Text by Joanne M. Anderson
Photos by Jon Fleming
Life in the fast lane can be exciting for the thrill of striving to reach lofty financial and family goals, enjoying an active career path, honing and/or gaining skills and focusing on achievement. Milestones may be reached, with new ones always cropping up on the horizon. There’s nothing wrong with a strong desire for success.
Unless … or until … one becomes cognizant of a diminished quality of life across the board.
“We raised two kids, and one day, we simply wished for a change in lifestyle that would permit more time together,” states Paula Golden. “I was working full-time, writing a master’s degree thesis. [Husband] Terry worked 120 hours a week, or so it seemed, as a doctor in family practice. We didn’t see our neighbors unless it was a snow day. We didn’t see each other much. Traffic is abominable in northern Virginia. It looked to me like everyone, including us, was exhausted.” They longed for a sense of place.
Compare that with living in Giles County where life in the slow lane is commonplace. Paula had a friend who moved to Giles County and suggested she and Terry visit. “She showed me the highlights of living in the New River Valley, and it was just what we were looking for,” she exclaims.
They went house hunting and prepared to make an offer on a house one afternoon, when another house went up for sale by owner that morning. They decided to take a look. It was much larger than Paula wanted or needed. “It was perfect, except it was too big,” she recalls repeating a few times. Terry’s viewpoint was simple: “Just say yes.” They made an offer within the hour and moved to Blacksburg a couple months later in 2008.
The Perfect Big House
The 4,500-square-foot brick house has three bedrooms, five bathrooms and a spectacular view across Ellett Valley. It had been custom-built just four years earlier. “We especially appreciate the Frank Lloyd Wright influence, where the house works with the land, instead of merely sitting on top of the land,” says Terry. It is creatively situated on a hillside and designed for aging in place with single floor living, wide doorways and space for an elevator and a live-in caregiver.
It took them a while to get used to the largess. “It is so much of what I wished for in an old farmhouse that had additions over the years with as many useful large spaces as small ones,” Paula relates.
Aside from replacing some large appliances, the kitchen and most of the main level has not needed any renovation. “It is a fabulous home with a welcoming layout,” Paula says. The two main efforts over the past 18 years have been with the lower level and developing the gardens and landscaping.
The lower level with its walk-out patio consumes nearly half the floor space and was about 25% finished with a storage section. They removed a wall, opened it up and added a 3-sided gas fireplace which helps with defining spaces without walls.
Paula is an extraordinary, nationally-known, textile fiber artist, quilter and quilt instructor. She also restores old quilts and creates fabric. Her studio space occupies both sides of the brick wall on the lower level. When not working or creating something beautiful, she and Terry can relax inside or outside around the firepit in Adirondack chairs.
The Ideal Outdoor Gardens
“We refinished the wood deck,” Terry relates, “and we are conscientious of filling that with color, where the deer cannot get to anything.” The landscaping has been thoughtfully developed across the years with water features, flowers, cobalt blue bottle trees (plural), shrubs and real trees. The Goldens have generously volunteered twice to be on the New River Valley Garden Tour.
The couple is continuously planning and researching the best plants and how to manage the hillside without terracing. Considering aging in place, indoors and outside, they now look for dwarf varieties, evergreens and minimal maintenance plants. They love the birds and wildlife visitors, except the ones who want to make a meal out of a cluster of pretty flowers.
The big house is beautiful, and their lives in the New River Valley are wonderful. “When you live in a big city, you can forget you are a human being,” Paula says. She revels in knowing the neighbors, stopping at a car pulled off the road to see if someone needs help, having a sense of place and embracing life in the slow lane.
This story appears in the November–December issue of New River Valley Magazine.
