HISTORIC HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Photography by Michael Patch 

Galt’s Mill Home Honors the Past & Looks to the Future

When your home dates back to 1813 and is included in the National Register of Historic Places, history plays a large role in your life. In 2020 when Holly and Turner Perrow moved into this home, Turner’s childhood abode, they understood the importance of honoring the past while looking to the future. During the holiday season, their long-held family traditions are honored while making new memories. 

Take in the view 
Galt’s Mill, the Perrows’ home and adjacent land, is located in southeast Amherst County, where Beck Creek flows into the James River. The home sits above what was once one of Amherst County’s oldest masonry mills, in operation from 1813 to 1956. The house faces east overlooking the James River. Numerous other historic buildings dot the landscape, including the old post office and general store, where Turner’s great-grandfather was the postmaster. The oldest part of their house (the current living room) dates to 1813. 

The painted pine siding home features four Doric columns along the front of the house that support a standing-seam gabled metal roof. The entry porch has brick steps and two benches facing each other that provide a space to sit and take in the views. Upon entering the front door, a grand central staircase carries the eyes up to the second-story landing. Turner loves the tradition of draping the handrail in greens each Christmas and seeing the children sitting at the top of the steps, waiting to see what Santa might bring. The main rooms of the home flow off this central hallway. 

Step inside
The living room, the original and oldest part of the home, centers around a double-sided fireplace. A brightly colored oil painting sits above the fireplace mantle. Playing off the bright colors in the artwork, a pine garland is accessorized with primary colored Christmas ornaments and gold-beaded garland. Two occasional chairs face a khaki-colored sofa that has pillows with the same pops of color as the painting. A Stella working music box, purchased by Turner’s great-grandfather, Edgar James Turner, sits next to the sofa. Turner says his grandmother, artist Epps Turner Perrow, would put on shows for the family as a child using the music box, a precursor to the phonograph, as her musical background. 

A sunroom resides on the other side of the double-sided fireplace. This room was part of the third addition to the house and was originally used as a schoolroom. The light-filled space has bookshelves lining the area under every window. Magnolia leaves, found on the property, cover the top of the bookshelves during the holidays. The brightly colored ornaments from the living room transition into this room as well, making the rooms feel connected. A white sofa, piped in blue, faces the fireplace with two matching spindle chairs, covered in corresponding blue fabric, on either side of it. Blue and white pottery vases rest on the mantle, spreading the blue all around the room.

The dining room dwells on the other side of the main hallway. It was part of the first addition of the house. A silver service sits on top of an antique mahogany sideboard with a portrait of Turner’s maternal grandmother Florence Bailey Adams hanging above it. Modern white ceramic lamps on top of the sideboard bring an element of modernity to the space while the crystal chandelier hanging above the double pedestal dining room table refers to the past. A Moser corner cabinet stores fine china and stemware. An oriental rug brings depth and pattern to the room. The walls are covered with artwork by Epps Perrow. 

Celebrate the holidays
The Perrows have hosted two Christmas Day meals for the family since moving into the house. The dining room table has blooming paperwhite bulbs with silver reindeer figurines as its centerpiece. Holly stacks Spode “Christmas Tree” plates on top of gold chargers and uses red festive cloth napkins. On the back of each dining room chair hangs a preserved boxwood wreath with red plaid ribbon. 

The original kitchen (now a study) and breakfast room flow off the dining room. The breakfast room’s original cabinetry has been preserved and turned into a bar, complete with a sink and white/gray quartzite countertops. Two barrel-back chairs overlook the bar and provide a space to enjoy a drink and look outside at the beautiful views. A modern gold table sits between the chairs, decorated with paperwhite bulbs and an ornament wreath hanging above it. 

The bar connects to the study, the original kitchen. Painted a moody gray, the built-in bookshelves store family photos and items of interest. Turner’s saber from Virginia Military Institute, which was also his maternal grandfather’s, is among these items, as well as his maternal grandmother’s golf clubs. The family laughs that she was one of a very few women to play Augusta in the 1920s. Additionally, a banjo signed by Doc Watson resides here. It was Turner’s maternal great-grandfather’s, and he has carried on the tradition of playing the instrument himself. 

Wood paneling on the walls and ceiling is found in the room across the hallway from the study. The family has always called this the game room, and it is truly where the family hangs out together. A fireplace serves as the focal point of the room with a brown leather sofa and four khaki-colored geometric print swivel chairs providing the seating. The family stockings hang from this mantle each year with greenery placed on the top. A piano that was passed down with the house lives in the back section of the room, along with a portrait of Edgar James Turner. More of Epps Perrow’s brightly colored artwork, which she never sold in public, as well as artwork by her friend Jimmie Kyle hang on the walls.

The big Christmas tree brightens the game room. Holly inherited most of the ornaments from her mother. Each year she tries to add new ornaments based on what the children were interested in that year. She also tries to buy an ornament when they travel somewhere new. One will notice a theme of angels and gold as well. Holly’s mom collected angels, as Holly does now. She also attributes her gold theme to her mom: “One year my mom was infatuated with gold and spray-painted everything for the tree gold. Nothing could stop her. She even spray-painted her shoes.” The memory makes Holly smile, and the gold tradition continues.

Admire the amenities
The kitchen, a new addition to the house created from a porch, can be accessed from the game room. The bright space is filled with windows and white Shaker cabinets that bounce the sunlight around the room. The appliances are clad with cabinetry panels, so they blend in with the rest of the kitchen. A large central island with white quartzite countertops centers the room, with space for their three children to sit. On the wall behind the island hangs an Epps Perrow painting featuring Galt’s Mill, the store and outbuildings. It provides some darker tones that give weight to the room. The hardwood floors were matched to the rest of the house. 

The family tries to eat as many meals together as they can in the small nook that flows out of the kitchen. The long rectangular table was made using wood from planks found in the attic and the old kitchen table used by Turner’s grandparents. A sisal rug lies underneath the table and a black metal light fixture hangs above it. The neutral tones draw the eye to the lush landscape outside the windows. 

Before moving in, the Perrows also updated some aspects of the upstairs. They renovated the bathrooms and the main bedroom. The main bedroom was reworked to allow for additional closets — something lacking in a house of this age. In this room, a blue and tan oriental rug serves as the main source for color. Two khaki-colored club chairs sit at the base of the bed and face the original fireplace. Blue-and-white lamps, as well as a blue coverlet on the bed, tie the color theme together. The walls feature artwork of the Virgin Islands, a favorite travel destination for the family. 

The Perrows also gutted the main bathroom and started over. They added a walk-in shower and stand-alone tub, all done in tones of white and gray. The tub is flanked by two separate vanities. White marble lies on top of the vanities with hardwood floors underneath. The whole space is classic, calm and serene. 

When Holly and Turner Perrow returned to the house that Turner grew up in, they both knew that some things about the house were going to have to change, but other things needed to remain the same. They made a conscious effort to hold tight to the aspects that honor the past. At the same time they push toward modernity, paving a golden path forward … just hopefully not spray-painting their shoes along the way. ✦