Private Quarters: Buckhead home undergoes 25-year renovation

Home and Garden

Private Quarters: Buckhead home undergoes 25-year renovation

This north Buckhead home underwent a 25-year renovation. The main elements ("Great" room and more) were kept and are accompanied antique clocks and historic heirlooms.

A roof lift added a story and a half to the home, which was built in 1944 and now has about 3,300 square feet with five bedrooms and four baths.--Text by Lori Johnston

Pocket doors allow easy access from the kitchen to the sitting room to the dining room in the English cottage-style Buckhead home.

With a view of the dining room through a wide opening, the sitting room has chairs and a light fixture purchased in Dallas.

With a view of the dining room through a wide opening, the sitting room has chairs and a light fixture purchased in Dallas.

The home has several antique clocks, which were part of a much larger collection amassed by Leslie Lewis' father, Bruce McDermott.

Meta containers from a potato chip company in New York and a hand-painted piece from the homeowners' family add interest to what would be a vacant space underneath a desk in the living room. The chairs are part of the homeowners' Mexican furniture collection.

Varied width beadboard was part of the original "great" room and preserved during the remodel. Each piece was reclaimed as the homeowners changed doorways and removed closets, then fit back into the new walls as needed, homeowner Robert Lewis said. Then they caulked, primed and painted the walls, then added the moldings.

The large fireplace is original, but when the homeowners raised the home's roof, they increased the chimney height and refaced the fireplace with stone. The doors and windows have a custom combination trim sourced at Randall Brothers.

A collection of Mexican art and other pieces come from Leslie Lewis' side of the family, acquired when she grew up in Mexico.

A pie safe the couple found when visiting mountain towns in north Georgia gets attention now in the family room.

Homeowner Robert Lewis has been surprised over the years as his kids assembled cabinetry in areas, such as the kitchen, while he was at work. They learned from watching "This Old House," he said. The kitchen has marble countertops while a glass-front cabinets display dinnerware and glassware.

Homeowner Robert Lewis has been surprised over the years as his kids assembled cabinetry in areas, such as the kitchen, while he was at work. They learned from watching "This Old House," he said. The kitchen has marble countertops while a glass-front cabinets display dinnerware and glassware.

White cabinets contrasts with marble countertops in a green-black hue - called Verde Cavendish - from Vermont.

The dining room furniture was purchased years ago by Leslie Lewis' family in Mexico, and the painting over the fireplace was a gift from family. Meanwhile, there's a more local connection with pink marble from north Georgia.

The dining room furniture was purchased years ago by Leslie Lewis' family in Mexico, and the painting over the fireplace was a gift from family. Meanwhile, there's a more local connection with pink marble from north Georgia.

Over the fireplace, a painting from Switzerland was a gift from family. The pink marble on the fireplace is mined in Georgia.

Some of the furniture pieces have a history in the family. When homeowner Leslie Lewis' father worked for a steel company in Mexico after World War II, her family purchased the chairs. The fireplace has unique pink marble from Georgia.

The home's cottage style created angular spaces, and as a result, storage spaces throughout the Buckhead house, including in the upstairs hallway.

Most of the rooms have built-in and handcrafted items, including the drawers in the master bedroom that replace bulky furniture.

The master bedroom is one of the spots in the home with artwork from Monterrey, Mexico, and the headboard also is from there. It's paired with end tables from Terra Cottage.

The bathroom tile is a mix of travertine marble tiles and stone in different finishes. The sink counter and backsplash is a Cedar Oniciata marble, from Greece, with Kohler sinks. The vanity was purchased at the former Home Depot's Expo store. The bathroom had been dysfunctional, but using part of the hallway, they turned it into a beautiful, bright space with high ceilings and a walk-in closet, Robert Lewis said.

The sturdy steps to a bunk bed were carefully crafted by homeowner Robert Lewis for the room, which also has a bay window seat.

A roof lift in 2005 raised the 7-foot ceilings to 12 feet. The new ceiling heights accommodated special furniture, such as a bunk bed with steps that Robert Lewis made for his daughter's bedroom.

The home's handcrafted elements extend beyond carpentry. The Lewis children worked on the walls in one room, by tearing up brown paper into small pieces, wadding them up, dunking in polyurethane and applying to the wall. The brass bed was purchased in upstate New York in 1978.

The home's handcrafted elements extend beyond carpentry. The Lewis children worked on the walls in one room, by tearing up brown paper into small pieces, wadding them up, dunking in polyurethane and applying to the wall. The brass bed was purchased in upstate New York in 1978.

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A roof lift added a story and a half to the home, which was built in 1944 and now has about 3,300 square feet with five bedrooms and four baths.--Text by Lori Johnston

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