Don Easterling's home has an honored place in Ansley Park history as one of the intown neighborhood's eight residences designed by famed Atlanta architect Neel Reid in the early 1900s.
"Neel Reid was often called the master of scale," said Easterling, an interior designer with Mathews Furniture Galleries & Design and historian for the Ansley Park Civic Association. "When he designed a house, he designed it for entertaining. This house in particular has a great floor plan. It has a big, large, open foyer. The scale of the rooms is amazing. It's got 10-foot ceilings throughout the house."
Snapshot
Residents: Don Easterling and Michael Proctor
Location: Ansley Park
Size: About 4,000 square feet, four bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
Year built: 1911
Year bought: 1997
Renovations: About three years ago, the kitchen was renovated, adding Calcutta gold marble countertops, a stainless steel and pewter stove hood, and a cabinet made of old doors. Using the original house plan, which they found at the Atlanta History Center, they discovered a fireplace downstairs that had been covered with drywall and opened it back up. Other changes include their custom closet.
Renovation team: Design Galleria Kitchen and Bath Studio, Timoney Construction
Architectural style: Georgian
Favorite architectural feature: The original Palladian windows in the upstairs landing. The windows still open out, providing great ventilation because they were created for a home that lacked air conditioning, Easterling said.
Interior design style: Southern traditional
Favorite interior design feature: The master bedroom closet, which was converted from a sleeping porch. "We really put a lot of effort into this. We traveled up to New York City and studied men's stores. We loved this Ralph Lauren feel," Easterling said. The room has crocodile leather on the ceiling and tweed fabric on the walls. A polished nickel sphere light fixture by Visual Comfort and honed marble on the island add modern elements. The arch doorway is original to the house and used to lead to the sleeping porch.
Favorite outdoor feature: Gates at the walkway to the home are from the former DeGive's Opera House in downtown Atlanta. Clematis climb over the gates, which the Troutman family (who Easterling says lived in the home for nearly 60 years) brought to the home in the 1920s.
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