Couple makes gem of Atlanta history shine anew

Attorney Foy Devine and his wife, Jane, own this 1915 Buckhead home, gem of Atlanta history. It was previously owned by the Atlanta National Bank founder and the Emory physician credited with engineering angioplasty.

Text by RACHEL POMERANCE: Attorney Foy Devine and his wife, Jane, own this gem of Atlanta history. The Buckhead home was built in 1915 for William Austell, the son of Alfred Austell, who formed Atlanta National Bank. It was designed by New York architecture firm Carrere and Hastings, who designed the Peachtree Heights neighborhood. More recently, the home belonged to Dr. Andreas Grunzig, the Emory physician credited with engineering angioplasty.

When the Devines moved here in the summer of 1997, they added this skylight-enhanced porte cochere to provide cover from the weather. The compound has a 5,200-square-foot main house, 3,600-square foot guesthouse and separate three-car garage. The knockers on the cypress door were found on a trip in Italy. The couple took Italian language courses, which came in handy because Foy negotiated for these pieces with a vendor in Bellagio.

Beyond the vestibule, the drawing room greets you. The welcome is fitting given the artwork, "Tuscan Road," by local artist Jeffrey Lang, which fits the home's "Italian renaissance" style. The Waterford crystal chandelier comes from the former Austell home on Marietta Street, where the Georgia Bar Association building now stands. Stan Topol designed the interiors.

The teak floors are original to the home's construction.

This library is part of two wings added to either side of the home in the mid-1930s. Here, the color of the pillows and ottoman pick up the tone on the outside of the house.

Could you tell these "books" were faux cabinets? They hide a television.

Before the couple renovated the wing on the opposite side, which contains the family room, they spent most of their time relaxing in the library.

Just off the foyer and library is the bar, also part of the 1930s addition. Before the Devines' revonation, this room featured "blood red walls," a blue ceiling and this black-and-white tile. They left the tile but redid the rest, wallpapering and painting the columns a faux marble and ceiling an off-white. "When we entertain, this is kind of where we start out," Foy says, calling the home a "wonderful entertaining house. It's got great flow."

The living room features the spotless tones of ivory that soften and warm the house. The sofa belonged to Foy's grandmother. Although the double doors open to the front terrace, they remain closed since the family can access the patio through the library, family room and dining room.

These sliding doors separating the living room from the dining room and came from the Austell home on Marietta Street. The Devines found a second pair in the attic that they think must have filled the archway from the living room to the library. Just part of the mystery of a nearly century-old home.

In keeping with the neutral color scheme, the Devines recovered their blue dining room chairs. They were paired with red walls in their former dining room in Sandy Springs. This chandelier, also Waterford crystal, comes from the Austell home on Marietta Street.

The artwork above the living room sofa was cut from a mural in the dining room. Topol, the interior designer, didn't think it was interesting enough to stretch from chair rail to ceiling on three walls. He muted the colors to blend with the serene, pale hues of the living room.

The Devines renovated the kitchen, installing a slate floor that stretches into the butler pantry and breakfast room and replacing the cabinetry. They also recreated a doorway that once existed from the hallway to the kitchen.

This breakfast nook was once a back porch. Candelabras hang on the original columns, but the beautiful windows and doors create a lovely nook with a poolside view.

The pool links the main house and guesthouse. The Devines added this "BBQ cabana," which also includes a bathroom and outdoor shower designed with terra cotta and black tiles. The 3-acre property lists for $4.275 million and is being handled by Glennis Beacham of Beacham & Company.

Since completing the family room renovation in 2007, the couple loves to hang out here because of its proximity to the kitchen and comfortable style. The ceiling was covered with rice paper "to give it a warm, interesting touch," he says. The taupe-colored cabinets store a wine cooler and are topped with marble. The floor was converted from terra cotta tile to this black-and-white flooring, which picks up the floor pattern in the bar. Only here it's heated.

Although the Devines slightly lifted the basement ceilings and switched them from suspended tile to sheetrock, the space is small enough to feel like a hideaway. The basement houses a sauna, laundry room and this vibrant wine cellar, decorated by Jane, who goes by her professional name of Jane Bedford and owns The Bedford Group, a marketing management consulting firm. The room and an adjoining walk-in wine cooler, adorned with cobalt blue floor tiles, can hold 1,000 bottles. Drink up!

The ivory tones get a shot of blue in this upstairs guest bedroom. Adding to the dreamy effect are soft fabrics, like this armchair covered in white velour.

The Devines added these cabinets and window seat to the guest bedroom for more function and beauty. The grate underneath covers the radiator.

A door that looks like the one featured here existed on the opposite wall and connected to the master bedroom. The couple kept the decorative frame but sealed it off to provide a private guest bathroom.

Ahh, the master bedroom. A bed that envelops like a cradle and all those soft, elegant hues and fabrics. Who would ever want to leave?

The reflection on the left reveals a recent portrait of Jane by Paul Melia that the couple commissioned.

The nearby guest house not only adds interest to the property but also has separate apartments, each 1,800 square feet, for the couple's two youngest daughters before they moved out. In the last few years, after the girls moved out, the Devines updated the design and countertops with a more modern and simple version of what's found in the main home.

The Devines designed the guest house with their own eye -- and things! For example, the sofa and painting came from Foy's old office. "We just kind of made it work," he says. This ground floor apartment also houses their exercise room.

The bedroom in the ground floor apartment has a modern cottage-like feel. The muted tones get just the right kick with the modern patterns in the bolsters.

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Text by RACHEL POMERANCE: Attorney Foy Devine and his wife, Jane, own this gem of Atlanta history. The Buckhead home was built in 1915 for William Austell, the son of Alfred Austell, who formed Atlanta National Bank. It was designed by New York architecture firm Carrere and Hastings, who designed the Peachtree Heights neighborhood. More recently, the home belonged to Dr. Andreas Grunzig, the Emory physician credited with engineering angioplasty.

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