A home – and a lifestyle – built on vibrancy.
Color is the first thing people notice about Adrienne and Mike Hogan’s home at The Cliffs Valley.
The gray-blue hue – called Chesapeake – is based on a stain Mike found and had reproduced in exterior paint. Sparks of a red dubbed Borscht light up the front doors and trim. The vibrant palette stands out among the earth-tone exteriors of many houses in the community.
“The color is probably the home’s most distinctive feature,” Mike says.
The Hogans chose The Cliffs Valley, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, because they love the topography and – relative to their previous home in Austin, Texas – the cooler climate. They purchased property in Phase II of Stone Creek in 2013, well in advance of their retirement, and completed the home in December 2019.
When the Illinois natives planned their retirement lifestyle, they opted for a smaller house with an open floor plan and the main living space, including the master bedroom, all on one level. With just over 3,100 square feet of finished space, the house – designed by architect Garry Price, owner of Design Elite, and built by Colby Hubble of Alair Homes – delivers on their wishes. 
Though the exterior suggests a Craftsman style, the interior leans toward modern.
“We like clean lines,” Adrienne says. “We did an electric fireplace, so we didn’t have a chimney blocking the view.” Instead, a wall of windows stretches across the back of the home, looking out on the wooded site.
“When it’s foggy out, you can’t see anything but the shapes of the trees,” she adds. Doors to the screened porch fold back, extending the living space and bringing the outdoors in. Centering on a cobalt-blue island topped in quartzite, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Adrienne’s affinity for chrome accents manifests itself in the high stools that cozy up to the island, while the backsplash she chose to go above the stovetop shows off a star pattern in blue and white. Color is the first thing people notice about Adrienne and Mike Hogan’s home at The Cliffs Valley.
Overall, gray dominates the interior color scheme, which Marquette Edwards, owner of Design Remedy, livened up with pops of color. She took inspiration for the gold recliner in the living room and the beet-red accent wall from the couple’s print of a bird of paradise flower. Contemporary furniture blends with vintage pieces, such as Mike’s grandfather’s oak rocker in the living room, and a pinball machine that belonged to Mike’s mother in the family room downstairs.
Also, downstairs are two additional bedrooms and baths, plus Mike’s unfinished woodworking shop. He took up woodworking as a hobby several years ago and the home highlights his handiwork. Most notably, he crafted the wood-covered walls in a small keeping room off the kitchen, which Adrienne uses as an office. The intricate right-hand wall alone consists of 1,270 individual pieces of poplar and maple cut from trees on their property.
“I arranged them in a random pattern of different sizes and colors,” he explains, “including some I painted with a wash of the same blue from the kitchen island.” From start to finish, Mike estimates the project took five months to complete.
Ask the couple what appeals to them about their active retirement at The Cliffs, and Mike is quick to answer: “Seven golf courses!” Since moving in, he and Adrienne have immersed themselves in The Cliffs lifestyle, getting out on the golf course at least twice a week. “The house turned out so well,” Adrienne declares. “We love the colors and the layout. And the people here are so nice; we never want for things to do.”
This story was featured in Cliffs Living magazine. To read more stories like this one and learn more about The Cliffs, subscribe here.
