Thomas Harding paid a visit to this charming home nestled in a corner of downtown historic Shepherdstown, owned by Sonya Evanisko, chair of the Shepherd’s art department

I have known Sonya for some time; our kids play together. Sonya is active in the community. She is an artist and a teacher of art. She is a woman of great taste—I’m thrilled to be invited to tour her house.

From the outside, Sonya’s house is modest. A pale blue Victorian with shuttered windows, flower boxes on the curb, and a love seat on the sidewalk.

As I walk into the small hallway, I am struck by how cozy and warm the place is. A soft glow surrounds me. Polished yellow pine floors. Colorful treasures carefully placed in a corner. A shrine to past travels. Russian dolls, religious icons, intricate collages bound by curt wooden frames. The dining room table, handed down from Sonya’s grandparents, with pretty rouge and cream tablecloth and chandelier hanging above. A delightful Hoosier–style cabinet stands at one end of the dining room. All very charming.

Sonya offers me tea. We sit down, and she tells me her story, and the story of the house.

Sonya Evanisko moved to Shepherdstown in 1993. She grew up in Johnstown, Pa. Sonya moved to Shepherdstown for a job in the art department at Shepherd College (as it was then known), and rented a house on Princess Street.

“I loved the town,” says Sonya. “There is something about this place, anywhere you are, any event you go to, there is a span of ages. You meet eccentric and eclectic people who communicate well. The town is alive with culture. The energy here was amazing. I just knew I wanted to make this my home.”

By 1997, Sonya had one-year-old twins. Her husband had recently passed away. She was looking for a place to call home.

“I wanted to live in town, where I could walk and bike everywhere,” said Sonya. “I wanted to enjoy the four distinct seasons. I’m a gardener; this was important to me.”

When Sonya saw the house on High Street she wasn’t sure it was for her. It was built in the 1860s, but the foundation may have been built as early as the 1700s. It had been modernized by the previous owners. It has white paint on every wall, and the drywall covered the original stone in the walls. The furniture in the house was minimal. It lacked character, she said. But then a friend told her that it was up to Sonya to give the house character. And boy has she done that!

I get up from the dining room table and walk into an airy sitting area. A two-sided fireplace on one end. Large stuffed red sofas and armchairs framing the sitting area. A pillowed bench perches at the other side of the fireplace. Sonya calls this space her reading pod. There are stacks of magazines on the floor within easy reach. I’m tempted to lie down and grab a few moments to catch up on Elle, Vogue or House & Garden.

Instead I’m distracted by the space beyond. It’s bright, open, and inviting. I’ve stepped across the perimeter of the Victorian house and into the crisp embrace of the extension. One step and I’m transitioned from the end of the 19th century to the start of the 21st. In front of me towers a two-story atrium built from wood, steel, and concrete.

Starting in 2004, Sonya worked with architect Andy Singletary to build an addition to the house. Her goals were to bring the outside in—link the garden with the interior of the house—and to integrate the ground and first floors by using an atrium and balcony combination.

The extension has a concrete floor with underground heating. It provides greenhouse-like warmth. So warm that Sonya’s orchid has remained in bloom since last August.

“One day I saw snowdrops falling and melting in the ponds,” says Sonya. “I was watching through the eight-foot glass windows. I was warm inside standing on the heated floors, but I felt I was outside. It was like an outdoor pavilion with a roof. It was then I knew that we had been successful with the design.”

I step outside to take some photographs of the exterior of the home. Sonya has worked extremely hard to cultivate the landscape. Rock gardens blend into flower beds. A grassy bank falls to a view over the Shepherd Rams football field. A tranquil Zen pond is interrupted by stepping stones and a fountain gushing next to a stone bullfrog.

Later in the evening Sonya’s parents arrive for a barbecue on the patio. Sonya’s son Michael busies himself arranging action figures on the floor of the atrium. Sonya’s daughter Tatiana is swinging on the swing at the bottom of the garden.

It is a mellow happy family scene. It seems a mellow, happy home.