Southern Living Idea House 2012

Article Credit: Southern Living

For more than 20 years, the Southern Living Idea House program has pulled together talented teams to build and renovate homes from the ground up. We’ve done everything from brownstones to beach homes and everything in between.Get the inside scoop on the transformation of the renovated Senoia, GA farmhouse.The house is open to tour on Wednesday – Saturday from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. (The house is closed Monday and Tuesday) To purchase tickets online click here. 

This historical farm house was part of the original settlement, dating back to 1828 or so. The designers were able to move the house and reposition to a point where the context fits better with what is more likely around Senoia today. The house has been reclad with a bunch of materials, so from the outside it doesn’t look its age. The designers came in and stripped off a lot of the materials, returning the house back to its original 1830s farmhouse look. If you look around the houses around the town, you would be able to see the additions, changes, and closures people made throughout the frame of time. It truly is a microcosm of generations of architecture. When the designers came into the house, the first thing that caught them was the wood walls. It wasn’t until when the house was fully opened that they realized that the materials were hand-planed. Today the designers build everything with 2-by-10, 2-by-12 engineered lumbers, but in this house it was mainly 2-by-4s and 2-by-6s. This house stood for 180 years without engineered lumbers.

Originally the stairs were reversed from what we see today. When you walked in from the front door, you actually have to walk around to the back door to walk upstairs. Also when you get upstairs, there was a filled-in bathroom that had no lights, so you didn’t get the great lights from both sides that we get today. Therefore, in reversing the stairs, the designers were able to open up the stair hall, and let light in on both levels.

Designers and builders made a re-livable house that has the functionalities people want in today’s world, but still has reminiscences of the past. It is interesting to see what was in an existing old house, take the parts and pieces of it, pull the puzzles apart and piece them all together to make something that will work for today. When you think about a classic Southern farmhouse, you think about the white farm house with black shutters. Designers really took those colors and used them throughout the house. Some of the quintessential farmhouse features in this house are: the wood walls, the wood floors, and the wood ceilings, mixed with all the vintage finds that really tie back to the original farmhouse. This house is flooded with lights, which is accentuated by the use of a lot of whites on the walls and ceilings, making it feel really open and bright. Neutral colors give an overall effect of quiet sense of place, making it a best place for people to live. The colors also have a timeless elegance to it. The house not only keep the 1830s historical charm, but also let the visitors learn something new to put in their own houses.

Here is a video illustrating the renovation process of the farm house (please refresh if you can’t see the video). Also check out the Room-by-room Video Tour here.

In need of a home renovation? Contact us for a free consultation and check out some of our recent home renovations here and here!

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Heirloom Design Build is Atlanta’s top tier unrestricted general contractor, specialized in design build, new home construction, renovation & addition and other special projects including kitchens, bathrooms, backyards, sunrooms, landscape, etc. Our professional team aim at helping small home owners over-exceed their expectations! Give us a call (404) 537-1827, or email us at info@heirloomdesignbuild.com.

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