In 2003, Heather Huyck and Charlie Clapper were driving through the Indian Springs neighborhood, located directly across from the College of William and Mary campus, after church one Sunday.
A “For Sale” sign caught their eye at 153 Indian Springs Road, a one-story contemporary home with an abundance of trees on the property.
“We thought this was a neat neighborhood,” Heather said, so her husband went to view the inside of the home the next day. “He came home and said to me, ‘I think we’re in trouble. I really like it.’”
The couple have called the space home for fourteen years. Since then, grey walls gave way to a lighter paint job, and carpet succumbed to hardwood floors throughout. New built-ins coral their copious collection of books.
The wood they selected for the built-ins blends in with the existing woodwork around the windows and beams, which highlight the raised ceiling in the living room. They also updated the kitchen and master bathroom, among other changes over the years.
The current space features two bedrooms and two den areas which have served as his and hers offices, plus three bathrooms and a large two-car garage. Outdoors, the front yard was landscaped strategically to not include grass.
“That’s deliberate,” Heather said. “My husband is trained as a landscape architect. Mowing is not his idea of the good life.”
The couple needs not look further than out their windows for plenty of greenery, however. Nestled on a slight incline, the home feels like it’s floating in the trees. Two little ponds out back coupled with pine trees, magnolias, azaleas, holly bushes and other native plants attract plenty of wildlife, like owls, which have been known to sit outside the windows and watch the activity indoors.
A large deck wraps around the back of the home, and a covered porch has proved a comfortable hangout for the couple’s two cats, Zenobia and Emily. Heather recalls shortly after adopting one of her cats, someone from the local shelter dropped in to make sure they were abiding by the rule prohibiting new owners from letting the cat roam freely outside.
“The woman only had to take one quick glance at the screened-in porch to know this cat has it made,” Heather said. “The cats can enjoy the birds and the squirrels and we know that they’re safe.”
The neighborhood’s location has proved convenient for the professor, who has hosted meetings and special classes for her students on the last day of the semester right in the living room.
“You don’t realize it’s a room you can put twenty people in for a meeting,” said Heather. The living room is one of Heather’s favorite spaces.
“Early in the morning or late in the afternoon, the light in the living room is so wonderful,” she said. “This room just has lots of moods. It’s a great place to write, it’s a great place to have friends over. It’s a wonderful, wonderful space.”
While Heather has convenience to the college, her husband loves to walk to the Capitol Building at the end of Duke of Gloucester Street.
“It’s the best of both worlds being in town and also being in its own quiet little corner,” Heather said.
To learn more about the home, click here.
Where We Live is a weekly feature looking at homes in the Historic Triangle. Do you have a home, on or off the market, that our readers may be interested in seeing? Let us know at [email protected].
