Inside

If the Rawlses want to imagine what their Greek Revival home would have looked like decorated to the height of 1860s style, they need look only at the White House of the Confederacy (located next to the museum). Restored to its 1857 appearance, the White House’s “salon style” features surprisingly dense décor and colors such as burgundy reds and dark greens meant to showcase the properties of gas lighting, for which the Yarbrough home was also fitted. Wall-to-wall patterned carpet looks more like what you’d expect to see at Tavern on the Green than in an elegantly appointed home.

Today, the Rawlses’ airy, light-painted parlors are filled with 18th- and 19th-century antiques, contemporary art and, of course, light. The Rawlses completely reworked the house’s infrastructure; restored the plaster moldings, cornices and ceiling medallions on the main floor; and raised the ceilings in some rooms to their original height. In the late 1800s, intricately patterned veneer was laid throughout the main floor after wall-to-wall carpet went out of fashion. The Rawlses removed the veneer and restored the pine floors beneath.

The Rawlses have become real Church Hill people, weeding their own walk, walking to the store and enjoying what the evolved neighborhood offers—historic architecture, the character of one of Richmond’s original neighborhoods mixed with parks and cobblestones and the right amount of urban grit. “People say, ‘One of these days Church Hill will come back,” says Waite, “but … Church Hill is back.” And the Rawlses have a nicer house. •

On April 21, 2215 and 2309 E. Broad St. and four other Church Hill houses and gardens will open for Historic Garden Week, which runs April 17-25. Refreshments will be served in the courtyard of the 2300 Club, boxed lunches are available at St. John’s Church (reservations required), and a reenactment of Patrick Henry’s speech will take place there at 12:30. In addition, carriage rides will be offered by Vicki Carlisle and Armistead Wellford (weather permitting), and the Museum of the Confederacy will admit guests with Historic Garden Week tour tickets free of charge throughout the week.

This year marks the 77th anniversary of the Garden Club of Virginia’s annual house and garden tour event.