Named for W. B. Yeats’ famous poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, InnisFree Village has operated since 1971 as a truly unique supportive living community, dedicated to personal empowerment for residents through work in pastoral gardens and artisanal workshops. At any given time, InnisFree provides homes and livelihoods to around 40 adult residents with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Located in the green countryside of Virginia, the village lives up to the poet’s romantic ideal by engaging residents with meaningful work and lives lived in a natural setting.
The village itself consists of an expanding group of residential houses, community buildings and workstations. KTGY’s design is for the newest residence, providing full-time housing to residents and volunteer staff. The six-bedroom house includes all the necessaries and comforts of home including kitchen, walk-in pantry, two laundry rooms, screened porch and computer stations. All spaces are ADA accessible, and the home has been designed to net zero specifications per the client’s sustainability commitments.
The building is wrapped in a gorgeous farmhouse style supported with large white wooden beams and accented by red board-and-batten siding. The large, screened porch creates a generous indoor/outdoor living space for therapeutic activities and recreation. The farmhouse style matches the mission and aesthetic of a farming village and the style of existing houses. Our designers lent a keen eye to equity in this communal village, keeping the building in line with the size and amenity of the other homes. Each space is designed intentionally along with the client’s therapeutic goals. Residents and volunteers live, work and eat together, and this building will become a lifelong home for some. Accordingly, the design matches safety, accessibility, privacy and, above all, a sense of belonging, all nestled at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
