Monument Avenue

Richmond, Virginia – February 2023 – The Richmond Symphony League (“RSL”) is delighted to announce the designers who will be bringing the 108-year-old Taylor Estate on Monument Avenue to life for the 2023 RSL Designer House. This gorgeous Italian Renaissance Revival home, located at 2325 Monument Avenue, was designed by renowned architect Duncan Lee. The Taylor Estate’s main home features dazzling elaborate ceilings in the public rooms and exquisite detailing everywhere. The original garage in the rear will feature a café and boutique in its new 2023 version.

Designers who will transform the interior of the home are Janet Brown, Janet Brown Interiors; Gayatri Choudhary, GC Interiors; Will Chambers, U-Fab interiors; Janie Molster, Janie Molster Designs; Mindy Bain, M.Carter Design; Geraldine Duskin, Arts Style Design RVA; Moyanne Harding, Interiors by Moyanne; Donna Mudd and Kirby Pierce, Daydreams Interior Specialties; Ti Hensby, Ti Hensby Design; Georgia Kukoski, Closet Factory; Stephanie Theofanos, Modern Traditions Interior Design; Jamie Ivey, Ivey Design Group; Bettina Pamplona, Casa Amada Design & Interiors; Cynthia Avolese, Cynthia Avolese Interior Design; Alyssa Johansen, Interior Designer and Holly Raddin Dixon, Artist; Edgar Parrish, Parrish Interiors; Lindsey Frank, Duet Design Studio; Ethan Allen-Richmond; Susan Reed, Glavé & Holmes Architecture. The front patio will be transformed by Meg Turner, M.Turner Landscapes, and the rear patio by Summer Classics Home of Richmond.

The RSL will open the house with a Grand Introduction Event on Friday, September 8, including a cocktail party, music by the Richmond Symphony, and a preview of the designer house. The Designer House will be open for tours from September 11 through October 9. The popular Thirsty Thursdays will feature live music, beer and wine, and home tours will be on September 14, 21, 28 and October 6 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

“We are excited that the owner of the home has opened the house for Virginia’s leading interior designers to showcase their talents as well as the community to experience a grand estate for themselves here in Richmond. We have a diverse and talented group of interior designers – we invite you to be excited and experience their creativity and talent and even take home a few ideas to inspire you for your home! Proceeds for the Designer House will be donated to support the Richmond Symphony”, said Julie Brantley, President, RSL.

For tickets, information and sponsorship opportunities for the Designer House please visit www.richmondsymphonyleague.org. Follow Designer House activities, events and news on Facebook and Instagram.

About RSL: Founded in 1958, the RSL supports the growth and development of the Richmond Symphony. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization, dedicated volunteers develop robust programs and activities that contribute to Richmond’s cultural vibrancy and cultivate music appreciation and education among Richmond’s diverse community. The RSL provides consistent, substantial financial support to the Richmond Symphony through annual fundraising. Join us and become a member at www.richmondsymphonyleague.org.

Media Contact: Alison Eckis

PR Marketing Media Chair 2023 Designer House

aeckis@verizon.net

804-484-0622

PRESS KIT

for editors, freelance journalists and writers for the suggested magazines below:

Southern Home • Southern Living • Aspire • Home and Design • Garden & Gun • Virginia Living

House Beautiful • Veranda • Elle Decor • Frederic • Traditional Home • Flower • Milieu

Thank you for your interest in the Designer House and for considering our event for coverage. As we prepare for the grand opening in September, we invite you to explore this website and discover the unique story behind the house and the talented designers who will bring it to life. Be sure to check out our generous sponsors, too.

We will appreciate any press coverage we can get in advance of and during the month-long Designer House event. If you require additional information or have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us via email. High-resolution "BEFORE" photos of the Taylor Estate are available in our Media Folder for your convenience.

SOME FACTS ABOUT THE TAYLOR ESTATE

Taylor Estate is located at 2325 Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va in the Historic District
Designed by renowned architect, W. Duncan Lee in Italian Renaissance Revival style
The house style is also identified as an Italian or Mediterranean villa
Originally built in 1915 for Jaquelin Plummer Taylor, the founder of Universal Leaf Tobacco Corporation
Family-owned home since 1915
12,000+ square foot house
Prominent landscape architect, Charles Freeman Gillette designed the estate's original garden

DUNCAN LEE - ARCHITECT

Duncan Lee was architect to some fifteen structures on Monument Avenue, including the Italian villa designed for Jaquelin P. Taylor at 2325. The Taylor House cost $45,000 to build, four times as much as his Smyth House across the street. Lee intentionally opted for the front of the home to appear simple, yet still imposing with its three-story center flanked by two-story wings. The rear elevation and interiors are far more surprising, include a lush sunroom and is not entirely Mediterranean. The Taylor family maintains the home to this day.

Reference:

https://monumentavenue.org/portfolio-item/the-taylor-house/

Driggs, S. S., Wilson, R. G., & Winthrop, R. P. (2001). Richmond’s Monument Avenue. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

W. Duncan Lee, American Architect
Born in Ashland, Virginia
Worked primarily in the style of Colonial Revival
Designed and built the majority of his structures in the city of Richmond, Virginia [1]
Noted works include the Tuckahoe Apartments (1928-29), the Evelynton mansion on the Evelynton Plantation (1937), Westbourne (designed in 1915 - built in 1919), and a wing of the Virginia Executive Mansion (1908). [2]
In 1929, Lee as responsible for the restoration of the Old Custom House in Yorktown, Virginia. [3]

References:

Correspondent, Doug Childers/Homes. "W. Duncan Lee: Richmond's other famous architect". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"Feature: Reinventing a Classic". Style Weekly.
"Yorktown Custom House". Daughters of the American Revolution. March 25, 2014.

CHARLES FREEMAN GILLETTE - LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT

Charles Freeman Gillette (1886–1969) was a prominent landscape architect in the upper South who specialized in the creation of grounds supporting Colonial Revival architecture, particularly in Richmond, Virginia. He is associated with the restoration and re-creation of historic gardens in the upper South and especially Virginia. He is known for having established a regional style—known as the "Virginia Garden."

In 1909–1911, Gillette served as an apprentice in the office of Warren H. Manning, a leading early-20th century landscape architect. Gillette moved to Richmond in 1913 to supervise the completion of Manning's landscape design for the University of Richmond's new campus. In 1915, he began designing the grounds of the Nelson House in Yorktown, Virginia. In 1924, he commenced work on the landscape restoration of Kenmore in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A few years later, he initiated plans for the landscaping of Virginia House and Agecroft, both reconstructed English manor houses located in Richmond's Windsor Farms neighborhood. Extensive additions to the Virginia House gardens were completed in 1939. During the 1950s, Gillette redesigned the gardens of Virginia's Executive Mansion at the request of Governor Thomas B. Stanley. In 1958, he designed the grounds for the Reynolds Metals Company International Headquarters located at Richmond. His commissions also included hundreds of residential projects throughout Virginia and North Carolina. A number of his works are for properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.