Moving into Georgia’s spacious Governor’s Mansion didn’t require bringing many belongings. Packing their clothes, artwork and china painted by Gov. Nathan Deal’s late mother, and of course, the governor’s leather recliner, the governor and first lady Sandra Deal made themselves at home.
But there was one warning the first lady gave to some of her six grandchildren when the couple moved from the country to Buckhead.
“When my grandchildren first came and I met them at the door, I said: ‘OK, you’ve got to have a tour of this house because you can’t play chase and hide and seek. This is a museum. The things here are precious because we can’t replace them,’ ” she said.
As a full-time resident of the mansion, the first lady has rearranged some furniture, artwork and other items in the public areas on the mansion’s first floor and their second-floor living quarters.
“We use it like the White House is used,” she said. “You have visitors at certain times, and you use it as a family would use a house.”
The first lady also is working with an interior designer (whom she declined to name until the project is complete) who is donating assistance to update their living quarters. Even visitors, such as a former volunteer docent, have donated items, such as rugs for the upstairs bedrooms that replaced rugs used since the mansion was built in 1967. Sandra Deal provided a glimpse into her favorite items in the mansion, which is open for free tours between 10 and 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Snapshot
Residents: Gov. Nathan Deal and first lady Sandra Deal
Location: 391 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., in Atlanta's Buckhead community
Size: About 24,000 square feet, 30 rooms (including eight bedrooms), on 18 acres
Year built: 1967
Architect: Thomas Bradbury
Architectural style: Greek Revival
Favorite architectural elements: The 30 Doric columns around the porches of the brick mansion, which are 24 feet high and made from California redwoods. Inside, the first lady's favorite features include the curved staircase.
Favorite treasures: Many of the furnishings are from the Federal Period; they are part of a permanent collection that belongs to the state. The first lady said the claw feet, carvings and other details show the "wonderful" workmanship of tables, chairs and other pieces of furniture.
Favorite artwork: The mansion has numerous portraits, including those of President George Washington, Gen. James Oglethorpe, King George II, Vice President of the Confederacy Alexander Stephens and Georgia historian Hugh McCall. One of the first lady's favorite paintings depicts the old Governor's Mansion in Milledgeville. The first lady moved the painting from the second floor of the mansion to the ballroom so guests could see it. "I went to college in Milledgeville, and that makes the mansion there really special. The dorm I lived in was on the other side of the mansion, so I would walk in front of it every day to go to class," she said. "For two years, I walked back and forth in front of that mansion. The president of the college lived in it when I was there. Every fall, he would invite us to come over to have scuppernong ice cream and see the mansion. It's sort of a part of my history, but I never thought about living here."
Favorite personal pieces: Artwork and painted china by the governor's late mother, Mary Deal, which are in the second-floor living quarters, including the Carter Room. "Other than the artwork, we didn't bring a whole lot with us other than our clothes. You just hang your clothes. People asked if we got settled, and it didn't take but half a day to hang your stuff in the closet, and you're ready to go," Sandra Deal said.
Favorite outdoor features: The terraces leading to a fountain, surrounded by sculptures. "We lived here a whole month before I knew it was out here because the blinds were closed and we were in somebody else's house," she said. "It's just so pretty down there."
Special touches: An addition to the front porch is a set of rocking chairs, made by a family friend. "They're not Greek, but they're Southern, so we decided to keep them out there for people to enjoy, and we'll take them with us when we leave," she said. Two Cabbage Patch dolls, in the likeness of the couple, sit at the dining table.
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