Less than two months before their son was born in spring 2015, John and Lauren Kane moved into their new home in the bucolic Serenbe neighborhood.
“Living in Serenbe is, I think, the greatest place to raise a boy. He can go out in the woods and climb and play and explore,” she said.
As the couple prepared to move from New Jersey, Lauren joked to her husband that she would love their next home to be an English cottage. She did not expect to find that style in Georgia, until John found Serenbe. They embarked on building the home, including adding space-saving elements, such as an office nook hidden behind a sliding barn door, and selecting the finishes, paint colors and furniture.
“This is the first house that we’ve really built from the ground up, where we’ve chosen every single thing painfully,” Lauren said. “It really truly was a labor of love. There are two labors of love that happened during this whole thing.”
Snapshot
Residents: John and Lauren Kane, and their son, Connor. John is CIO of business intelligence at TravelClick and Lauren is director at a venture capital firm.
Location: Serenbe neighborhood, Chattahoochee Hills
Size: 2,500 square feet, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths
Year built/bought: 2015
Builder: Martin Dodson Homes
Architect: L. Mitchell Ginn and Associates
Interior designer: HMS Designs
Landscaper: Teresa Allen
Architectural style: Modern English cottage
Favorite architectural elements: Exterior stone archway, chimney with a traditional shroud, cedar-shingled roof, symmetrical gables
Interior design style: Classic contemporary
Favorite interior design elements: Shiplap walls, period trim, and built-in storage, cabinets and seating.
Favorite piece of furniture: The living room sofa, covered in gray linen, from Bungalow. "We looked a long time for just the right piece for our living room, since it's a small room and right when you walk in the front door," Lauren said. "When we picked out the sofa, it was the right piece for the room but it also ended up being one of the most comfortable in the house."
Decor tip: Consider how you will use your kitchen and preferences, such as whether or not you want items on the countertops. The kitchen was designed with an appliance garage to hold small appliances, such as the coffee pot, blender and toaster, and other features, such as a pull-out spice rack.
Resources: Furniture from RH, Bungalow, IKEA. Lighting, plumbing and appliances from Ferguson. Countertops from Atlanta Marble. Bathroom tile from Traditions in Tile and Stone. Kitchen, dining and bathroom cabinets from Morning Glory Kitchen and Bath Design Center in Senoia.
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