For Valentine’s Day 2013, Shawn Evans Mitchell finally realized how much she was going to love the Lithonia foreclosure she and her husband, state Rep. Billy Mitchell, bought a couple of months earlier.
That’s when the big reveal happened.
Decorating Den Interiors allowed the family to finally walk into the house, a former model home that was auctioned on the courthouse steps, and see the new furniture, paint and accessories. The builder and interior designers worked on the home for a couple of months before the Mitchells moved in during February 2013.
“It was very romantic,” Shawn Mitchell said. “Who could ask for a better Valentine’s Day gift?”
Snapshot
Residents: State Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain; his wife, Shawn Evans Mitchell, an English professor at Atlanta Metropolitan State College; their daughter, Maya; their son, Sean; and Pearl, an adopted bichon frise from a local dog shelter.
Location: Lithonia
Size: 5,500 square feet, six bedrooms, six baths
Year built: 2002
Year bought: Late 2012
Builder: Louis Skinner, Skinner Development
Architectural style: Traditional
Type of renovations: Skinner added a circular driveway, front columns and balusters, sauna in the terrace level, and built-in bookcases in the family room and library. It also updated the electronics in the home theater. The front exterior additions were important, since the home was one of the first people see when entering their DeKalb County neighborhood. "Most of the homes had circular drives, and this home did not. Most of the homes in the subdivision had the columns and the balusters," Billy Mitchell said. "We wanted to be very congruent with the rest of the neighborhood, which is a very upscale community."
Cost of renovations: $150,000-plus
Interior design style: Contemporary
Interior designers: Barbara Elliott and Jennifer Ward-Woods, owners of Decorating Den Interiors in Stone Mountain
Favorite interior design features: The decor is elegant but functional and practical for kids, Shawn Mitchell said. She also relied on her interior designers to select the artwork. "They showed us images of what that painting or abstract would look like," she said. "When they hung it up, it was just absolutely beautiful."
Favorite room: For Shawn Mitchell, it's the library, where they read and listen to or practice music. "That's my go-to room. It's so tranquil," she said. "My daughter plays piano and my son plays the cello. That was something that I was determined to have."
Favorite outdoor feature: The pool and combination tennis/basketball court, for their children.
Resources: Custom-made pieces from Taylor King Furniture and Designmaster Furniture; Signature Rugs; and Carole Fabrics and Atlanta's Finest Design (window treatments). The refrigerator, double wall oven, microwave, dishwasher, trash compactor and wine cooler are Viking Professional Series stainless-steel appliances. The white Baby Grand Special Edition, which has polished nickel hardware, was purchased at Cooper Piano in Atlanta. The pool table is from Atlantic Billiards in Norcross.
Paint colors: Georgia Peach and Aura matte finish by Benjamin Moore. The Mitchells placed their trust in the interior designers, even when they saw the Georgia Peach palette, which ended up being warm and inviting, Shawn Mitchell said.
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