A rocking chair and album covers make folk singer Caroline Herring’s kitchen a welcoming space for meal prep and conversation.
Her husband’s parents had the same rocking chair in the kitchen of their home in Mississippi, where the couple grew up.
“When we moved here, that seemed like a great space for it. It is a good place to sit and talk,” she said.
Herring and her husband were living only six blocks away when they bought their new Decatur home. They were attracted to its sloped roof, porches, and open kitchen and den that makes it easy to entertain.
“Craftsman homes are lovely without being overly stately,” Herring said.
Snapshot
Residents: Joseph Crespino and Caroline Herring, their children, Carrie and Sam, and dog, Teddy. Crespino is a history professor at Emory and author; Herring is a musician and folk singer with seven albums who also serves as an ESL teacher.
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Location: Decatur
Size: 2,900 square feet, four bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
Year built/bought: 2015
Builder: Patrick Lockman of Lockman Homebuilding Co.
Architectural style: Craftsman
Favorite architectural elements: Front porch and bookshelves in the library/music room. "Joe and I both grew up with wall-to-wall bookshelves in our homes. I showed his builders a picture from a magazine, and they did it precisely to the photograph," said Herring, who has filled the shelves with Southern history and literature, collections of folk songs and hymn books, and even Elvis biographies.
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Design consultant: Caroline Cooley
Interior design style: Traditional
Favorite interior design elements: Elements from the arts and crafts movement, such as Morris & Co. wallpaper designed by William Morris. "To have a Craftsman home, it is really wonderful to have a bit of him represented," Herring said.
Favorite furniture: Family antiques are featured throughout the home. They include a secretary that belonged to Crespino's parents and a guitar that belonged to Herring's grandfather in the library/music room. Herring also loves the gold mirror that belonged to her mother, which hangs in their dining room, and a Grundig console radio/reel-to-reel and record player that her aunt bought in Germany in the 1950s.
Favorite artwork: Pieces by Mississippi painter Walter Anderson, a collection of McCartys Pottery, also made in Mississippi, and album covers by Alice Pattullo and Carlyle Wolfe.
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Credit: Christopher Oquendo Photography
Favorite outdoor elements: Front and back porches. The back porch is screened in, which protects against insects, while the "front porch is absolutely quintessential Southern, and it's big enough to hang out there with friends and enjoy," she said.
Resources: Lighting from Circa and Trinity Mercantile and Design. Furniture from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Authenteak and Finders Keepers Antiques. Appliances by Wolf and Sub-Zero.
