After leaving city life behind, a couple designed a home that blends traditional style with natural light, open spaces and stunning views.
Photo above: Guy knew he wanted to showcase the views in building this home. He says, “Growing up in Long Island, it was all about the water. In Floyd, it’s all about the views.”
Photos courtesy of Taylor Reschka.
Guy and Sandy Riccardi moved from Long Island to Virginia in 2006. Time, once their most precious commodity, became leisurely after the move. Guy collaborated with contractors and designers — slowly and thoughtfully — to build this home. The perfect land paired with a stunning hybrid home design capitalizes on Floyd’s views.
A Trader Makes a Winning Trade
As a young professional, Guy Riccardi thrived on Wall Street, where the difference between success and failure was often speed. As information passed by, Guy made lucrative lightning-quick trades. He has prospered in his career for over 50 years.
Guy assumed that his firstborn daughter would grow up to work on Wall Street like he did. But after college she moved to Woolwine, and Guy and Sandy longed for more space.
Consequently, after years of trading stocks, Guy traded New York for Virginia. In 2006, he and Sandy sold their city apartment and their home in the Hamptons. Guy muses, “I spent my whole life thinking my firstborn would follow in my footsteps… but instead, I followed her down here.”
Time to Slow Down
Floyd offered a peaceful change of pace for the Riccardis. Their first Christmas, Sandy was afraid that mailing multiple packages at the post office would annoy other customers or the window clerk. But as she rested them on the counter, the clerk said, “Don’t worry. Everyone gets a turn. Take your time.” Sandy sighed with relief.
This pace of this build mirrored the pace of Floyd. Guy and Sandy rented an apartment in Roanoke and then bought a log house in Floyd to avoid time pressure in building.
Guy started drawing his ideas for the home on graph paper and assembling a construction team in 2014. Guy worked with many people on this project, but most closely with Randall Neely of Joran’s Interiors and Noah Byler of OmniBuild and Kingfisher LLC. Randall was the interior designer, and Noah was the project manager and design and implementation consultant.
The Benefits of Working with Joran’s Interiors
Guy calls Randall’s thoughts and ideas “priceless” and credits him with making the home functional and beautiful. For example, Randall pointed out that the stove should face out towards the living room so that Sandy can socialize with guests while cooking. Then he built it into a hybrid bar/island with wood in the back and a stone front. Custom cabinet wood tops it, and recessed lighting highlights the stone texture.
When it was time to choose countertops, Guy planned on doing it himself. Randall anticipated that he might need help and met him at the store.
Guy was grateful for Randall’s foresight, as the number of choices overwhelmed him. Guy says, “Randall looked at the countertops, and within an hour, boom boom, finds the perfect one. I could spend money confidently knowing that Randall had the whole vision for the house. And it only cost me 50 or 100 bucks in a consulting fee.”
Embracing Hybrid Biophilic Design
As construction progressed, Randall’s keen design eye created visual interest. Guy and Sandy initially preferred traditional design because that’s what they were accustomed to in the Hamptons. But Randall wanted to push Guy to consider something different and honor Guy’s desire for the home to be “open and light and alive.”
Randall did this by showing he understood Guy’s preferences, presenting him with things he knew Guy would like and then saying, “But let’s consider something else too.”
As Guy warmed up to Randall’s avant-garde design ideas, Randall combined the Riccardi’s traditional preferences with biophilic design elements. Biophilic design brings natural components inside of a home to make it inviting, enhance well-being and connect people with nature.
Randall also incorporated what Guy describes as Sandy’s love of “bling bling” into the design scheme. In the master bedroom small wall ornaments made of mirrors reflect light while transparent glass bedside tables, crystal door handles and curtain holders let light stream through. The counters of the bathroom vanities sparkle like crushed crystals.
Randall believes collaboration was the key to the finished product, as combining ideas created something unique. He says, “Client designer interaction like this is magic because you’re inspiring each other.”
Now Guy laughs about the times he doubted Randall’s vision. He says, “Many times I started off hesitant, but then ended up loving it. I’ve learned my lesson to wait until the whole room is done.”
Million Dollar Views
In the architectural plans, the foyer was enclosed. As neighbors visited when just the 2x4s were up, Guy noticed that everyone walked right to the view visible through the back-porch windows.
Putting up sheetrock would block the views, so Guy asked Noah to find a way for people coming in the front door to see directly through to the back porch. Noah found special columns to provide the necessary support in place of a solid wall. This made the open foyer concept possible.
Noah valued Guy’s vision, and remained true to it throughout the project, even if it meant redoing something instead of moving forward.
Getting the Right Windows
When the cutouts for the windows of the lower level were in place, Guy realized he wanted them to be bigger and match the size of the upstairs windows.
The home had already been framed, but Noah consulted an engineer who came up with a solution: add steel to the window headers to replace the wood beams. Adding steel allowed Noah to safely shrink the headers and make the windows 8.5 feet tall.
The Whimsical Window Seat
The window seat of the master bedroom offers a panoramic view of foliage, landscape and wildlife that frequently passes by. Its magic changes throughout the seasons and time of day. Guy says, “During the winter, this is a winter wonderland. In the fall the colors are magnificent. The stars at night are so bright that sometimes we have to pull the shades down. You feel like you’re sleeping outside. You don’t ever get tired of it.”
The Trade the Trader Won’t Make
Guy still works as an investor, but now only for himself. He started out working for a Wall Street firm, opened his own firm 10 years later and is now his own boss. Each morning, he sips a steaming cup of coffee and begins his work day while gazing out the living room windows.
A set of three cabins dots the property, where Guy and Sandy watch their grandkids play in the stream during visits. Guy calls this part of the property “Nature’s Nest.” People have asked him if he will ever rent the cabins or sell the property. Guy says he never will.
There are some things traders don’t trade, no matter the market price of the moment.
The Payoff of Taking Time
The Riccardis broke ground on this home in 2017 and finally moved in May of 2019, 13 years after leaving Long Island. All furnishings and interior and exterior design were completed in 2025, 19 years after leaving Long Island.
Guy and Sandy feel the slow and steady pace of this build has paid off. Guy says, “I’m glad we took the time we did to build the place we really wanted. This is gorgeous. I love loving it.”
The story above is from our November/December 2025 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
