Modern Mayberry provides right location for second home

The community of Serenbe had long attracted Susan Isakson along with her husband John and their four children, Charley, Janie, Jack and Riley. “We would just go down and enjoy the restaurants and the green space, the people and the events that they host. We began to think it would be a wonderful location for a second home, a really practical second home that we could get to easily and one that we would enjoy more than we would if we had to get in the car and drive to the mountains,” she said.

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Photos by Christopher Oquendo / AJC Special

Exterior of the Isakson home in Serenbe.

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Interior of the Isakson home, with her children.

Getting there:

Directions from downtown Atlanta: Take I-85 south to Exit 69 (South Fulton Parkway). Continue about 15 miles and turn left onto Cochran Mill. At the dead end, turn right on Hutchison Ferry. Turn left on Atlanta Newnan Road, and go one mile. Turn right into Serenbe.

See more photos of the Serenbe community

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Busy Atlanta lives: The two oldest Isakson children attend Woodward Academy in College Park. John Isakson is in the real estate business in Atlanta and Susan is a school psychologist working part time for the Cobb County School System, and the family lives in Vinings. Like many families, their daily lives are very schedule-oriented. “We have lots of activities and spend lots of time in the car,” Isakson said. “We eat meals in our car, we watch TV in our car, and we have our best conversations in our car.” The family was ready for a place to relax.

Being on vacation: “When we think about going on vacation, we think of going to Serenbe. There are so many different types of things to do down there that it’s like being on vacation. We look at our house there as an investment, yes, but I picture myself there with my grandchildren, maybe in a bigger house so we could spend significant amounts of time there,” she said.

Finding the right home: The Isaksons didn’t want to build a home, and found a resale they love. “We were looking for something we could get a key to, walk in, unpack and enjoy. If we could have chosen the perfect house and the perfect location with the perfect number of bedrooms and the perfect layout, this would have been it,” said Isakson. They moved in last March.

The family routine: When they arrive at Serenbe, the first thing the family does is to head down to the Blue Eyed Daisy for a treat and then to the barn to feed the horses. They walking along on the neighborhood trails and visit the community tree house, or go see the animals at the animal village. Isakson describes Serenbe as a small town with a Mayberry-like feel.

Summer at Serenbe: “In the summer we go down for weeks at a time. My younger children can spend hours playing in the dirt, and we have an outdoor shower which makes clean up easy. When we’re at home in Vinings, we spend more time in the house, but at Serenbe, it’s like we’ve gone back to the 1950s. We wake up and say, ‘Ok, what do we want to do today?’ and we just head outside and see what comes up,” Isakson said.

At a glance: The Isaksons bought a two-story cottage with a basement. They added a bathroom for the bedroom in the basement and now the house has four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths. The front porch offers rocking chair comfort and a great view of the activity in Serenbe. “It’s not a big house, but it’s manageable, and when we’re down here, we spend most of our time outside. We really love sitting out on the front porch,” Isakson said. The house is a 45-minute commute from their home in Vinings.

Information:

Serenbe is just 30 minutes south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The 1,000-acre community has private residential homes which are both primary and vacation residences, shops and restaurants, stables, a 20-room inn with conference facilities and an organic farm with a Community Supported Agriculture program and a Saturday farmer’s market. The three restaurants are destinations in their own right. The Blue Eyed Daisy, the Farmhouse, and the Hil have all come in for their share of local and national attention.

Information on all available real estate (new homes, lots and resales) may be found at Serenbe.

For Sale:

Selborne Hamlet, Lot 51: Palmetto cottage on Selborne Lane, featured in April 2008 Cottage Living magazine, 4 or 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths, open plan with kitchen, dining room and great room, stacked stone fireplace to ceiling in great room, hardwood floors on entire first floor, master on the main, Viking and Kitchen-aid architect series, honed absolute black granite counter tops, large front porch and screen porch off great room and master; many other upgrades. $599,000

Grange Hamlet, Lots 149-153: Five unique townhouses; each with the Serenbe Stables as a backdrop and views of a 6-acre lake and surrounding preserved forest. Two three-story units both with an optional elevator and a fireplace in the living room. One with a beautiful side porch. Three two-story units each with three bedrooms and fireplaces in the living rooms. Two have a master on the main. One has a fireplace on the back covered porch. Prices range from $399,920 to $674,900.

Recent sale:

Grange Hamlet Lot 141: four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath cottage; large unfinished terrace level, open kitchen, family room, breakfast room, formal dining room, master on main and loft area on second floor, spacious front porch with views of the surrounding forest and 6-acre lake, and back porch overlooking the Serenbe Organic Farms, hardwood floors, granite countertops,Viking appliances. Moved in November 2008. $673,382.