Linda Rabbitt looks forward, not backward. Yet when you glance at her past, it’s remarkable. Married to a doctor with whom she had two lovely daughters, Rabbitt was shocked in 1980 when he left her and their girls, ages 2 and 3 at the time, and took all of their money offshore. Rabbitt, who had stayed home to rear her children, leaving behind a teaching career, was suddenly left with no husband, no job, and no child support. Undaunted, she found a job as a secretary at KPMG and advanced quickly to director of marketing. Then, in 1985, with no background in the construction business, she co-founded her first construction company at age 37 when a colleague said she was seeking a partner. “On the theory that the less you know about an opportunity, the more attractive it is, I said I’d be her partner,” Rabbitt says. “My move was financially motivated, but I quickly loved building the offices of many ‘Type A’ personalities. They are at their offices more than their homes.”
Later, in 1989, Rabbitt co-founded Rand Construction Corporation. As chairman and CEO, she has grown Rand to a $200-million-a-year company known for creating clean, contemporary spaces for major corporations including General Dynamics, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Volkswagen/Audi, AARP, and CNN, as well as scores of leading law firms.
Meanwhile, she met John Whalen, owner of Wharco Realty Group, an investment and property management firm, and they married in 1990. When it came time to remodel their home, rather than choosing the contemporary styling that had made her a commercial success, Rabbitt wanted a more traditional look.
“It’s the contrast between Rand Construction Corporation and my home. I like the idea of coming home to a different place, one that is warm, inviting, elegant, and functional. That’s not really the look one seeks from your professional life,” says Rabbitt, who enjoys the comfort of her home.
“My home is my nest and my garden is my sanctuary. John and I both own businesses and our schedules can be intense. Our home is the place where we re-balance ourselves. It’s where we pursue our hobbies, recharge our batteries, and relax.” It’s also a gathering place where they create memories with family and friends.
In 2001, Rabbitt faced another major crisis when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Knowing Rabbitt’s love of her garden, Jon Couch, president of Rand, offered to build her a gazebo. At that time and in the immediate years that followed, however, Rand was growing exponentially and he and the other executives involved in the project were too busy to spend much time working on it. They eventually finished it, however, last year.
Planning for Golden Years
A few years ago, Rabbitt, now 59, turned to Whalen, now 58, and asked, “Can we live here when we’re 80?” The couple had more than doubled the space of their original 3,500-square-foot home in ’99, but decided the time had come to add an owners’ suite on the first floor to make everything they might need easily accessible as they age. During their renovation, they blurred distinctions between the old and new house and added the scale and 21st-century conveniences that weren’t available in 1950 when this house was built. “We didn’t want to change the character of the house,” says Rabbitt, who with Whalen collects European and American antiques. She also has a “roots wall” with sepia tone photos of her and her husband’s families. “I wanted it to look like it was a home with a soul,” Rabbitt says. “I get nervous when I go to people’s houses and don’t see a single picture of their children.”
Rabbitt and Whalen consulted John and Marilyn Burroughs, architect and interior designer respectively, of New Leaf Collaborative Architecture & Design PLC. The Burroughs expanded the house by 1,200 square feet, adding a spacious owners’ bedroom, deluxe walk-in closet, and luxurious his and her bathroom. They also enlarged the bar area and expanded and reconfigured the garage.
The new bedroom is like a royal retreat with Louis XVI-style handcrafted furniture mixed with a few favorite antiques. The distinctive tray ceiling, accented with gold leaf, stenciling, and faux finishing, soars 13’. “The last thing I’m going to see before I close my eyes for good is going to be this ceiling, so it had to be perfect,” Rabbitt says.
A Secret Passage
An antique carved Irish kiosk Rabbitt and Whalen purchased in New Orleans 10 years ago anchors the pub, which includes handsome mahogany paneling, a warm burgundy tin ceiling, and Swedish oak flooring. “I had built the Embassy of Sweden in 1994 and when we were done, there was leftover Swedish oak, which I bought and stored for three or four years,” Rabbitt says. When she and Whalen decided to expand the pub – they doubled the size of it – they needed another 150 square feet of Swedish oak for the floor. After great effort, they imported more Swedish oak that matched perfectly.
In the past, when guests would congregate in the pub, they entered a dead-end destination. They’d walk into the area, and there was no place else for them to go. With the expansion, however, Rabbitt and Whalen had a window converted to a door, which now connects to the family room, and guests move freely from one room to another. “Now it’s fantastic,” Whalen says, “it just works great.”
Not only do Rabbitt and Whalen have wonderful flow into the family room, they had a secret passage built that leads to their bedroom suite, too. A custom bookcase, pictured above, that holds family heirlooms slides open providing easy egress. The hidden passage is so discreetly integrated, no one would suspect it’s there. Right now, it’s a novelty to be able to slip from the bedroom into the pub and the gourmet kitchen beyond whenever they want. Later in life, however, when Rabbitt and Whalen may want to avoid unnecessary steps, they could come to rely on this shortcut through the first floor. And maybe then, when they are slipping together through their own secret passageway reveling in the joy of their home, Rabbitt will allow herself the briefest of moments to look back and reflect on how far she has come.
