Customized for living, working

Brian and Renee Parks and their children — Juliana, a student at Kennesaw State University, and 5-year-old Sean — moved back to the Atlanta area last year, joining friends who also moved from South Florida. Brian, 45, who works for Alpharetta-based ADP, a provider of business outsourcing solutions, chatted about their home in the Overlook at Harmony on the Lakes in Cherokee County.

Enlarge this image

Photos by Christopher Oquendo / Special

The Parkses — Juliana (from left), Brian, Sean and Renee — hang out in their neighborhood, The Overlook at Harmony on the Lakes in Cherokee County.

Enlarge this image

The Parks’ home at The Overlook at Harmony on the Lakes.

Getting there

Take I-75 north to I-575 north to Exit 16B. Turn right on Ga. 140 east. The neighborhood will be 3.4 miles ahead on right.

Atlanta home development stories

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Q. Why did you desire to return to the area?

A. We actually had lived in Cobb County in the early ’90s. We always loved it and knew we wanted to get back eventually.

What were you looking for in a house?

We need at least four bedrooms. I need an office because I work out of the house. I’m there all day. I don’t want to stare at a wall all day. The lot had a lot to do with it. It’s just a good-size house with a basement. I eventually would like to build a music room down there, a small sound studio.

How is your lot positioned?

The lot backs up to one of the smaller lakes. You have the two stories of windows in the great room, and you look out and all you see is views and the lake.

How did you make choices to personalize the house?

This is probably our fifth new house. We’ve learned from each house what we want and what we don’t want. The hardest thing was probably picking out the front brick — looking at a section on the floor and visualizing what it’s going to look like with the sun hitting it. We found the staff very helpful, very knowledgeable, and they allowed us to make changes a day or two later when we thought about it.

What other changes did you make?

We did some different windows in the basement, to let in more light. We added an upstairs bathroom where there would have been a very large master closet. It allows us to have a private bathroom for our daughter in the center bedroom. It makes it a four-bathroom house.

What’s something this home has that your previous homes haven’t had?

We never had a two-story family room with the stone fireplace that goes all the way up.

What’s it like to be back in Georgia?

We love the seasons. In Florida, it’s flat, flat, flat, and you get sick of palm trees after the first year.

The Overlook at Harmony on the Lakes

Address: 103 Lake Reserve Way, Holly Springs 30115

County: Cherokee

Information: 770-479-8717, Sharp Residential

Price range: $280,000s-$380,000s

Number of homes: 320

Square footage: 2,000-plus

Lot sizes: Average quarter of an acre

Standard features: two-story stacked-stone fireplaces, granite countertops in the kitchen and full baths

Amenities: Clubhouse, three lakes, two pools, park, streams and waterfalls, walking paths, retail center

Homeowners fees: $935 a year ($700 initiation fee)

Developer/builder: Sharp Residential

Schools: Holly Springs Elementary, Creekland Middle, Creekview High

More on schools: ajchomefinder school guide

Recent sales

$237,000: 304 Hamilton Way, Holly Springs 30115. New four-bedroom, three-bath home with 2,212 square feet, vaulted ceilings, walk-in closets and a covered deck.

$242,900: 206 Ashburn Court, Holly Springs 30115. New four-bedroom, 2½-bath home with 2,331 square feet, a two-story family room and foyer, covered porch and walk-in closets.

For sale

$275,000: 322 Hamilton Way, Holly Springs 30115. Four-bedroom, 2½-bath home on a full basement with a covered porch and two-story foyer and great room.

$340,000: 152 Lake Reserve Way, Holly Springs 30115. Five-bedroom, three-bath home on a lake lot with a full basement and two-story foyer and great room.

The builder says

Tom Gorczyca, a builder with Sharp Residential, recommends making changes early in the building process for items such as electrical outlets and the size of the patio or deck.