There’s a special reason for Meg Richards-Boeff to deck the halls in her Grant Park home this holiday season.
A full renovation and addition to the late 1880s Victorian home was completed in August. Richards-Boeff and her family lived in the home during the two-year, “hyper local” renovation, working with craftsmen who were born, raised or live in the historic Atlanta neighborhood. The couple purchased in Grant Park after becoming addicted to a walkable lifestyle while living in Europe, she said.
“I was looking for a neighborhood with more historic homes, and this was it. We were able to get that historic house, but still be in the city,” she said.
The home, which was on the 35th annual Grant Park Candlelight Tour of Homes earlier this month, sparkles during the holidays with multiple decorated trees and mantles and other holiday garnishes.
Snapshot
Residents: Don and Meg Richards-Boeff and their kids, Chloe, 9, and Rowan, 6. Don works for Connectik.
Location: Grant Park
Size: 3,500 square feet, four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths
Year built/bought: 1887 (year they believe the home was built)/2006
Architectural style: Victorian
Favorite architectural elements: Original millwork, stained glass and mantle pieces with the Majolica surround.
Contractor: Amir Carlock of CNC Builders
Renovations: They took their 1887-era home back to its original footprint (demolishing part of a previous addition) and rebuilt. They used the attic, with 20-foot ceilings, to carve out additional bedrooms and also expanded onto the back of the home. "It was really important to me that we marry the new part of the house to the old part of the house," said Meg, who oversaw the design, permitting and project management. The original millwork and door work, wooded transoms, picture molding, plaster walls and heart pine hardwood floors were preserved. In the new kids' bedrooms, the original attic rafters add detail to the ceilings. She found salvaged items and worked with craftsmen when needing to create new pieces, such as custom windows, banisters and even rosettes for the moldings that matched the existing ones.
The renovated kitchen boasts a custom island and open shelving made from 120-year-old wood (even some of the kitchen utensils are vintage items, and 150-year-old copper pots and pans are displayed). The home also needed a new roof and plumbing and electrical repairs. “We had two old bathrooms with major water problems that had to be completely gutted,” Meg said. Outside, they rebuilt their chicken coop.
Interior design style: Shabby chic
Favorite furniture: A clawfoot cane-back sofa and chair from the 1930s, a Victorian sofa handed down from a elderly neighbor and a headboard made out of an old piece of woodwork previously in the hallway.
Favorite outdoor elements: The rigorous use of color. There's teal trim, and the porch furniture is yellow. Meg Richards-Boeff said she was inspired by the blooming daffodils last spring.
Favorite holiday decorations: The home has three full-sized trees — a 6 footer with a peppermint and Santa theme, a 7-foot tree decorated with silver and gold ornaments, and the 11-foot "monster" tree with a natural and white theme. White glass balls, owls and butterflies mix with vintage bubble lights and pine cones.
Holiday decor tip: "I have sets of different ornaments that I keep in different colors," she said. "I start with an idea, but when I see the tree and start getting some ornaments on it, after that, I hone in on what it's going to be."
