Private Quarters: Modern Atlanta home in Buckhead

Home and Garden

Private Quarters: Modern Atlanta home in Buckhead

A Modern Atlanta Home Tour had a major impact on James and Candy Sarvis’ decision to build in Buckhead. Now their home is on the 2013 tour.

Candy and James Sarvis say that visiting the Modern Atlanta Home Tour had a major impact on deciding to build their Buckhead home, which replaced a dilapidated house from the 1950s. The T-shaped plan of the 3,900-square-foot house creates a private area in the back where there is an outdoor patio and pool. General contractor: Cablik Enterprises Architect: Staffan Svenson with Dencity

Near North Atlanta High School, the 3,900-square-foot house is located on a half-acre site, where great care was taken to preserve as many trees as possible. The Sarvis Residence is featured on this year’s Modern Atlanta Home Tour on June 8-9.

Against the architect's and builder's advice the couple retained two "mature oak trees." Although they block part of the view of the house from the street, the couple thought the trees looked beautiful from inside the house, especially through the glass entryway.

The cantilevered staircase in the entryway hovers above a reflecting pool and the suspended entryway is lit up at night. Core Landscape Group used turf grass, ground cover and planting masses along with boulders and specimen trees for the home's landscape, inspired by Japanese Zen gardens.

The pivoting glass front door was custom-made in Tucson, Ariz., and is 10 feet tall by 6 inches wide. “For me, I just have to be outdoors,” Candy said. “I can just pull those doors back and it’s just seamless inside and out. Even when the doors are closed, from the inside out, you just feel like you’re outdoors.”

The couple originally was "stumped" about what to do with the fireplace, which originally was left with drywall, Candy said. Since the fireplace is a focal point in the home, they didn't want to do trial and error with the materials. Designer Burns Century found the gray grooved ceramic tile from Porcelanosa and suede wall covering for the fireplace.

Favorite architectural feature: The extensive use of oversized glass. Their appreciation of cantilevered design in past projects by their architect, Dencity, helped create their glass-filled, two-story home that embraces a tree-filled setting.

Design tip: If you want to design a home with a particular architectural style, it can be attainable, if you plan for it. “I would really like to inspire some of these younger couples. We were one of them when we would go on these tours and think, ‘Oh we love this house, we would never have something like that.’ And we do,” Candy said.

African teak wood also is used for the kitchen cabinets. The kitchen is from the Italian company Pedini and the appliances are from Miele. American Black Walnut was used for the buffet in the dining room. The couple did not want a formal dining room, but designed an open setting around the kitchen. "I wanted to be able to see the guests at the dining table while I'm cooking," Candy said.

The master bedroom over looks a canopy of trees. "The trees and the land in this area is just phenomenal in terms of how established the trees are," Candy said. "We just really wanted to feel, as silly as it sounds, like we were in a tree house when we went to bed. I guess we are kind of kids at heart.

The master bathroom includes a custom-made sink, glass tile from Porcelanosa and a shower with African teak wood designed their architect, Dencity. African teak wood is also used as the top on the 13-inch bathroom vanity.

Favorite outdoor feature: Seeing the trees from every room. “The trees and the land in this area is just phenomenal in terms of how established the trees are,” Candy said. “We just really wanted to feel, as silly as it sounds, like we were in a tree house when we went to bed. I guess we are kind of kids at heart.”

The couple, who moved from a loft in downtown Roswell with 26-foot ceilings and open living space, desired to maintain those elements in their new home.

Candy and James Sarvis relax in the living room of their Buckhead home.

One of the things the couple has had in common was their preference for modern furniture with clean, straight lines, Candy said. "Because we've lived in a loft, we've just learned how to decorate with only things we really needed. There's not going to be a lot of clutter in our house," she said.

The building process, from May 2011 to June 2012, evolved from a binder of magazine clippings with design concepts that the couple had collected and a dining room light that looks like a piece of origami.

James Sarvis, who is a third-degree black belt and owned a dojo in Puerto Rico, has some kobudo weapons displayed on the first floor of their home, near the home gym.

The home's interior mirrors the exterior, which has a combination of cypress wood, European stucco, stone and commercial glass.

The butterfly-shaped roof appears to be lifting off from the house. The cantilevered staircase in the entryway hovers above a reflecting pool and the suspended entryway is lit up at night.

Near North Atlanta High School, the 3,900-square-foot house is located on a half-acre site, where great care was taken to preserve as many trees as possible. The Sarvis Residence is featured on this year’s Modern Atlanta Home Tour on June 8-9.

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Candy and James Sarvis say that visiting the Modern Atlanta Home Tour had a major impact on deciding to build their Buckhead home, which replaced a dilapidated house from the 1950s. The T-shaped plan of the 3,900-square-foot house creates a private area in the back where there is an outdoor patio and pool. General contractor: Cablik Enterprises Architect: Staffan Svenson with Dencity

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