Interior designer Linda Castle saw the opportunity in a Kennesaw home that has been created to showcase a builder’s quality construction and high-end features such as coffered ceilings, built-ins and luxury appliances. The house, built in 2007, sat empty after the housing market collapsed and went into short sale when Linda and her husband, Steve, purchased it in 2010.
The Castles reworked some spaces to create two home offices and a special spot for tiny birds.
“We refreshed it dramatically. We even made some construction changes in it,” she said. “Instead of four bedrooms, we have two bedrooms and two huge, unbelievable, fantastic home offices.”
Snapshot
Residents: Steve and Linda Castle. Steve is an attorney for SunTrust Bank; Linda owns Kennesaw-based Decorated Designs
Location: Kennesaw
Size: About 6,400 square feet, four bedrooms, four full and three half baths
Year built: 2007
Year bought: 2010
Architectural style: Traditional
Favorite architectural elements: The ceilings all have something special, whether vaulted, coffered or beamed.
Interior design style: Casually elegant. "From the outside, it's a very stately, traditional house," Linda said. "When you walk in, I want you to have the feeling that you can take off your shoes. But you would still say, 'It's so pretty, but so comfortable and inviting.'"
Favorite outdoor feature: The waterfall. "When we looked out the back window and saw the waterfall and this amazingly landscaped backyard, we almost didn't need to see the rest of the house," Linda said. "The whole back of the house looks out to this beautiful terraced backyard with the waterfall."
Favorite item: Her "aviarium," situated in a niche off the foyer near the master bedroom, is home to two tiny zebra finches that can be viewed through the glass. "I wake up to the sound of the little birds cheeping," she said. "I like the activity, the life of the little birds in it."
Favorite room: The media room, located over the master bedroom on the second floor, has a 130-inch screen, fireplace and wet bar. The Castles painted the trim black and painted the ceiling gray. "We like to stay home and relax after a busy week and just watch a good movie," Linda said. "The media room perfectly suits our lifestyle."
Renovations: The master bathroom originally had a spa tub in the corner, which Linda said crowded the room. She ripped out the spa tub and added a soaking Cheviot tub. The change opened up the space and allowed her to break through the bathroom wall to create a "princess, unbelievable, take-your-breath-away closet." In the bonus room, above the three-car garage, an exercise room occupies in two-thirds of the space. They added a mirrored wall, which conceals a storage area for holiday decorations, suitcases and other items.
The solid walnut floors in the home had been cupped (making the edges high and the center lower) because the heating and air had been turned off. The floors needed to be sanded, leveled, stained and sealed. Repainting the house and staining the beams added the final decorative touches, she said.
Interior design tip: "A lot of people have two-story foyers or living rooms and have no idea what to do with them," Linda said. "It's that question of: What do you do to fill up a two-story space?" A mural can add warmth and interest to those wide wall expanses. Her living room has a continuous mural in three niches that are barely inset into the wall.
