Thea Quillian had a visible response when she entered a mustard yellow Inman Park home and saw its original features such as its rich, two-panel birch doors.
“My husband said I had tears in my eyes,” she said. “I thought the doors were so beautiful. I felt like the house had a soul.”
Quillian and her family moved from Dunwoody to the intown neighborhood, which hosts its 2015 Tour of Homes (inmanparkfestival.org/events/tour-of-homes) April 24-26. They resisted the urge to remodel the early 1900s home and found ways to use every space. The formal dining room became a family room. A pantry was turned into an additional prep space adjacent to the tiny kitchen, where their two kids learned to cook.
“What most people will do is buy a house like ours and start to gut it,” she said. “We made it livable for our family of four.”
Snapshot
Residents: Alfred and Thea Quillian and their daughter, Kathleen, and pets Bear and Layla. Alfred is an attorney; Thea is an interior designer.
Location: Inman Park, Atlanta
Size: 3,000 square feet, five bedrooms, two baths
Year built: 1912
Year bought: 2006
Architectural style: Variation of American Foursquare, with features such as a hipped roof, along with Colonial Revival and Craftsman elements.
Favorite architectural elements: Craftsman columns and wood trim, stained glass windows
Renovations: They purchased the home from Atlanta historian Tommy Jones, who had restored the home. The Quillians updated the downstairs bath, painted and installed new cabinets, butcher block countertops and appliances in the kitchen. They also repaired the roof, which had four layers of materials.
Interior design style: Transitional
Favorite interior design elements: Mixing French and English antiques and traditional furnishings with modern art and textiles
Favorite room: Upstairs office. The first resident, Wilbur Kurtz, Sr., an Atlanta artist and historian, used the room, originally a sitting room or study, as his studio. Thea said she loves the room for its location and the morning sun.
Favorite artwork: Pieces by Atlanta artist Ruth Barrett and other works from Barrett's Lansdell Galleries.
Resources: Furniture from Lee Industries, Norwalk, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Authentique Home, Kudzu Antiques in Decatur and sister store, in Sandy Springs, Kudzu & Co.
Decor tip: Don't be afraid to keep items that are original to an older home because of concerns that they will seem outdated, "That's not necessarily true in design. Some designs are really forever and hold the value of their look," Thea said. For example, the mantle of a fireplace that no longer works serves as the headboard in her daughter's room.
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