Text and styling by Charlotte Safavi
The expansive pastoral beauty and coastal living charm surrounding a colleague’s river cottage in northern Virginia so impressed designer Melanie Whittington that she bought a place nearby. “My friend and colleague Judy Rhodes invited me to the river cottage one weekend back in 2001,” recalls Melanie of her first visit to the Northern Neck peninsula near the Chesapeake Bay. “I had no idea how beautiful the area was. As you turn off the interstate, it’s all wide open pastoral fields, lots of agriculture and history, and, of course, water.”
Paying tribute to the area, Judy’s farmhouse-meets-nautical theme found its way into the latest incarnation of her house, noting vintage rattan chairs, a rope-based standing lamp, and a life-size carved wooden farm cat share space in the living room. Judy and her husband, Dusty, built the cottage as a vacation home on a wide stretch of the Potomac River back in 1983. “We’d wanted a really simple house, with no mortgage, and built it on a shoestring [budget],” Judy says of the 2,400-square-foot home, with two bedrooms on the second floor and two bedrooms in the basement.
Judy says much of the cottage is constructed with architectural salvage, like the living room fireplace mantel or the staircase’s newel post, both of which came from teardowns. “We call it the ‘house of found pieces,’” she says. On the main floor, whitewashed siding, instead of drywall, and exposed floor joists in the ceiling add further character to the cottage.
As a frequently-used second home, the Rhodes cottage’s interiors are white-on-white for easy maintenance and a coastal vibe. “The views are spectacular,” says Melanie, “so we wanted to keep things focused on the outdoors and also clutter free. The layering of textures, whether the shiplap-style finish on the walls or the durable sisal and coir rugs, are perfect for carefree living.”
Melanie says that as an interior designer, Judy continually edits her space, but the idea in the redo was to add fresh color and contemporary accents to the furnishings on the main floor. “We worked in cerulean blue, lime green, and cantaloupe orange,” says Melanie of the lively tropical hues incorporated throughout the cottage, from wall paint in the galley kitchen to the mélange of accent pillows scattered about the living room.
The furniture is an eclectic mix with a touch of whimsy, reflecting Melanie and Judy’s love of antiquing and thrift-store shopping in the area on weekends. The rustic farm table is one such find.
By contrast, the molded plastic chairs that pull up to it are Mid-Century modern in style—and wet bathing suit friendly. “It’s a summer home. We didn’t want to fuss with things. Everything had to be easy and inviting,” Judy says of the casual furnishings.
Each of the home’s four bedrooms has a bed and breakfast feel, with layered bedding, a place to put a suitcase, soft lighting, and stunning water views. “When Judy and Dusty go down there, they never sleep in the same bedroom,” says Melanie. “They go, ‘this week we’re going to sleep in the red room—or maybe the blue room.’”
Not surprisingly, Melanie still spends of a lot of time at the Rhodes cottage. “All my friends want to check out Judy’s house when they come to visit me,” she says with a laugh.
