Built in 1919, this stately brick home, located at the corner of Kensington Avenue and Sheppard Street, was occupied by its original owner until acquired in 1982 by the Selveys, who renovated the home for guest accommodations.  The home and its enchanting pocket garden have been featured in the Historic Garden Week in Virginia and Museum District Mother's Day House & Garden Tours.

While spectacular in design, detail, and decor, the Kensington Bed and Breakfast is most surely set apart by its fabulous location, one block west of the Boulevard, overlooking the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the Virginia Historical Society, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2926 Kensington Avenue is truly at the center of it all.

The wide, covered front porch faces south and looks out at a 100-year-old stand of over 100 Magnolia trees. Guests relax and refresh on the porch glider or wicker chairs to enjoy the east-west crossbreezes. The dramatic entry hall features a striking peacock-patterned folding screen, a prelude to the vivid colors and decor throughout the house.  Downstairs, grass cloth covers the living room walls, complementing rich Oriental carpets and upholstered antiques.  Colors used on the sponged dining room walls and trim were pulled from a large reproduction Chinese chest-on-stand, the original owned by a Vanderbilt.  The Kensington's international decor has a surprising source:  many pieces of furniture and art seen in this home were acquired in nearby Carytown and from local artists and craftsmen.

Bertie Selvey is a community activist and founding member of the Historic Byrd Theater Foundation. Bill is a retired hospital administrator. Both are avid gardeners, and have turned a busy corner lot into a sanctuary with a terrace and garden between the house and carriage house.  A specially designed fence and arched gate, original to the house, frame garden beds filled with shrubbery and a profusion of flowers.