Katie's House and Hotel

The August 2008 edition of Domino featured the Richmond, Virginia, home of Katie Ukrop, director of Quirk - a gallery that exhibits the work of both established and emerging artists. The Ukrop row house, which is located in Richmond's Fan District, was much admired by bloggers who loved Katie's feminine yet spare aesthetic. Anyone who wants to experience more of the Ukrop style should be pleased to learn that Katie and her husband Ted are developing an art-focused boutique hotel in downtown Richmond. 

Image courtesy of 3North.
"Art-focused boutique hotel coming to Broad Street" by Nathan Cushing.

rvanews (August 5, 2014)

"We hope to have a lot of great art in the lobby and all the public spaces. We want to put art in as many places as we can." - Katie Ukrop

"The Italian Renaissance-style building at 201 West Broad Street is an old department store building that the Ukrops plan to turn into a boutique hotel."

Photography by Dean Hoffmeyer.
"Boutique Hotel Planned for Downtown Arts District" by Graham Moomaw.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (June 23, 2014).

The Ukrop family has owned the Italian Renaissance-style building at 201 West Broad Street - in Richmond's Art and Culture District - since 1997. (Source.) They are in the process of converting the structure into a hotel with a downstairs bar, a coffee shop, and a restaurant. The lobby will connect the hotel to Quirk Gallery, which will relocate to the building next door. (Source.)

201 West Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia.
"The structure, which features limestone arches at its base, was built in 1916 for the J.B. Mosby and Co. dry goods store. It was noted for being the first fireproof department store in the city, according to the Department of Historic Resources."

"Boutique Hotel Planned for Downtown Arts District" by Graham Moomaw.
Richmond Times-Dispatch (June 23, 2004).

"We're designing it for the community, and we feel like if we can attract the community then people are going to want to stay here," Ted Ukrop told rvanews. He and Katie were inspired to create their own hotel after staying at the 21C Museum Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky:

"Nestled in historic downtown Louisville, 21c Museum Hotel is a 91-room boutique hotel, contemporary art museum, award-winning restaurant and cultural civic center."

2014 Global Vision Award Winner - Travel and Leisure Magazine.

Text via 21C Museum Hotel website.

21C Museum Hotel in Louisville - housed in a refurbished 19th-century tobacco and bourbon warehouse.

Photo via Facebook.

21C Museum Hotel in Louisville was created in an area of the city that was in transition. Richmond's Arts and Culture District, home of Quirk Gallery and the Ukrops's Quirk-branded hotel, is also in transition. Restaurants and galleries are moving to this part of downtown, and Ted and Katie hope their development of the historic building at 201 West Broad Street will draw both Richmonders and out-of-towners to this revitalized area. They would like to open their boutique hotel before the UCI Road World Championships cycling event takes place in September 2015. While we wait to see the building, which will feature the "aesthetics" of Pilar Proffitt and Robert Bristow of Poesis Design (source), we can revisit the home of Ted and Katie Ukrop:

Katie Ukrop at her front door.

"House Crashing: A Dreamy and Decadent Delight" by Sherry Petersik.

Young House Love (January 27, 2009).

"Shiny leather round-back chairs shake up an otherwise genteel living room."

Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.

Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
"House Crashing: A Dreamy and Decadent Delight" by Sherry Petersik.

Young House Love (January 27, 2009).

"Most homes in the dominantly Victorian 'Fan' district (so-called for its splayed grid of roads) boast wide-planked pine floors, but Ukrop's were nothing special. So last year she hired local decorative artist Sunny Goode to paint the downstairs floors in paler shades. Every inch had to be sanded, coated several times with acrylic paint and then glazed, but the resulting infusion of delicate tints took the house into the 21st century. Here a neutral-toned motif, which was inspired by a book of Turkish patterns and Ukrop's passion for florals. provides both graphic flourish and an earthy counterpoint to the glossy coffee table and mid-century style settee."
Parlor of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.

Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

"With glass-paned cabinets, nickel pulls on the vibrant-white drawers and a French-style table, the prevailing look in the sunny kitchen is pure country. But curvy wood chairs bring it up to the moment, keeping the overall effect from being too precious."
Kitchen of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.

Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

"The utilitarian stove works overtime as a display case for Ukrop's stash of vintage white ironstone, which she adores for its white-on-white tones (and because both her mother and her sister are collectors too)."
Kitchen of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.

Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

"For years, Ukrop's large formal dining room was a creamy ivory. Though it was perfectly nice, she explains, 'It never had enough oomph.' On a whim, she changed the color of the walls and ceiling to a pale pink, bestowing instant energy. . . . The oval pedestal table's lacquered sheen and sturdy central column balance the frill of the chandelier and the weathered patina of the wood pieces. To further the relaxed, romantic mood, Ukrops put in a refurbished thrift-store settee and billowing curtains."
Dining room of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
 Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

Dining room of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
"House Crashing: A Dreamy and Decadent Delight" by Sherry Petersik.

Young House Love (January 27, 2009).

"A painted border of warm-brown interlocking rings defines the dining room with a subtly classical formality."

Dining room of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

"It's here that Ukrop's 'when in doubt, repaint' philosophy takes center stage. An old armoire, which she coated in white, hides the television and stores her 'ridiculously large' cache of sweaters. Further recipients of the all-white treatment: the mantelpiece, the iron bed frame and the wall sconces that serve as bedside lamps. She pumped up the femme factor - luckily, her husband doesn't mind - with pleasingly mismatched linens, most of which are garden-themed, the bench was re-covered in a vintage curtain from a local shop. The inside of the nonworking fireplace is enlivened by an arrangement of seashells and an artwork from a local auction hangs above. Baby-blue walls complete the soothing tableau."
Bedroom of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).

"Stone fruit baskets frame the archway, which is bursting with climbing roses and vines."

Backyard of Katie Ukrop's row house in Richmond, Virginia's Fan District.
Interior design by Katie Ukrop.

Photography by Paul Costello.

Text by Ruth Graham.

"Neo-Southern Belle" produced by Sara Ruffin Costello.

Domino (August 2008).