Bringing New Life to a Forgotten Space at the Virginia Theological Seminary

When Vir­ginia The­o­log­i­cal Sem­i­nary set out to mod­ern­ize their cam­pus din­ing lounge, the goal wasn’t just to add new fur­ni­ture, it was to reshape how the space was used and expe­ri­enced. The Sem­i­nary, locat­ed in the heart of Alexan­dria, Vir­ginia, want­ed to breathe new life into the 1823 Café (also known as Scott Lounge), turn­ing it from an over­looked cor­ner of cam­pus into a wel­com­ing, mul­ti­func­tion­al gath­er­ing place. To help make it hap­pen, they part­nered with Meri­wether God­sey, their long-time food ser­vice provider, and Old Domin­ion Fur­ni­ture Co.

From Afterthought to Campus Asset

Before the redesign, the 1823 Café was more of a place­hold­er than a des­ti­na­tion, with ran­dom fur­ni­ture, a pop­corn machine in the cor­ner, and no real lay­out to speak of. It didn’t invite stu­dents to stay, social­ize, or study. And in an era where cam­pus life plays a crit­i­cal role in stu­dent sat­is­fac­tion and com­mu­ni­ty build­ing, the Sem­i­nary knew they need­ed to do bet­ter.

They envi­sioned a space that could keep up with the needs of today’s stu­dents and fac­ul­ty: a mod­ern cam­pus lounge that blend­ed com­fort with func­tion­al­i­ty, sup­port­ed col­lab­o­ra­tion, and reflect­ed the Seminary’s com­mit­ment to a vibrant com­mu­ni­ty life.

Building Trust Through Real-World Experience

The con­nec­tion to Old Domin­ion Fur­ni­ture Co. began in the most organ­ic way pos­si­ble. Lead­ers at Meri­wether God­sey had recent­ly dined at Isabel­la’s, a pop­u­lar restau­rant in down­town Lynch­burg, and were struck by the qual­i­ty and feel of the fur­nish­ings. When they asked about the source, the answer was close to home: Old Domin­ion Fur­ni­ture Co.

As it turned out, ODFC and Meri­wether God­sey weren’t just local to each oth­er, they were prac­ti­cal­ly neigh­bors. That small-world con­nec­tion helped set the tone for a part­ner­ship ground­ed in trust, local pride, and mutu­al respect. Meri­wether God­sey, who had recent­ly begun expand­ing their ser­vices to include con­sult­ing on din­ing design, saw ODFC as a nat­ur­al fit for the Sem­i­nary project and made the intro­duc­tion.

Collaborative Design for a Multipurpose Space

From the first con­ver­sa­tion, it was clear this project need­ed more than just fur­ni­ture. It required inten­tion, flex­i­bil­i­ty, and a true under­stand­ing of how the space would be used. We coor­di­nat­ed an on-site vis­it with rep­re­sen­ta­tives from ODFC, Meri­wether God­sey, and the Sem­i­nary, all gath­ered in the out­dat­ed lounge, ready to reimag­ine the pos­si­bil­i­ties.

Our con­ver­sa­tions cen­tered around ver­sa­til­i­ty. Could this space accom­mo­date group meet­ings, casu­al study ses­sions, and impromp­tu social gath­er­ings? Could it be rearranged as need­ed, while still feel­ing cohe­sive and thought­ful­ly designed?

From those ear­ly dis­cus­sions, a clear plan emerged: flex­i­ble seat­ing options that ranged from cozy booths to com­mu­nal tables, mate­ri­als that could stand up to dai­ly stu­dent use, and a lay­out that encour­aged con­nec­tion. We curat­ed a cus­tom fur­ni­ture pack­age that includ­ed booth seat­ing, bar stools, and sol­id wal­nut tables paired with our Miller chairs — each ele­ment cho­sen for dura­bil­i­ty, com­fort, and mod­ern appeal.

Designed, Built, and Delivered On Schedule

Once the designs were final­ized, the real coor­di­na­tion began. We worked close­ly with the Sem­i­nary to select fin­ish­es, vinyls, and wood tones that would match the exist­ing archi­tec­ture and reflect the institution’s aes­thet­ics. As always, we pro­vid­ed detailed shop draw­ings and field-ver­i­fied all dimen­sions, and also aligned our pro­duc­tion sched­ule with the Seminary’s win­ter break to avoid dis­rup­tion.

Instal­la­tion was han­dled direct­ly by our team, ensur­ing every piece arrived on time, was prop­er­ly installed, and lived up to expec­ta­tions. Because the Seminary’s facil­i­ties staff didn’t need to coor­di­nate deliv­ery or man­age third-par­ty installers, the entire process felt sim­ple and seam­less from their side. Our on-site pres­ence also meant any ques­tions or sur­pris­es could be han­dled in real time.

A Lasting Transformation

Today, the 1823 Café feels like a com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent place—not just in terms of lay­out and aes­thet­ics, but in how it’s used. Stu­dents gath­er for cof­fee and con­ver­sa­tion, and the fac­ul­ty hosts small meet­ings in the cafe. Lap­tops are open, ideas are flow­ing, and the space buzzes with life.

The feed­back from the Sem­i­nary has been over­whelm­ing­ly pos­i­tive. What was once a mis­matched col­lec­tion of chairs and tables is now a pur­pose­ful, mod­ern envi­ron­ment that reflects the Seminary’s broad­er mis­sion to sup­port learn­ing, con­nec­tion, and com­mu­ni­ty.

And the suc­cess didn’t stop there. Meri­wether God­sey, pleased with how the Sem­i­nary project turned out, has since part­nered with ODFC on anoth­er major project: a high school din­ing space in Mass­a­chu­setts. That con­tin­u­ing part­ner­ship speaks vol­umes.

Honoring the Past, Elevating the Present

At Old Domin­ion Fur­ni­ture Co., we pride our­selves on deliv­er­ing more than just beau­ti­ful cus­tom fur­ni­ture solu­tions. We offer col­lab­o­ra­tion, care, and an eye for spaces that bring peo­ple togeth­er. With the Vir­ginia The­o­log­i­cal Sem­i­nary, it was about help­ing them ele­vate an under­uti­lized space into some­thing extra­or­di­nary, a place that enhances cam­pus life and reflects their val­ues.

Because when a space works well and looks good doing it, it becomes part of the fab­ric of cam­pus life—and that’s exact­ly the kind of trans­for­ma­tion we’re proud to be part of.