ROOMS FOR FAMILY

It was love at first sight for the owners of this very special 1920’s era home. The quality of light and the beautiful period detail was perfect. But the home’s kitchen was cramped and cut off from the main living areas and back yard and the family needed more space for their two children.

On the main level, we opened the kitchen to encompass 3 previously separated spaces - kitchen, eat-in and a rear utility porch. The original kitchen had no visual connection to the rear yard or to the family room that is adjacent. The kitchen is now connected to the family room and large windows look out over the expansive rear yard. This space also connects the kitchen to a new outdoor dining terrace that we created by removing an old basement stairwell.

The upstairs formerly consisted of a common room, bedroom, and bath – and a magically large attic space. Originally, there were just three dormers – large, small, and tiny. By adding three additional dormers to the existing attic area, we transformed the upstairs to include a new common room, two large bedrooms for the children, a large shared bath, two secret play spaces off of the children’s rooms, and a large laundry room.

We re-used many of the home’s original elements including the stair railing in the new common room, all of the doors, and period radiators. The small dormer bathroom was also completely restored.

It was such a pleasure to be a part of creating this family’s forever home.

This home was featured on the cover of Atlanta Homes Magazine - Fall 2019

Interior Design by Heather Kerwin

Cabinetry by Soorikian Furniture

Photography by Jeff Herr

EXPANSIVE ENTERTAINING

This beautiful, early 1920’s brick Tudor Revival home is quite special with its carved Indiana limestone entry surround, octagonal foyer, pillowed leaded glass windows, and Gothic archways. Unfortunately, its 1980’s era kitchen fell short – both in size and amenities.

The owner of this home is an avid cook who loves to entertain. For her, we designed a large new kitchen off the rear of the home, which allowed us to connect the interior rooms to the outdoor entertaining space. The new kitchen is a parapet structure capped with Indiana limestone. Its design balances with the parapet at the screened porch on the opposite side of the home.

Light was an important element of the design. The new kitchen windows were all custom made by Rod Gibson who replicated the details of the home’s distinctive metal windows. Within the kitchen addition, we raised the ceilings to 10’-6” and lengthened the windows for maximum light. The wood doors harken back to the original wood doors on the home and create nice flow to the pool terrace.

Where the original kitchen had been, we created a large butler pantry area to house the owner’s extensive china collection. This space connects several other spaces on this side of the home. At each of these connections, we created arched openings to complement the existing arched openings in the home. These archways were even echoed in the box hedge outside where an opening was created to the private rear yard and pool area.

This home is now well suited for the many family gatherings and events that will be hosted here in the years to come.

Interior Design by Sarah Feldman

Cabinetry by Soorikian Furniture

Photography by Jeff Herr

EXPANDING SPACE AND CREATING OUTDOOR LIVING

This was a project to revive a beautiful old Mediterranean style stucco home. The original 1920’s era home was built with masonry tile for all of the exterior walls with a true 3-coat stucco giving it a very solid construction. Over the years, modifications had significantly changed the exterior of the home and the original pedimented entry was long gone. Top of mind for my clients, was to restore the important original historic detailing to the home.

Functionally, our goal was to create a home that served a wonderful young family well by adding a family room, eat-in area, new master suite, numerous organizational spaces, and some well loved outdoor spaces. We constructed the new additions with masonry construction and true 3-coat stucco to be consistent with the solidity and feel of the structure.

I loved bringing this century old gem back new beginnings, with an eye toward functional and enjoyable living in a new century.

CREATING COURTYARD CONNECTION AND FLOW

This early 20th century Mediterranean style home has a commanding presence on Oakdale Road, and a beautiful lot.  The home sits high above the street with an original carriage house to the rear of the main residence.  The carriage house creates a wonderful private courtyard in the rear of the home. Originally, however, the rear of the home never had a strong physical connection nor views out to the courtyard.  The 1980's era kitchen was located on the side of the home and was rather dark with its one small window facing the driveway.  The renovation we did for this home involved a comprehensive reworking of the entire rear area of the home on the main and the second level to better relate to the unique features of the property.

On the main level, we  moved the kitchen to create a better relation to the courtyard at the rear.  The footprint of the home was expanded to accommodate the new kitchen as well as a new eat in area.  The dining room was moved to the existing brick floored sunroom, adjacent to the new kitchen, and we added an outdoor covered dining area in the courtyard.  Additionally, by expanding what was originally a rear entry porch on the opposite side, we were able to create an expansive mudroom and laundry space for the home, and placed a new family room in the original kitchen space.  With 3 sets of French doors to the courtyard, as well as expansive windows in the kitchen and eat in area, the main living spaces at the rear of the home now relate and flow with the wonderful courtyard space in back.  Many of the distinguishing features of the original architecture were retained in the renovation; including a large glass front hutch in the eat in area, the brick and marble inlay floor in the dining room, and the repurposed sink in the laundry.  The architectural details of the original home were also sensitively drawn upon in the detailing of all of our additions.

Upstairs the rear plan was also reworked to create more distinct adult and children's areas.  A more spacious master suite with his and hers bathrooms was created in the "adult" zone.  And two bathrooms and a study space were created in the "children's" zone upstairs. 

The home now has a flow and functionality that relates well to family living today.  The homeowners get to enjoy the beauty of this historic home, while also gaining the benefit of light and flow with its unique historic courtyard. 

Interior finishes by Janice Dietz

Photography by Jeff Herr  

A HOME COOK’S DREAM KITCHEN

Sometime in the 1980’s, prior to the historic designation of the Druid Hills neighborhood, this home went through a main level kitchen renovation and second level primary bathroom suite addition above.  The materials and design of this remodel did not quite rise to the beauty of this grand Owen Southwell designed home built in 1923.  The current owners purchased the home for its historic beauty, always knowing these two spaces would need to be addressed.  In the waning pre-pandemic era (January 2020), they contacted us to create a kitchen worthy of all the love they have for preparing meals and gathering with family and friends.  Elevating the bath space above was a true bonus in the endeavor.  Owen Southwell, who hailed from New Iberia, Louisiana in the heart of Acadiana, would have called this bath project “lagniappe!”   We set out to add space at the side of the home to change the plan from its former galley kitchen layout to a true chef’s kitchen with large island.  The adjunct spaces achieved were a new mudroom/entry space, a morning coffee/pantry space, a new bar/butler pantry, a half bath and a new residential elevator to access the second floor and finished basement.  Upstairs we were able to expand a library/office space and create the new bath suite that enjoys access to a rear terrace overlooking the pool.  The new kitchen opens generously to the space that serves as the family room so there is lots of elbow room for gatherings large and small.  Scroll to the bottom to see a couple of before shots.

Interior design by Cullens and Company

Photos by Jeff Herr Photography

Styling by Allyson Smith    

It’s all about the elements in this garden pavilion - earth, air, fire, and water. Schist stone on the fireplace and pillars, Vermont slate on the roof, bluestone flooring with limestone borders at the floor, a lofty wood ceiling and fans for ample air movement, and eternally lit gas lights illuminating the crystal blue water in the pool. It was such a joy to work out the materiality and details for this little “jewel” in the landscape. The goal of this project was to create a gathering spot to anchor the end axis of the family’s backyard swimming pool. The owners wanted it to be a place to entertain friends and family, serve outdoor meals, watch seasonal sports and to be able to do so pretty much throughout the year. In 95 degree weather, the pavilion manages to be a shady and comfortable retreat, due to the solid construction materials, vaulted ceiling and 2 ceiling fans. And in cool weather, the wood burning fireplace provides abundant warmth for the space. Retractable screens allow for some protection from the elements in light weather events that can sometimes arrive unexpectedly in Atlanta’s spring and summer months. The kitchenette provides a place to keep beverages handy and a counter to serve guests a buffet style meal. And it was finished just in time for small, socially distant gatherings in our pandemic era!

Photography by Jeff Herr

FROM SPEC HOME TO SPECIAL HOME

The Frederick Law Olmsted designed Druid Hills neighborhood is comprised of homes that exist on a spectrum from high end architect designed by the early masters of Atlanta, such as J. Neel Reid and Philip Schutze, all the way to speculative home builds by early Atlanta entrepreneurs who were smart enough to spot a good thing in the making.  This home was in the latter category and was built by John M. Malone in 1923 and sold to a Coca Cola executive that year.  The owners of this home hoped to elevate it to a more custom designed status and brought us in to make the transformation.   The home sits on a sloping lot and has a spectacular view out over the rear gardens and extensive property.  For the rear addition that houses 3 new levels, we stepped the main level down 2 steps to create taller ceilings in the kitchen and family room and a closer connection from the rear terrace and new covered porch to the gardens below.  Above there is a new primary bedroom suite that takes full advantage of the views to the rear yard, and the finished basement below walks out to the brick terrace and garden.  Creating a new center axis for the home was key to creating this custom feel.  Archways in succession are terminated by French doors out to the rear terrace.  This axis is an invitation for visitors to be drawn through the formal front areas back to the kitchen, family room and rear porches.  In the event that formality is preferred, there are large elliptical arched pocket doors to close off the more casual spaces in the rear of the home. Exterior photos to come.

Interior design by homeowner Kimberly O’Roark

Photos by Jeff Herr Photography   

WELCOMING GENERATIONS

The owners of this home wanted to build a pool/guest house to create a welcoming space for their young adult children and their expanding families.

In developing the design for the pool house, topographic level changes were a major factor. At the pool level, we created a large lofty living area and kitchenette, as well as a bath and laundry. Up seven steps from the living space, over the three-car garage, are two bedrooms and a large bathroom. Up three steps from the three car garage is the mudroom, leading to an open breezeway that connects the pool house to the main home.

This project also included extensive work on the main residence’s second level, including renovation of the existing bedrooms and bathrooms as well as a new common room, guest room, and master suite. The new common room is situated at the top of the steps behind French doors, which allow ample light into what was previously a dark stair hall. The sitting area features a fireplace and twin desks for the owners. We also created a large new master suite at the rear corner, with just a minimal addition to the home’s existing footprint.

The owners now feel like they have a mini resort in the back of their house and ample space to bring the entire family together in the years to come. It is a special place for them all.

Bonus: This home has a special history for its wonderful owner.  As a teenager, living in Druid Hills, she attended parties at the home. In the 1970s, a Georgia Tech professor owned the home and added the pool to study wave patterns. Today, this pool serves a much more traditional function: helping family members stay cool on Atlanta’s hot summer days!

Interior Design by Tory Winn

Photography by Jeff Herr

CLASSIC STYLE FOR 21st CENTURY LIFE

This beautiful 1919 home is a stunning example of the work of acclaimed architect, J. Neel Reid. It was in excellent shape, but, as with many of these historic properties, the original kitchen was long gone and there was little flow between the rear yard and interior space. The new owners needed a casual family gathering space for their two young boys – separate from the home’s more formal rooms – that also connected with the rear yard.

The home’s existing kitchen was situated towards the south corner.  To maximize the rear views from the new kitchen and connect well with the planned family room addition, we centered the kitchen within the existing space by creating a new butler’s pantry as well as an adjacent walk-in pantry. This created a nice flow between rooms, views of the rear yard, and a ton of storage space.  

We designed the new family room with lots of windows to visually connect the interior with newly landscaped gardens and rear lawn. We honored the historic design elements by creating a connector set in from the corners of the existing rear façade, featuring a refreshment bar with windows overlooking the restored garden fountain.

In the basement underneath the new family room, we created bonus areas including a media room, wine cellar, and exercise space.

It was a joy to work on this historic property in the heart of Druid Hills. This one hundred year old home now has plenty of space for two rambunctious 21st century boys to grow up.

Cabinetry by Soorikian Furniture

Photography by Jeff Herr

CONNECTING LIFESTYLES: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

In 1914, Charles Veazey Rainwater, a prominent Coco-Cola executive, commissioned Beaux Arts trained architect Edward Emmett Dougherty to design Boxwoods estate – an elegant and significant historic Druid Hills landmark.

The original three-acre property included the main house, surrounded by formal manicured gardens, numerous outbuildings, and winding equestrian paths. The gardens were featured in “Garden History of Georgia 1733-1933.” And a 1920s article in House and Garden showcased the small, detached house built for the family’s young boys.

Over the years, parts of the property have been sold and some of the buildings lost, but what remains – the original main residence, carriage house, horse barn, and formal terraced gardens – is truly enchanting.

The current owners, who are both physicians and own a film production company, wanted to create a new kitchen hub where friends and family could gather, and that would also connect with the home’s stunning historic courtyard garden.

The existing non-historic kitchen was small, dark, and outdated. It had just one tiny window, no connection to the outside, and virtually no space to gather.  We opened it up to a rear utility area, creating space for a keeping room and three new casement windows. The new kitchen flows outside through expansive French doors with side lites to an enlarged rear terrace, where matching French doors with engaged pilasters connect the terrace with the existing living room. And to connect this new hub to the courtyard, we designed a small addition with a covered glass entry door leading directly from the parking court to the kitchen.

The owners had great fun enlivening the kitchen space with decorative tile and splashes of color emblematic of the wife’s Italian heritage.

Historically, in a home of this stature, connecting the kitchen and living areas would have been anathema, because kitchens were seen as purely utilitarian. But today we embrace the kitchen as the heart of home and central to our lives. These architectural changes completely altered the flow and circulation through the kitchen and living spaces of this home and created strong connections to the beautiful historic gardens.

It is such a pleasure to preserve and rejuvenate historic homes in a way that a modern family can enjoy. In this way, these elegant pieces of history get to be part of the lives of families rather than becoming relics of the past.

This home now provides a perfect setting for many wonderful events to come -- and we can most certainly look forward to seeing glimpses of its beauty immortalized in the owners’ film projects. 

Photography by Jeff Herr

A FAMILY CENTERED HOME FOR RETIREMENT

This home, sitting high on a hill above Lake Tuscaloosa in Alabama, was built for my parents in the early days of their retirement. After raising their children (including me) in the Cajun country of Lafayette, Louisiana, they decided to return home to the state where they grew up. As grandparents, they wanted their home to be a central gathering spot for an extended and growing family.

The design paid homage to two important elements of our family’s history: The beloved Acadian architecture of southern Louisiana and my grandparents’ small home in Sheffield, Alabama.

The Acadian influence informed the large wrap around columned front porch – a setting for many large dinner parties, as well as small family gatherings around the porch swing. The center hall entry plan derives from the traditional Acadian homes of South Louisiana with formal rooms on either side of the central hall.  But it opens to a large family room and kitchen at the rear of the house. 

From my grandparent's home, I pulled in a number of design elements that I loved in order to create similar fond memories for my children, nieces, and nephews. The first of these elements is the long bedroom hall.  In my grandparent's home, my grandmother would let us kids bowl with a plastic set of pins and ball. Wanting to create a similar opportunity for cousin fun in this home, I created a long hall dotted with little events along the way in the form of bookshelves, a niche, and a view to the rear screened porch.  The second element is the utilitarian side entry to the home.  The side entry from the driveway is a generous laundry/utility space that - in concert with the kitchen - serves as the command center of the home. As a child, when I visited my grandparents, I have a distinct and comforting memory of the smell of fresh laundry as I entered the side of their home.

What I love most about what I do is being able to create settings where families and friends make memories happen.

Photography by Karen Soorikian

CONTEMPORARY FLOW WITH HISTORIC CHARM

This gorgeous, historic home sits high on a hill above the road, with over sized double hung windows letting in extraordinary light. Before my clients bought it, the home had been owned by the same family since its construction and remained relatively close to its original design. With plenty of space, it just needed some thoughtful re-crafting to become the ideal home for a modern family with two young boys.

Like many homes from this era, the kitchen was small, dark and lacked views to the rear yard. We reconfigured the entire back of house where the original kitchen, breakfast room, and utility spaces were to accommodate a new larger kitchen with ample light and storage space and walk-in pantry.

We completely altered the circulation of the main level by enclosing the covered entry porch on the main and second level, and creating a mudroom to connect the new kitchen with the family room space. We also added wainscoting in the front entry foyer and restored the French doors to the room behind the main living room. By adding a pocket door leading to the new mudroom and kitchen, this formerly dead space has  now become the family’s central hangout room on the main level.

Upstairs, on the second level, the master suite and boy’s rooms were reconfigured to add a new shared bath and laundry room in the addition above the mud room.

In phase II, we built out a full basement hangout space, which is serving the boys well in their teen years.  Creating a home that can live and grow with a family is key to comfort.

Interior Design by homeowner Meredyth Owen

Photography by Karen Soorikian

CONNECTING THE OUTDOORS

The couple who own this English Tudor grew up nearby and were actually sweethearts at Druid Hills High School. They bought and renovated the home in the 1990s as an ideal place to raise their young son.

With their son grown, married, and starting a family of his own, the couple decided it was time to create space for extended family gatherings and grandparent fun.

In the rear of the home, we completely re-graded the yard to create a variety of “outdoor rooms.” around the new swimming pool.  The open terrace was placed five steps up from the parking court and is accessed through the connector that bridges the carriage/pool house and the main residence.   There’s a large covered porch off of the new pool deck with access to a changing room.  Up a flight of stairs from this porch is a guest suite that sits above the new 2 car garage.  On the rear of the home we also created a new screened porch that overlooks the rear pool area.

In the main residence, we moved the kitchen to the rear of the home to better connect with the existing family room and new outdoor spaces. In place of the old kitchen, we added a butler’s pantry and walk-in storage pantry to serve more utilitarian functions. We also turned an existing screened-in porch into a casual dining area and added the previously mentioned new screened in porch.

The owners now have the kind of home where they love hosting their friends and family and they especially love entertaining their grandchildren in their fun new back yard.

Cabinetry by Soorikian Furniture

Landscape Architecture by Paige Shaw

Photography by Karen Soorikian

OASIS AT HOME

This formerly small Atlanta ranch home is a major “Before and After” transformation. At 50+ years old, these small ranch homes are now historic in their own right, and lots of fun to transform.

Situated on busy Briarcliff Road, the home opens up to a very private retreat in back of the home. The original home had very small and dark living spaces that did not relate well with the exterior rear yard and pool. The owners of the home loved their pool and entertaining area in the back - it is one of the main reasons they bought the home - but the home never felt like it had a strong connection to this great space.

They wanted to enlarge the living spaces and create a master suite. Originally thinking that they wanted to build up, I advised that the structure would tower over the pool and entertaining space below. Instead, we retained the single story look of the home from the front while enlarging the living spaces toward the pool area and into the existing carport. We created expanses of windows to visually connect the indoor and outdoor, as well as a featured stair to better physically connect the main living area to the lower yard.

By adding an “L” shaped addition for the master suite, we were able to create a courtyard effect around the pool and get a covered open air porch below with a fireplace. The lower level also houses a large music room, laundry and pool bath.

The family now has plenty of room to entertain at their Atlanta “retreat.”

Landscape Architecture by Mary Visscher

Interior Design by Kate Hayes

EXPANDING SPACE IN TIGHT SITUATIONS

This was a renovation project on a small bungalow in Decatur, Georgia. The homeowners were getting a little cramped in the small separate rooms of their home as their children grew, and they longed for a spacious feeling family living area open to the kitchen and dining.

By creating a small addition and reworking the existing plan at the rear of the home, we were able to create a comfortable open plan kitchen, dining, and family room space. This space now easily accommodates family gathering and connects to two important outdoor spaces: the open air dining patio and the new screened in porch.

In addition to the expanded interior space, the family really wanted a large Southern screened in porch. The biggest glitch in this plan was the configuration of an existing carport not quite a full story down behind the family room and an office structure beyond that, all of which were to stay. To solve the problem, the carport was restructured with the screened porch above it. A few steps up from the family room and dining patio, the screened porch sits perched above the yard and is the perfect setting for entertaining friends and family as well as lazy weekend napping.

Interior Design by Kate Hayes

Photography by Kristen Wade

A FAMILY HOMESTEAD

Built in 1907, this historic home is one of the oldest in Decatur, Georgia.  It had great bones, but like so many similar properties, it had endured many renovations.  Originally there were expansive, eleven-foot tall ceilings.  However, in the 1970s, a staircase had been placed in the center hall of this formerly one-story home, leading up to an intermediary landing. This reduced the ceiling height in the rear of the house to less than eight-feet, and closed off the center hall. The master bedroom was at the rear of the kitchen, so the kitchen connected to the front wraparound porch, but to no other living spaces.  When my clients bought the property, they envisioned creating a perfect forever homestead for their family of six.  We needed to expand the upstairs level to create space for the four children and, on the main level, create open, connected living areas for the entire family.

To create an entirely new feel, we needed to reclaim some of the home’s original design. We built a new staircase, which re-opened the grand central hall, creating better views from the front to the rear.

The kitchen now opens to this central hall with pocket double doors.  The master bedroom was moved to the opposite side of the home, allowing us to create an eat-in area, family room, and screened-in porch behind the kitchen. This expansive family space reaches from the original wraparound front porch all the way to the screened in porch in the back.

The homeowner is an avid master gardener and proprietor of Les Fleurs Decatur floral design, where she incorporates her own cut flowers into beautiful arrangements.  Her home is now ready for years of growing and making happy memories.     

MODERN MAKEOVER FOR EMPTY NESTERS

It was great fun to take an outdated, cluttered kitchen in a Morningside bungalow and transform it into a spacious, sleek and modern space with lots of storage.

The owners enjoy hosting large gatherings at their compact home. To create greater flow, functionality, and elbowroom, we decided to open up and reimagine the former dining room, kitchen, and patio.

We pushed out the rear wall to expand the kitchen and designed the interior with clean lines and, multi-functional features. An accordion glass door allows the kitchen space to flow out onto the patio, and a special drinks station is built into the large counter work area. Light bright colors were also a game changer in transforming the formerly dark maroon rooms.

This kitchen is now ready for many big dinners and parties to come.

Interior finishes by Cara Cummins

DESIGN FOR LIFE’S STAGES

I did my first project at this home when my client’s children were in pre-school and kindergarten. By the time the girls reached their teen years and needed a hangout space of their own, it was time to circle back and look at ways to make this gorgeous Georgian-style  home meet their needs in this new phase of family life.

In addition to creating new space for their daughters, the owners also wanted to add on a large screened-in porch off the kitchen.

The grade of the property drops from the front to rear, so we took advantage of the opportunity to create an access to the renovated basement space from the new porch structure. There is a large, vaulted screened porch above and a small, screened porch entry to the basement space below with stairs connecting the two.  By digging out about three feet of dirt and engineering footings to shore the existing footprint of the home, we were able to create a basement space with an exercise room, a bathroom, a guest bedroom, a kitchenette, and an expansive media room with day lighting. 

The family had fun departing from the traditional Georgian style of architecture, reflected in the rest of the home, to create a more modern, streamlined vibe for their teen girls’ space.

Incorporating architectural changes at key life stages helped this family adapt and continue to love living in their beautiful historic home.

Photography by Karen Soorikian

MAXIMIZING SPACE AND STORAGE

This project involved a kitchen renovation with the addition of a rear bay window to create an eat-in area within the kitchen space. Storage was maximized with entire wall of built-ins opposition the new working space of the kitchen.

Interior design by Sarah Feldman

Cabinetry by Soorikian Furniture

Photography by Kevin Byrd