Friday, August 26, 2011

Friendly Places: Fourth Edition

Welcome to the fourth edition of "Friendly Places." I am so excited to show you my friend Michele's gorgeous home in Atlanta, Georgia. You won't believe the transformation this house has undergone!


Michele bought her first home in the Peachtree Hills neighborhood in 2000.




She's lived in the house for about 11 years, and a lot has happened in that time! First, there was a little real estate romance story. Michele met her husband when she was house hunting. He was selling his house in the same neighborhood. Although she chose this house over his, he asked her out and they were married a year later :).


Michele's relationship status wasn't the only change. Check out what the house looks like today.




Can you believe it's the same house?


The original home, built in 1923, was a small 2 bedroom bungalow. It was very cute, but seemed to get smaller as the family grew. When the couple's first son was born in 2005, the renovation planning began.


Michele's father lived in Ohio and just happened to be an amazing architect. He was about to retire at the time, but couldn't resist having his own daughter as his final client. (He later told her that she was his most difficult client...said with love of course ;) 






They all did a lot of research on the Arts & Crafts home style. Michele loves the warm feel of this style with lots of textured materials mixed together like brick and cedar shingles. Planning took almost a year, but in the end her dad designed the perfect house for them.








Construction began the following year. The home's square footage increased from 1600 to 4000. Michele's family grew during construction, too, with the addition of another baby boy in 2007.









The staircase was designed to have a floating landing and take advantage of the two stories of windows. This is one of their favorite features in the house since it is so central to the main living area and visually interesting. 











The interior design happened over the following year. Aside from the basic bones of the room design, Michele is a big believer in living in a space and allowing it to come together over time. Although she loves the craftsman style, she wanted her home to be interesting and eclectic. As she says, "Everything seems to be an evolution as opposed to a revolution!"


In the master bedroom, Michele could not find any curtain rods that would work for the unique windows they had framing the headboard. Instead, she used decorative furniture nail heads and nailed the curtains right to the wood work.


Michele really wanted to use green onyx in the master bathroom, but the cost was going to break the budget. Instead, they designed a tile pattern with tumbled stone and used the onyx as an accent.













One of Michele's favorite finds in her home is the coffee table, an old furniture moving cart from a company in North Carolina that makes furniture out of reclaimed wood. (She loved it more before it appeared on the front cover of Restoration Hardware a few months later!)



Given the craftsman style and Michele's love of Frank Lloyd Wright design, it seemed fitting that she put her stained glass hobby to work. During the renovation they had many of the cabinets built knowing that one day they would insert stained glass. They currently have over 18 panels of stained glass throughout the house and Michele is still working on a few for the basement kitchenette.

The basement was finished a few months ago. With three boys in the house, Michele said she agreed to the "man cave," although she prefers that they call it the "family cave."










(I don't know about you, but nothing about this space says "cave" to me!)














I hope you've enjoyed the tour of Michele's home. I think it is so beautiful and architecturally interesting, yet also very warm and welcoming. Don't you? 






Linking up to...











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40 comments:

  1. It is absolutely beautiful! I am really floored at the moment! Its so nice and inviting and I have always been a lover of the craftsman style homes. To take a starter home and turn it into a forever home is nothing short of amazing. Thanks for sharing this one!

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  2. OMG OMG LOVE!! This is my dream house. I love craftsman style and live close to where FLW grew up and built Taliesin. I'm trying to add a craftsman style to my boring home as we renovate it. And I just finished a stained glass class so I can make similar cabinet panels. I love the tapered pillars, the kitchen cabinets, the craftsman inspired lighting, the herringbone porch floor, and the exterior railing. Swoon!

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  3. What an amazing transformation! It really is such a lovely home now and I am so happy that there is a loving, happy family living there now!!

    XO,
    Janie

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  4. What a labor of love. I've seen a lot of beautiful homes, but there's something special about this one. You can just tell that there's more than just a some designer with a limitless budget. The father/daughter combo makes this really fun, and you can see it in the details--the trellis work in the front and back, the railing on the stairs, the three windows above the master bedroom. So cool! Where did they get the doors to the back porch?

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  5. Love this sweet area of Atlanta. Lots of small home that have "grown up" and are fabulous. Next time you visit, be SURE to let me know. I'd love to get together for a hug.
    Linda @ A Toile Tale

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  6. Oh my goodness! LOVE IT!!! what a beautiful home! and you know it was built with great care and love!
    Can't believe she keeps it so lovely with little ones running around!

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  7. WOW what a beautiful home she really has made a transformation. it really has so much charm & xchracter to it. I adore her style I would love to live somewhere like this it really is a perfect family home. I love that bath I could see myself relaxing there with a few candes burning.

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  8. I'm completley in LOVE! I have a weak spot for these pretty homes. This is a gorgeous house! I'm still not so sure I believe the transformation ;) Great Job!

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  9. Wow what a gorgeous home. They have done a fabulous job with it!

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  10. Oh, my goodness! What a gorgeous house! I'm just so amazed it's the same one :) They did a wonderful job with the craftsman style! Love that stairway! Oh, so pretty. Thank you for sharing.
    be a sweetie,
    shelia ;)

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  11. All I can say is wow! What an amazing transformation.

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  12. awesome blog, do you have twitter or facebook? i will bookmark this page thanks.

    My site:
    preisvergleich internetanbieter dslvergleichdsl.com

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  13. Amazing home. If I owned it I would never want to leave the house and I would spend my days enjoying it!

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  14. OH. MY. Gosh!

    WOW- Michele and etc did an amazing job. I am stunned, talk about newsworthy! Her house is absolutely amazing!!!!!

    Thanks for an inspirational and amazing post. WOW.

    AND I really like she spells her name right! : - )

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  15. Fabulous house, very well planned and thought out, by the "father arquitect" and the daughter's ideas, a great combination! Every room is beautiful and perfect for a young family with small children, cozy and inviting...gorgeous! Thank you for sharing, I just dropped from MM at, BNOTP. Hugs, FABBY

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  16. WOW, what a beautiful transformation. They did a wonderful job. I just love the craftsman style, it's just so warm and comfortable. You definitely tell that a lot love whet into the planning and decorating of it. It should be in a magazine.
    Marianne :)

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  17. What a perfectly gorgeous house!!! You would never know, just looking at the photos that it isn't 80 - 100 years old. I live in an 80 year old Craftsman Bungalow and I love all the little touches that say Craftsman or Arts and Crafts, even. Thank you for this inspiring home tour, I loved it.
    Michele has such a great decorating sense, it looks authentic, but not like a show home does, just homey and warm.
    Hugs, Cindy

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  18. Wow this is gorgeous. I look forward to seeing you at My Dream Canvas.

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  19. So hard to believe this is the same house...looks outstanding...thanks for sharing it with all of us.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  20. Beautiful renovation! My favourites are porch, bathroom and the outside look - loving this grey!

    Found your post via DIY by Design blog. :)

    xoxo
    Grace.

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  21. This is absolutely incredible!!!!!!!!! I noticed the coffee table right away and would LOVE to find one too!!!!!!!! The master bath is to die for!!! I love everything about this house!!!! GREAT job they did and thanks for sharing this!!!! XO, Pinky

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  22. Wow! It's gorgeous. I just love all the pretty details on the facade and the interior is gorgeous too! And the love story and father as architect? Well... that just makes it even sweeter!
    Mary

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  23. That is a wow for sure. Just gorgeous. I enjoyed the tour especially with it being here in Atlanta. I bet that little two bedroom bungalow was a pretty penny in that area. Thanks for sharing at WOW.

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  24. Peach tree Hills is about a mile from me!!! Beautiful Home. I am sure I have passed it.

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  25. What a beautiful home! So many little touches that are such great ideas. Thank you for sharing--visiting from WOW.

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  26. What a warm and inviting home. I may be in the minority in the blogging community, but I love natural wood, so glad that these homeowners didn't cover theirs in a coat of paint.

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  27. Omagah! What great design and amazing transformation. Great story line too in finding the house and your husband!

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  28. this is the most beautiful home I have ever seen. Such a great job on incorporating the Craftsman look throughout. Her dad is an amazing architect.

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

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  29. Love, love this! Where did she get the rug in the living room??? I've been looking for one like it. Love it!!

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  31. Wow, what a gorgeous home!! I have a coffee table just like yours that my husband thought I had lost my mind when I got it. This was before they were featured in catalogs and magazines. He loves it now (except when he knocks his shin on it in the dark!) I love pointing out things in catalogs to him that he questioned me about.

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  32. What a beautiful home. I love the arts and crafts style. Such a warm and inviting home.

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  33. Thanks for sharing a peek into this beautiful and amazing home. It is warm, welcoming, and inviting.

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  34. What a beautiful transformation. Should be in the dictionary under "Wow factor"!

    May I ask the name of the gray paint you used?

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  35. Looking at the old photo of the house, it seems pretty reminiscent of the one seen in movies with a 70's family plot. Right now, the place makes you wanna live there, as it can caters to all your wants and needs.

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  36. I love seeing facade makeovers. You can start out with something pretty blah and create beautiful curb appeal! I'm a huge A&C fan (and built my own house in that style 4 years ago). I featured your post this week on my blog as part of my "Get Me Motivated Monday" series. http://www.imbusyprocrastinating.com/2011/09/get-me-motivated-monday_12.html

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  37. I did enjoy the tour in your home. With just the photos you shared, its like I've been there. Your home is such a beauty.

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  38. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

    MYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

    GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    :D

    red onyx tile

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