A home with a view
Published 8:32 pm Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sitting pretty on three acres and with views of Knotts Creek and the Nansemond River is the home of Wanda and Les Hall at 5214 Commodore Bluff in The Riverfront at Harbour View.
The home is part of the The Garden Club of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week and is one of five Suffolk homes to be featured on April 23.
“I’m excited, but I feel very unworthy,” Wanda Hall said. “It’s a work in progress for us, but we’ve enjoyed the work we’ve done. Being in the tour definitely gives you a deadline to get everything done.”
This year will be the Historic Garden Week’s 77th anniversary, making it the oldest and largest statewide house and garden tour event in the nation. More than 250 homes and gardens open their doors and gates to the public during the event to benefit the restoration of important historic grounds and gardens throughout the state.
While some Suffolk homes have been featured before, the Hall’s home, which they’ve owned for the past two and a half years, will be open to the public for the first time.
To prepare for the tour, Wanda spent a half a day, with help, planting 2,000 daffodil bulbs in the garden.
The home is traditional brick, with Caribbean flair, derived from the Turks and Caicos — the couple’s favorite travel spot.
Ink paintings of conch shells, water birds and other oceanic themes created by Les Hall are displayed throughout the home.
Blue and white antiques, red coral and nautical lighting keep a continuous theme from room to room.
With floors of hardwood and tile, countertops of granite and marble, the beauty is in the details.
Family heirlooms, such as a dining room walnut corner hutch, silver pieces and antique clocks, are also featured throughout.
Floor-to-ceiling windows in the kitchen, den and a bedroom present an idyllic view of the water.
To top it all off, “It has a nice, straight pier,” Wanda Hall said. “It’s what sold the house to my husband.”