WARM WELCOME

Enhance your home indoors and out with clever and colorful ideas from a Virginia collector who has transformed her modern home to reflect her traditional tastes.

A pair of Virginia collectors fell in love with their modern home but not the flip-friendly white walls, choosing to add rich colors that accentuate the classic Colonial decor they enjoy.

Looking around Christina Rafus’ Chesapeake, Virginia, home, it’s not hard to guess her favorite season. Golden yellows, deep russets and other rich autumn hues can be found throughout the home she describes as “Craftsman meets Colonial” and shares with her husband, Glenn, granddaughter Kimberly, and two Pekingese dogs, Zoey and Teddy.

“Our house is the prettiest in the fall,” Christina says of her preferred palette and time of year. Growing up in Pennsylvania, she remembers loving autumn’s smells, colors and activities. “I never even minded raking leaves,” she admits with a laugh. Her chosen color scheme pays homage to the season, she says, but she also gravitates to harvest tones for another reason—they play especially well off the blue items and patriotic-themed antiques she collects and displays throughout her 3,500-square-foot home.

A retired critical care nurse, Christina is a caregiver by nature. So, it’s not surprising that her welcoming residence shows evidence of those same nurturing skills and attention to detail. “I want my home to look and feel warm and inviting,” she says of the five-bedroom, three-bath home the family purchased in 2012.

Built in 2004, the house had been repossessed before the Rafuses put in an offer. “A flipping company had come in and repainted everything eggshell white,” Christina remembers. The family immediately began to tailor the home to their taste, painting almost every room with Christina’s favorite fall-inspired tones, laying new maple floors, repainting the exterior, and adding a new deck and swimming pool.

With the perfect colors in place, Christina turned to decorating, describing her style as both Colonial and primitive. “I love American history. If I wasn’t a nurse, I probably would have been a history teacher,” she explains. Retired from the Navy, Glenn works as a defense contractor, and Christina says their house reflects both their pride of ownership and love of country.

Christina and Glenn’s interest in history can be seen throughout their home, from the reproduction tin lighting that gives a beautiful warm glow to Christina’s prized Colonial pewter to the redware she coveted at first sight. Her charming collections—including her vintage teddy bears—speak to her. “I collect what catches my heart and eye,” she shares. Buying pieces that you love and that will last is her best decorating tip. “The saying, ‘You get what you pay for,’ can be very true,” she advises. “If you buy good quality the first time, you won’t waste money replacing items later.”

Trusting her instincts—both in her color choices and her carefully curated collections—has resulted in rooms that feel truly customized to Christina and her family. “Our home is a reflection of our personalities,” she says. “We want people to feel comfortable.” And while the house may be prettiest in the fall, its warm welcome and golden glow is felt year-round by friends, family, and anyone lucky enough to visit.

Photographed and Styled by GRIDLEY + GRAVES

Symmetry is key to a dining room’s visual success, says Christina Rafus, who designed her historically inspired room around the tiger maple china cabinet that she found on Facebook Marketplace and had trucked six hours from New York. She calls the piece her “pride and joy,” and it delightfully demonstrates her belief in buying furnishings that last. “It was pricey, but it will be a family heirloom,” she says.

The living room’s blue-andwhite traditional sofa is similar to one Christina fell in love with years ago during a high school decorating class. Reproduction stacking boxes purchased at flea markets lead the eye up to both the period-style chandelier and the nearby highboy, which Christina says stores hats, gloves and dog leashes. The tiger maple coffee table is a favorite piece and another future heirloom. Redware plates on the wall shelf complement the table’s hues, while sunflowers and gourds balance the mustard wall paint.

A bench made from an old door enlivens a corner of the kitchen and offers a place to decorate for the seasons. For autumn, it’s dressed with a combination of Halloween and fall flourishes.