It’s nice to be told how wonderful you are – how beautiful, how well put-together, how downright dreamy in every way. And Hollin Hills got all that and more in January 2023, when our (admittedly gorgeous) community was showcased on the PBS real estate show “If You Lived Here,” and received so much love that we just about died from blushing.

If you haven’t seen it, the show features two amiable hosts named John Begeny and Christine Louise, who walk through through a for-sale house in a particular neighborhood, and then – in a moment of white-knuckle drama – are asked to guess how much they think the house is listed for.  

The January episode focused on one of the first houses built in Hollin Hills, which came on the market last year.  It’s a beautifully-renovated home at the corner of Drury Lane and Rippon Road, with two additions designed by our own very talented Rebecca Bostick.  When Begeny and Louise arrived, they took one look, went weak in the knees, and began vying to see who could emit the most oohs and aahs and wows and goshs. 

“This house is dreamy. I want this house,” declared Begeny.  “This house is a piece of art,” countered Louise, marveling over everything from the kitchen backsplash to  the “fancy” anti-fog mirrors in the bathroom.  “There’s a door that looks like one of the windows!” exclaimed Begeny, in seeming awe that such a thing was even possible.  “This room – you would just never want to leave it!” responded a breathless Louise. 

As the quest to out-gush each other heated up, Begeny noted that the floor-to-ceiling windows were “glorious,” and Louise seized her moment. “Deer can literally come up to the window … and greet you!” she said – a power move to which Begeny, out-enthused by a master, could only respond, “my gosh.”  (Meanwhile, out of camera range, every gardener in Hollin Hills was furiously spraying Deer-B-Gone over their flowerbeds.) 

Anyway it was all in good fun, Begeny and Louise were likable and enthusiastic hosts, the house was beautiful and worth gushing over, and there were quick glimpses of many other Hollin Hills homes as well.  Friends of Hollin Hills Chair Barbara Bogue also made an appearance to talk about architect Charles Goodman and the community, noting that “you can’t be here long without realizing that this is a very special place.”

If you’re curious about the Drury Lane house: it’s a Unit Type 2 completed in November 1949, and was either the first or second house built here (scholars differ). It was, however, the first Hollin Hills house to be sold, when John and Kitty Nelles bought it for about $11,000 and became the first homeowners in Hollin Hills. (A brave move, as the house had no water or sewage system for weeks.)  Anyway, times have changed: the four-bedroom house sold in 2022 for a cool $1,049,900.

You can watch the episode on the PBS website.

– Stephen Brookes (January 2023)