Private Quarters: Roswell home shows its age and improvements

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Photos: Roswell home shows off its age and improvements on tour

This Roswell home exemplifies historic beauty improved over time.

The brick Roswell townhouse was built in 1839 as two units for mill workers. It was later renovated by architect Lew Oliver in 2006. Today, the four-bedroom home is featured on the Roswell Historical Society 2017 Home Tour Sept. 16 and is a part of the local year-round ghost tour.

When Dee and Mark Simonton moved into their historic Roswell home in 2015, they completely renovated the courtyard. One thing they kept, however, was the majestic lion fountain.

The courtyard behind the home is a frequent spot for the homeowners to eat dinner, relax with a glass of wine, or entertain family and friends.

The creamy yellow walls and ceiling are a favorite color of homeowner Dee Simonton, who has used a similar hue in other homes. The vibrant painting was an auction item for a school fundraiser. The doors on the stairwell wall serve as art and function, enclosing a closet.

Below the stairway, a pair of doors that Dee installed for their artistic and historical qualities marks the entry to a closet. The two mismatched doors — one wooden and one metal — came from a feed store originally built in 1895.

The faux candle chandelier in the dining room is from Lamps Plus.

At one point, a thick brick wall split the dining room and sitting room in the Roswell home, which was built in 1839 and originally part of a mill village community called "The Old Bricks." Today, a double-sided fireplace pays homage to its historic roots as a divider between the two rooms.

This buffet was the first piece that Dee and Mark purchased when they bought their first home years ago. It was not until they moved in in 2015 that they took it out of the shed, cleaned it up and gave it a new next to the double-sided fireplace.

Dee designed the living room sofa and covered it with fabric from Lewis & Sheron Textiles. Many of her furnishings have a traditional style, although some pieces, such as the open bookshelf, have a rustic touch.

Shelves made from reclaimed barn wood and pipes, from The Home Depot, house decorative knick-knacks, from a blown-glass rooster to a wooden ark.

The artwork over the mantel was a Christmas gift that Dee bought for Mark from a shop on Roswell's Canton Street. Meanwhile, the vase was a gift for Dee, that she now displays on the hearth.

The door behind the two gray chairs is painted a custom charcoal gray. As the historic home was originally two separate units, this door once served as one of the original front entrances and now leads to the courtyard.

The floor boards throughout the Roswell home came from a farmhouse in Marietta, but are original to the mid-1800s time period. In contrast, the kitchen provides modern details like mini subway tiles above the AGA range. The light above the island was moved from the den to the kitchen during renovations and is from a Parisian flea market. Stools are Ballard Design are tucked under the island, which has a faucet from California Faucets.

The kitchen holds a nook with gray chairs and a table purchased from Kohl's website. The beams, which were already part of the house, frame a painting by Jean Raney, a friend of Dee.

During the 1950s, Dee Simonton's historic Roswell home was a part of the Roswell Library. Simonton likes that the ladder she added to the shelves is a link to to that part of the home's modern history.

The white subway tile found in the kitchen also made its way to the master bathroom. Elsewhere on the walls, she used boards of random widths, inspired by the walls elsewhere in the home. The chandelier is from Lamps Plus, mirrors from Ballard Designs and fixtures from Fergusons.

In the master bedroom, a bench that originally belonged to Dee's grandparents sits beneath rustic industrial shelving found online.

The walls of the master bedroom are painted Amazing Gray with Snowbound trim and a Windfresh White ceiling, all from Sherwin-Williams. Their residence is on the Roswell Historical Society 2017 Home Tour on Sept. 16.

While Dee's two sons are now grown, her bedroom shelves hold mementos from their childhoods. The two silver cups are engraved with each son's name and birthdate, and the bronzed Atlanta Braves cap was worn and passed down from the older son to the younger son.

One of the home's three-and-a-half baths, the renovated master bathroom is her sanctuary. The clawfoot bathtub is surrounded by happy mementos on the wall shelf, such as a rabbit that her older son gave her and a vase that he made for her.

The stars along the wall of the historic Roswell home are hurricane bars that hold the outside brick to the inside brick and are original to the home, said Juliette Johnson, president of the Roswell Historical Society. Similar stars are also found in older homes in Savannah and Charleston, S.C.

One of four bedrooms in the home, the upstairs guestroom houses two twin beds and another fireplace. Hanging next to the fireplace is a woven bell pull that was made by Dee's mother.

The antique rocking chair in the corner originally belonged to her mother-in-law. Simonton paired the antique chair with another family piece, her grandmother's yellow lamp, which complements the custom gray doors and pale yellow walls in her Roswell home.

Natural light streams in from the guest bedroom window over the armchair with its original cover and blue trim. It and the matching blue pillow now provide comfort as a reading nook.

A painting of an old cowboy by Texas artist Travers Green, a family friend, is displayed above a mix of plaid, striped and floral bedding in the comfy-looking guest room.

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The brick Roswell townhouse was built in 1839 as two units for mill workers. It was later renovated by architect Lew Oliver in 2006. Today, the four-bedroom home is featured on the Roswell Historical Society 2017 Home Tour Sept. 16 and is a part of the local year-round ghost tour.

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