Thank goodness for pesky neighbors. If they hadn't complained about the renovations Louis Okoniewski was making to his Candler Park Craftsman, the city would not have sent a building inspector to see what was going on.

As it turned out, the inspector was so impressed with the care Okoniewski was taking to maintain the original character of the 1910 home that she urged him to enter the house in the Urban Design Commission's 30th Annual Awards of Excellence competition.

Charlotte B. Teagle/Staff (ENLARGE)

Exterior shot of Louis Okoniewski's Candler Park home, one of two homes that received an historic preservation award from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.

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He did, and he won.

"I don't remember her name but she was from the Compliance Department and she said the house was incredible," Okoniewski recalled. "I'm happy Atlanta is rewarding people for restoring Atlanta's past."

Okoniewski's home will receive a 2007 historic preservation award at a reception hosted by the volunteer commission next week. Of the 30 properties nominated, nine will be honored in such categories as urban design, adaptive use and new construction. Okoniewski's house is one of two recognized for historic preservation.

"I've been watching the house unfold," said Regina Brewer, commission chair. "I think what they've done with the house is wonderful. They restored it very sensitively. What's great about this particular project is it is not in a historic district."

The bungalow, located across the street from Candler Park, is the recent belle of the block.

Painted khaki brown with a robin's egg blue sash and white trim, it's evident that a lot of work went into the 18-month renovation. The UDC award is based on exterior improvements and how the home looks from the street. However, Okoniewski gutted 60 percent of the interior structure to modernize the living space and managed to retain the original charm in the process. He lived in the home during construction.

"We've done this several times," said Okoniewski, who buys, sells and renovates homes for a living. "All you need is a working bath and someplace for a microwave."

The scope of the work was extensive. Working with an old picture he found of the original home, Okoniewski had the vinyl exterior siding removed so he could restore the wood and wainscoting.

He also had the dormer rebuilt, installed new gutters and downspouts, replaced exterior railings on the porch and landscaped the front and back yards.

Inside, new wiring, plumbing and a new heating and air conditioning system were installed. The kitchen is also new. Okoniewski tried to preserve the windows, but some were in such bad shape they had to be replaced. Much of the heart pine flooring was refinished and restored.

The original home had four bedrooms and one bath; now it has three bedrooms, two baths. Pretty soon, it will also have a "For Sale" sign in the yard because Okoniewski hopes to recoup his investment.

"I came in, fell in love with the structure and I didn't want anyone to tear it down," he said. "I hate getting rid of it, but you have to move on."

The other home to be honored with a historic preservation award is a 50-year-old house that Atlanta architect Cecil Alexander designed for his family in 1956.

Back then, the home was almost futuristic because of its round shape.

"It's a hallmark for us to appreciate midcentury architecture and to see where we were in the '50s," Brewer said. "It was so out of the norm when Mr. Alexander first designed it and it is still wonderful and unique today. I think it's a piece of art."

Like Okoniewski's home, the round house won for its exterior, but the interior space is the real prize.

Alexander designed it with an atrium, or open court, just off the entry with a round, folded plate roof, inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.

"We had just come back from a visit to Italy, and the Pantheon in Rome has an oculus in the top of the dome that lights the interior," recalled Alexander. "My wife said 'Let's build it.' It gradually evolved into a rectangular L-shape, then a square shape, then I thought, wouldn't it be easier to fit the rooms in it if it were a round shape."

The current owners changed very little about the home during renovations. They even purchased furnishings similar to what the Alexanders had when they lived there.

Cecil Alexander calls the historic preservation award "great news."

"I'm amazed it comes 50 years after I moved into it," he said, "but I guess it had to be that long to qualify as being preserved."