DEL.ICIO.USREMODELING
Buckhead family breathes easier with cottage makeover
Cramped space behind them; healthier future ahead for asthma sufferer.
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Jenny Fosgate first noticed a marked change in her daughter’s breathing problems when she and her husband David moved out of their Buckhead home last fall. They rented a home nearby while their 1940s cottage in the Ardmore Park neighborhood of Buckhead underwent a five-month makeover.
“We knew we had mold issues in our crawl space,” Jenny says. “There was dust and mold being blown into the house. But she was much better when we moved out. At the time, we didn’t realize it was our environment that was part of the problem.”
POUYA DIANAT/pdianat@ajc.com
Jenny and David Fosgate’s older home had a mold problem that wasn’t helping their daughter Harper’s (left) allergies. Now she’s doing better. The new home added Earthcraft-certified features and an HVAC system that improved the air. Harper, 5, now shares a bedroom with her 3-year-old sister, Dory, in the second-story addition. A trellis and vines, hand-painted by their paternal grandmother, decorate the walls.
POUYA DIANAT/pdianat@ajc.com
Jenny Fosgate supervises play in Dory (left) and Harper’s big new bedroom in the second-story addition to their Buckhead home.
POUYA DIANAT/pdianat@ajc.com
The Fosgates’ home went from a 1,500-square-foot three-bedroom, two-bath cottage to a 3,000-square-foot four-bedroom, four-bath two-story. The former attic meant that the roofline had to be raised only about 4 feet.
That realization prompted the couple to complete the expansion and second-floor addition on their house following Earthcraft building standards. The finished redo features double-insulated windows; extra insulation under the roof; energy-efficient light fixtures; and a tankless water heater. It also cut back on dust and mold with a new HVAC system; an air-filtering system; and a sealed crawl space with a vapor barrier.
“Her asthma and allergies are not flaring up on us like they used to,” Jenny says. “We used to have humidifiers in her room, but with the new systems, her symptoms have been significantly reduced.”
The Fosgates moved into the cream-colored brick cottage in 2004 when it had three bedrooms, two baths and about 1,500 square feet of the tight spaces typical of the 1940s cottages in the area. Last fall, they moved out for five months while a complete overhaul reconfigured the interior of the first floor, added a second story and fine-tuned all the elements of the structure to Earthcraft guidelines.
“Before, the house was a sieve,” says David. “We had drafty, single-pane windows that were painted shut. The vinyl siding was over rotted wood. It was literally falling apart. But now we have four baths and about 3,000 square feet. But even with two times the size and two air-conditioning units, the increase in our utility bills has been minimal.”
By bumping the side of the house into the yard, the couple was able to create an open, spacious living room that runs the length of the house. From the front door, guests now step into a foyer area with a staircase to the left. At the far end of the room, marked by two architectural columns, what used to be a sun room is a sitting area with a brick fireplace flanked by doors leading to the patio.
The galley kitchen that had been updated a few years ago with granite counters and antique-finished cabinets gained a walk-in pantry and a semicircular eating area with bench seating below a curve of windows.
A short hallway leads to the nursery and master bedroom. The original third bedroom was incorporated into the master as double walk-in closets and a large bath, with a bay window for the soaking tub, double vanities and an oversize walk-in shower.
“The original closet was the typical size from the 1940s — not big enough to fit three dresses,” says Jenny. “David’s closet was the baby’s room!”
Upstairs, there’s a guest room and private bath. A bonus room doubles as a den and Jenny’s office. The rest of the space is the domain of the couple’s two oldest girls. Their loft play area has the girls’ names stenciled around the walls. In their shared bedroom, the walls were hand-painted by David’s mom with a trellis and vines. In the bathroom, she dotted the walls with butterflies.
Because the original house had an attic, the new level only raised the roof line by about 4 feet. The change is most visible from the rear of the house, where the second floor’s row of windows looks out over the backyard.
“We wanted the house to look like it’s always been like this,” says Jenny. “We didn’t want it to be a massive renovation. It’s kept the feel of the neighborhood.”
