Some people couldn’t believe Patrick and Rachel Lockman were trying to save the Tudor-style home they purchased in Decatur. The 1930s home had been converted into a duplex and it was suffering from mold damage and rotted, termite-invested floors and wood.
“They figured it would be a tear-down. The only thing that was really salvageable was the brick on the outside,” Patrick said. “At the same time, you could see what it once was and just how it wasn’t cared for over the years.”
In gutting the home, the Lockmans used details such as arches and beams to bring back the charm and blended those elements with the comforts of new construction.
Snapshot
Residents: Patrick and Rachel Lockman and their children, Sanders, 8; Judah, 5; Celia, almost 2; and their dog, Prince. Patrick owns Lockman Homebuilding Co.. Rachel is director of the women's ministry at All Souls Fellowship.
Location: Decatur
Size: 3,000 square feet, four bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths
Year built: 1938
Year bought: 2011
Architectural style: Tudor
Renovations: The exterior brick and placement of nearly all the windows was saved, but the interior was gutted. They rebuilt the roof line, adding bedrooms upstairs and vaulting ceilings in rooms such as the master bathroom and sunroom. A mudroom was added. "As daunting and as kind of scary that it might be in the beginning, there are some amazing things that can be accomplished by working with the existing structure and trying to incorporate the old into a new, modern lifestyle," Patrick said.
Although the couple had to remove a large tree that was growing onto the front of the house, they sought to preserve the essence of the structure and lot. “We could see the original builder had set it so beautifully on the lot,” Rachel said.
Architect: Vance Cheatham
Favorite architectural elements: The arches (retained at the entryway and added throughout the interior), cove molding, wide trim and reuse of beams. They incorporated 4-by-6-foot pine beams from the original house into areas including the mantle on the double-sided fireplace, bookshelves in the sunroom/library and above the stairs. The vaulted stained wood ceiling uses the beams and custom-made leaded glass windows fit with the Tudor style.
Interior design style: Contemporary and eclectic
Favorite interior design features: Using meaningful objects, such as paintings purchased in Brazil and Kenya and inherited furniture.
Favorite outdoor feature: The wraparound covered porch, which has a fireplace. "One of the big moments was when they started to put on the porch and we realized just how beautiful it was. We love to be outside and we love having people over," Rachel said.
Décor inspiration: A painting purchased by Patrick's mother at Pizitz Home & Cottage in Seaside, Fla. Rachel describes the painting as a simple beach scene, blending every shade of warm white sand into the frothy blue ocean. With three young children, they desired for the interiors to be clean, calm and soothing.
Favorite fixture: A Restoration Hardware light in the stairwell. The boys love it because it creates shadows that look like spider webs, Rachel said.
Tip: Consider how light fills a room, warms a space and adds beauty, Rachel said. They worked with the angles of the roof, stairs and windows to make the most of the light and added skylights.
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