The wraparound porch wowed Melanie Segrest Robinson when she and her husband saw a Cumming home under construction. It won her over so much that the couple bought the home, and the porch remains a spot where the family spends their time during the spring and fall.
“I liked the entry, the presence of a Southern porch,” she said.
Melanie, an interior decorator, has put personal touches on the porch and throughout the home, where she has repainted furniture that was picked up from yard sales and thrift stores or inherited. As a mom of three boys, her style blends flowers and cherubs with rustic elements, such as beams and antlers.
“I try to balance masculine things with feminine because I’m the only girl in the house,” she said.
Snapshot
Residents: Mark Robinson, Melanie Segrest Robinson, their children, college student Wesley and high schoolers Tanner and Colby, and two Weimaraners, Sadie and Blue. Mark is an environmental engineer and office manager at Antea Group. Melanie operates Interiors by Melanie Robinson and ThePaintedChandelierBlog.com.
Location: Cumming
Size: 3,400 square feet, four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths
Year built/bought: 2002
Builder: Culver & Grimshaw
Consultants: All About Painting Contractors; Mark Cantrell (electrician and A/C)
Architectural style: Farmhouse cottage
Favorite architectural elements: Wraparound porch and white columns
Interior design style: Mix of French country and Southern traditional
Favorite interior design elements: Several French Provincial-style pieces from Melanie's parents and grandmother, who was an antiques dealer in Mississippi.
Favorite room: Family room with its faux beams, walls painted Mocha Brown by Duron and chandelier from Progressive Lighting.
Favorite piece of furniture: Two French armchairs found at an estate sale.
Resources: Furniture, rugs, textiles and accessories from Ballard Designs, HomeGoods, Tuesday Morning, Williams Sonoma Home, IKEA, Pottery Barn, Queen of Hearts Antiques and Interiors, The Green Bean Exchange Antiques & Interiors Mall, The Dump, Marshalls, Stein Mart, Home Decorators Collection. Various artwork found on River Street in Savannah and antiques shops in Atlanta, Apalachicola, Fla., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Decor tip: For coffee table vignettes, start with books or trays as the foundation and build by adding fresh flowers and natural elements, such as seashells, driftwood, branches and bowls of small fruit like limes. Melanie likes symmetry, so she balances the table by putting similar things on each half.
About the Author
