Handcrafted touches in Buckhead home
Even the walls in Robert and Leslie Lewis’ home hold memories.
Robert, who owns an event marketing company, has handcrafted built-in bookcases, cabinets, drawers, window seats and even a bunk bed throughout the Buckhead cottage-style home. He saved the beadboard as it was moved from one spot to another in the remodeled living room. He took on a similar do-it-yourself renovation in his first home, also in Buckhead, from 1981 to 1984.
When the couple bought the former red brick home on an acre wooded lot in north Buckhead, the house had major pest issues – think rats – and an uninhabitable basement.
“It was a pretty tired, abused house,” Robert said.
Their kids also got in on the renovations, including assembling a kitchen island and cabinets while Robert was on a business trip and creating a special wall treatment using crinkled-up paper in a bedroom.
“It’s been a bit of a family affair in that regard,” he said.
Snapshot
Residents: Robert and Leslie Lewis. Robert is founder/CEO for MMELive, an event marketing services group; Leslie is manager of Mixson Market in Charleston, S.C., which son Bryan owns. They raised their children, Bryan, Justin, Campbell and Annie, in the home.
Location: Buckhead
Size: About 3,300 square feet, five bedrooms, four baths
Year built: 1944
Year bought: 1987
Architectural style: English cottage. “The scope and scale is very intimate and personal,” Robert said.
Favorite architectural element: Covered porch across the front of the home with blue slate, which the homeowners added.
Renovations: For more than 25 years, the family has renovated the kitchen, dining room, family room and basement. They lifted the roof to remodel the second floor (working with Bill VonHedeman) and turned a carport into an enclosed garage. All the two-panel hardwood doors are original, although most of them were moved and placed in new locations, using traditional-styled door handles and hardware from Baldwin Hardware.
Cost of renovations: $225,000
Interior design style: Traditional
Favorite interior design elements: Handcrafted details and hardwood floors
Design consultants: Sandy Hurlburt and Katie Bollman
Favorite custom piece: A bunk bed with stairs that was built by Robert Lewis, based on a design by one of his sons.
Favorite piece of furniture: A desk that belonged to Robert Lewis’ grandmother, who wrote letters to family and friends including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Favorite collections: Clocks and Mexican art, passed down from family members, and Robert Lewis’ antique tools.
