Private Quarters: Victorian adoration in Grant Park

Home and Garden

Private Quarters: Victorian adoration in Grant Park

Carolyn Dufano who was enamored by the architectural style while growing up in Buffalo, N.Y., found exactly what she wanted when she came upon a design by architect George F. Barber while flipping through a book.

Portraits of homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano in Victorian garb have a prominent living room spot over a green upholstered couch that belonged to a friend's grandmother. The plaster ceiling medallion, two spandrels and the frieze was added to the living room in 2008. -- Lori Johnston

The first floor of the Grant Park home has ornate Queen Anne-style interiors including various patterns of wallpaper selected by homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano and a staircase inspired by a visit to the W.H. Stark House in Orange, Texas.

Orange latticework in the foyer leading into the living room - also called the back parlor - was designed by homeowner Mike Dufano. A company made the pieces, but the latticework still needed to be assembled when it arrived.

One of the two pianos in the home doesn't work, but homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano said they had to have the Eastlake piece dating to the 1880s. They call it the "piano shaped object" in the home.

In the dining room, the plaster medallion was added to the ceiling and moldings were added to the walls by homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano in 2007.

A friend previously owned the table, chairs and china cabinet in the dining room, which has a blue and cream color scheme and formal look.

Special occasions and holidays are celebrated in the dining room, which was inspired by the look of a lighting showroom in Atlanta that had wallpaper panels and narrow trim. Homeowner Mike Dufano sketched out the layout for the blue and cream-colored wallpaper and fit the design around their china cabinet, sconces and other items. He also made the chandelier.

For the kitchen ceiling, homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano ordered tin-plated steel panels in a Victorian print from W. F. Norman Corp., and added a clear finish. They cut the metal and installed the tin ceiling in 2009.

Mike and Carolyn Dufano's eclectic collections in their Grant Park home include kitten-themed creamer sets on display in their kitchen.

A Thomas Kinkade painting, which the Dufanos started collecting eight years ago, hangs over the piano in the library of their Grant Park home. The floral sofa, plush chairs and marble-top coffee table are "faux antiques," the couple said. Books are hidden behind the screen next to the piano, and the couple plans to eventually add bookshelves to the room.

The Dufanos say their home is known in the neighborhood as the "Harry Potter" house, attracting nearly 1,000 children during Halloween 2013. Inside the home, their collection of Potter paraphernalia, including wands and potion bottles, are on display.

The "Harry Potter" fans made sure to display their sword of Gryffindor in the library of their home, opposite a print by Maxfield Parrish, an American painter in the early 1900s. Their research showed that the stuffed peacock would have been typical in a Victorian home, and Mike Dufano found one on eBay for his wife, Carolyn.

A mantle found at an antique store in Marietta before the home was finished makes the fireplace the focal point of the library. The gas fireplace has tile surround from Home Depot Expo.

A signature feature in the foyer is the use of wallpaper all the way up to the ceiling, which was added in 2004. The couple went to the Bradbury & Bradbury factory in California to select the hand-screened wallpaper, which was a splurge. Several different layers are used for the upper and bottom portions of the walls. "That would have been typical for your upper class homes to have the very fancy wallpaper," Carolyn said.

The casings around the doorframes were inspired by another home in Grant Park, on the street where homeowner Carolyn Dufano previously lived. Randall Brothers created the casings, which their builder installed.

Homeowner Mike Dufano also designed the light fixtures, which fit with the Queen Anne interiors in his Grant Park home.

The intricate staircase showcases the work of homeowner Mike Dufano, an electrical engineer, who cut many of the pieces before the home was built. In the stairwell, there's a map with a birds' eye view of Atlanta from the 1890s, family photos and pictures of the Dufanos in period costumes.

The keyhole-shaped window was a common feature in architect George F. Barber's Victorian designs, the couple said. The stained glass design was based on homeowner Carolyn Dufano's favorite flower, the calla lily.

An early 1900s cast iron tub - found in an old barn - was placed in the guest bathroom of Mike and Carolyn Dufano's home in Grant Park. The tub was hoisted up the unfinished stairway by Mike and others, and moved into the bathroom, which has hexagon-shaped tile floors and tapestry for decor.

Mike Dufano built the turret at his former home in Lawrenceville and builder Chris Cady's team assembled it on the Grant Park property. The stained glass was added after they moved into the home, which has a George F. Barber design from the 1890s.

The front door, from Lakewood 400 Antiques Market in Cumming, is painted with a color scheme created specifically for the home. The home has been used as the setting for a few TV shows and movies.

Gingerbread trim details run the length of Mike and Carolyn Dufano's front porch, and the Grant Park couple often eats dinner there while enjoying the views in their historic Atlanta neighborhood.

Mike and Carolyn Dufano began construction on their four-bedroom Grant Park home in 2000, using a George F. Barber plan from the 1890s. They moved into the home, built by Chris Cady, in June 2001. The home will be on the Historic Grant Park 40th Annual Tour of Homes on May 17-18.

The couple moved into the Grant Park home in 2002, but have continued to add onto their front porch, which now has a completed balustrade along with Victorian-style brackets and gingerbread trim.

Bob Buckter, a San Francisco-based architectural color consultant, designed the paint scheme for Mike and Carolyn Dufano's Grant Park home. The couple said they were provided a paint by numbers for the seven exterior colors including Benjamin Moore's Oyster, New London Burgundy, Colonial Blue and 23-karat gold leaf.

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Portraits of homeowners Mike and Carolyn Dufano in Victorian garb have a prominent living room spot over a green upholstered couch that belonged to a friend's grandmother. The plaster ceiling medallion, two spandrels and the frieze was added to the living room in 2008. -- Lori Johnston

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