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Grandma’s House
Kathie Friedley, 7/22/2008
Email: kathie@russellversaci.com
Website: http://www.russellversaci.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Grandma’s House in a 21st‐Century Package
July 22, 2008, Middleburg, Virginia –
Russell Versaci believes that down deep, we all
want to live in a house like Grandma’s.
It’s a belief he’s held since his days in architecture school in the 70s, when he was a
stubborn traditionalist in an academic environment where Mies was God.
Once in practice Versaci spent 30 years designing new houses that look like old houses
for high‐end custom clients. He laid out his approach in his 2003 book, Creating a New
Old House.
The book, the concept, and the term caught on, and nowadays “new old house” is used
to mean a new house designed in a traditional style. In 2004 the magazine New Old
House was launched, a spin‐off from Versaci’s book, and since then it has become a
favorite of those who like their house fare served vintage style.
Vintage‐style designs comprise the 12 houses and two outbuildings in Versaci’s Simple
Farmhouse Portfolio. But while the designs are pre‐drawn, they aren’t sold as house
plans for homeowners and builders to modify at will. Versaci holds a tight rein on the
designs, offering them only as factory‐fabricated or modular houses for which he can
supervise alterations or modifications. In that way, he says, he is able to preserve the
“integrity of the designs.”
At present, three factory‐fabricated Simple Farmhouses are being built in Virginia – one
at the Homestead Preserve in Warm Springs, close to the Homestead Resort; one at
Bundoran Farm, a preservation development near Charlottesville; and one, a custom
design, outside Middleburg where Versaci maintains his practice. For each house, a
knocked‐down kit of parts arrived on a truck, like a Sears bungalow from the 30s.
Versaci hopes that these three will be followed by hundreds more. He is convinced that
opportunity is knocking for production‐built Simple Farmhouses, and he is developing
them in modular versions as well as factory‐fabricated kit homes. Both versions offer
significant green building advantages over stick‐built homes.
Lately, major media sources have begun noting a growing trend that Versaci believes
bodes well for the success of his new venture. The triple whammy of global warming,
the mortgage industry crisis, and baby boomers downsizing is driving a desire for
homes that are smaller, greener, and of higher quality than the usual builder specials.
Versaci hopes that homeowners will want a smaller, greener, and higher quality Simple
Farmhouse – in a package that grandma would find to her liking.
Contact:
Kathie Friedley
Russell Versaci Architecture
Seven North Liberty Street, Post Office Box 186
Middleburg, Virginia 20118
www.russellversaci.com
voice: 540 687 8777, fax: 540 687 8333
kathie@russellversaci.com
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