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"This is a country house actively used for country pursuits," Tino Zervudachi says of Summer Duck Wood, an estate in Rapidan, Virginia, whose interiors he designed for James H. T. and Mary McConnell. The late architects Thomas W. S. Craven and Floyd E. Johnson created the structure.

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The octagonal dining room. A George III giltwood mirror is above the bowfront chest of drawers. The maple table is Zervudachi's design. Over it hangs a 19th-century French chandelier that is not electrified.

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The fieldstone house's form, a half octagon, reflects Virginia's Neoclassical architectural tradition.

A fragrant mix of herbs, boxwood, roses and perennials lines the bluestone path to the front entrance.

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The east pavilion's family room. "When I first saw it, it was a plain white room. I took inspiration from the furniture and made it cabinlike." Birds decorate the faux oeils-de-boeuf on the tray ceiling. A painting of one of the couple's dogs, Mister Buffett, is displayed above the mantel.

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"It has an entirely different atmosphere," the designer says of the master bedroom in the west pavilion. "I gave it a botanical theme for an avid gardener." The floral motif on the ceiling was inspired by a Mughal painting. Above the fireplace is a Howard Smith painting of a young Jamie McConnell and his brother on horseback. The Persian carpet is antique.

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The house was inspired by Nancy Lancaster's Little Haseley in England.

The maple-paneled library "looks like a warm wood box," Zervudachi says. "We painted faux paneling on the ceiling to help give the space proportion." The light fixture and low table, by Philippé Anthonioz, "introduce a contemporary note." Club chair stripe, Lelièvre.

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The water court at the rear of the house is bordered by "recycled granite blocks from the streets of Richmond," Mary McConnell notes.

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Poppies, irises and buddleia add color to the kitchen garden, which Mary McConnell planted. "You can make any piece of ground look good if you put in too many plants," she says.