Copyright Greg Mix & Associates Architects Inc., A.I.A., 770-806-8866, gregmix@Comcast. net
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The Reynolds Residence:
When the Reynolds decided to move back to their old North Atlanta neighborhood in Brookhaven they found a lot on a nice quite cul-de-sac that just happened to back-up to the location of their old house was that they had built and sold just ten years ago. It was placed on this lot to blend in with the other homes as if it had been there all along. The house was to be designed in the style of a New England style cottage with the rich textures of stone and cedar shakes. The stonework on the house is special old weathered granite that took some searching to find.
The Reynolds had a very specific list of the items that they wanted to include in the design. Greg Mix was the architect for their previous home ten years ago and so they chose to work with him again on the design of their new home.
They wanted a design that would not show a garage, especially a three car garage, on the front of the house. So they began browsing home designs in magazines to get some ides for the overall layout. Putting a garage on the rear of a home is more difficult because it takes up so much of the prime space where one usually has the Kitchen and Family areas with a view of the backyard. They found a stock plan of Steve Fuller’s that fit the bill but they recognized that there were a great many modifications they wanted to make to the design. Mr. Mix advised them that legally they would need to purchase a license to design a “Derivative Work” from Steve Fuller since he possessed the original copyright for that layout. “Most people do not realize this” he said “ but the rights to any design, by default, belong to the original Designer or Architect and are protected by law under The federal Copyright Act of 1990”.
Major changes would have to be made to the plans to accommodate the larger laundry room, a laundry chute, a huge walk-in-pantry, back entry porch & back foyer off of the garage area, mud room, broom closet, elevator, and in particular a small private office/planning area, for Mrs. Reynolds that looked out over the turn around area in front of the garage.
The architect started by relocating the stairs to a more central area of the house directly off of the Foyer. This freed up space between the Garage and the Kitchen but it also helped to resolve several problems upstairs where they needed three bedrooms with individual baths, wall-in-closets and hallway right where the original stair was located. In order to get all of the bedrooms and a bonus room in a structure that was to look more like a story-and-half house, we were going to need to make the best use every square foot of the second floor and attic spaces. Extra light and floor space was gained in the upstairs rooms by strategically placing large dormers on the rear of the home. A good idea that the builder came up with is a permanent built-in attic stair. This is a real plus as it allows safe and easy access to all of that attic storage space and HVAC equipment.
To look at it from the street you would never know that it was over forty-seven hundred square feet of floor area! The roof forms are on the whole kept below two stories to give it more of story-and –half appearance. The blue stone on the front porch and two bay windows also add more of a country charm to the look of the house. In fact the weathered granite and blue stone flooring was used all around the house for the porches, chimneys, walls, the outdoor fireplace, patio walls and as the stone base of all of the exterior walls. The front door was to be an extra large solid mahogany door three and half feet wide by eight feet tall. There would be three fire places in the house and one outside on the patio.
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“My favorite room in the house is the keeping room off the kitchen. We often sit next to the fireplace as it is open to our kitchen as we are getting dinner ready visiting with the kids. We also have a window seat in the keeping room by the kitchen table. It is our favorite window in the house.”
BobbieAnn Reynolds:
The kitchen countertops are made from Cara marble, the kitchen sink is an original Shaw’s farm sink handcrafted in Darwen, England and the top of the center island is built from solid antique cherry. The cabinets are finished in a simple off white finish to fit in with the country kitchen look. All of counter tops were built six inches higher for taller people since all of the men in the Reynolds family are over six feet tall. The brown antique transfer ware tiles above the stove were purchased at architectural accents. The dishwasher draws on each side of the kitchen sink are raised up in order to it make easier on the backs of the people using them. The front loading washer and dryer in the laundry room are also mounted higher for the same reasons and there is a laundry chute from the floor above. The floors are an antique heart-pine which has a beautiful warm deep color and wood grain. The lightning fixtures are all antique one that she used in her previous homes.
“I used the appliances that I have used in the past because I liked them. Sub Zero Fridge, Viking stove, Kitchen Aide dishwasher drawers, and a Decor microwave drawer.”
BobbieAnn Reynolds:
The furniture in the home is in a Country French Simple style while the large mantels at the fireplaces are authentic antique Early American pieces. The art work on the walls in the dining room and great room is from the Art House in Atlanta.
Mr. Reynolds also wanted a private hallway from his study to the Master Bedroom that would also have access to the Master Bath. This resulted in a route that actually gave the Master Bath more privacy. The Builder, Chuck Magbee, installed a beautiful glass shower where glass comes right down to the flush tile floor. There is no raised curb at the shower! Mrs. Reynolds also had him install a “Marlborough” slipper tub manufactured by Victoria and Albert. And it is a romantic curvaceous slipper tub for two!
We knew that getting daylight into the Great Room would be a problem with the roof of the Back Porch blocking the sun. Therefore the Great Room was vaulted with a large dormer to that would allow sunlight to flood in. The ceiling of the Great room is finished with painted wood boards is the vaulted ceiling of the Master Bedroom and Back porch. French doors were placed at the rear of Great Room to allow access to the Back Porch and skylights were placed in the roof of the Back Porch to bring in more daylight. An outdoor stone fireplace was added in one corner of the back porch. During construction the owners decided to eliminate the screens and open the Back Porch up to extend the blue stone flooring out onto a large patio in order to create a large outdoor living space. The patio is curved along the back edge with a low stone wall which separates it from a planting bed with a curved walkway made from chips of blue slate.
Architect:
Greg Mix & Associates Architects Inc. A.I.A.
770-806-8866, gregmix@comcast.net, http://gregmix.com/
Builder:
Chuck Magbee, Magbee Custom Homes
770-560-3106, chuck.magbee@gmail.com
Copyright Greg Mix & Associates Architects Inc., A.I.A., 770-806-8866, gregmix@Comcast. net