Midcentury modern home in Sandy Springs gets a family-friendly makeover
Some have speculated that Californians relocating to metro Atlanta have driven up home prices.
But one unsung benefit of those folks arriving from Los Angeles and San Francisco: their amazing taste. Anyone interested in interior design has undoubtedly noticed the seductive California aesthetic that has seeped into shelter magazines and websites like Apartment Therapy, Architectural Digest and HGTV.
The trend is driven by the popularity of midcentury modern homes, along with organic design founded on lots of neutral textiles, clean, light wood interiors, low-slung seating, plants, open shelving and permeable borders between inside and outside.
Looking for better schools, less crime and more space, Larissa and Adam Tootla moved from the Los Angeles suburb of Crenshaw in 2022 to Sandy Springs. They are living proof that when it comes to cutting-edge home design, Californians are on to something.
The couple enlisted the help of Erica Loesing at Dencity Design, a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, just like Larissa. Loesing specializes in midcentury homes and helped the Tootlas turn a former bachelor pad cantilevered to jut out into the verdant landscape, into a bright family home. The design embraces the nature outside with huge windows, minimalist outdoor spaces and the warmth of wood throughout the home.
Built in 1968 by architect Jay Goldberg (the Tootlas are the fourth owners), the home was — ironically enough — inspired by a Los Angeles home: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sturges project. Loesing leaned into that midcentury history and also the Tootlas’ desire to make the home a reflection of their taste rather than something calibrated to appeal to some future buyer.
The Tootlas’ home is the definition of good vibes, making an immediate impression by welcoming visitors with a bench at the entry to take off your shoes, and public spaces that are open and inviting while retaining the innate coziness and pleasure of spaces broken up into zones. The bench to remove shoes was Adam’s idea. “He doesn’t like to see clutter. He’s the minimalist,” explained Larissa.
Hidden from view behind a wood slat door that blends with the surrounding wall, is a secret “speakeasy” powder room.
Before their renovation, the closest restroom to the living and dining area was up the stairs and down the hall in the private wing of the home so Loesing created a more accessible bathroom. The statement wallpaper adds an inventive element of surprise and whimsy to the space.
One of the Tootlas’ main goals in the home was consistency and making the home feel “lighter and brighter” said Loesing. As part of the renovation and redesign the couple had all of the dark wood flooring replaced with white oak which goes a long way toward making the space lighter and brighter. Although the bedrooms and Larissa’s office maintained their original flooring as a cost-cutting measure, they sanded down and refinished them to allow them to better blend with the new oak flooring. The home has a natural flow with the consistent flooring, a motif of green throughout, and an infusion of natural light. This long hallway provides access to the guest bathroom and all of the family’s bedrooms.
Heath fired clay tiles, which have been made in California since 1948, add a dose of green to the kitchen walls.
Larissa likes to integrate souvenirs and personal touches in her home and so the shelf in the kitchen features elephant figurines from South Africa, where Adam’s family is from, and souvenirs from their honeymoon in Costa Rica.
The galley style kitchen is filled with light thanks to the transom windows above the countertop and two glass doors leading outside on either end. To keep a clean line and not take away from the beautiful emerald tile, outlets were hidden beneath the windows. Off the kitchen is a well equipped pantry with a sink that dispenses carbonated water and plenty of storage to keep the kitchen itself visually serene and uncluttered.
Loesing removed a wall between the kitchen and the bar area that had previously been a formal dining room. Having it gone allows for a lovely sightline to a deck surrounded by trees on the street view side of the home.
The wood slats in the home’s entryway and hidden powder room are continued in the kitchen peninsula and range hood over the stove. The openness between the kitchen and dining area is super functional, but Loesing didn’t want to knock down any more walls in this space. “I am absolutely not a fan of the open floor plan,” she said. “I think in an open floor plan, it’s very hard to place furniture. It’s very hard to make it feel cozy, you know, and then the sound just bounces around.”
Part of the challenge of a renovation project like this one, says Loesing, is getting back to the original integrity and feel of a 1960s home that had been modified and changed over time.
Built-ins like this chaise with a stunning picture window view, are part and parcel of the midcentury modern look. The space had previously been a platform where the owner kept his TV, but Loesing turned it into a kind of “listening” chaise next to the record player.
An original exposed brick wall separates the open kitchen from a cozy living area, Using an exterior feature like brick indoors is a characteristic element of midcentury homes, explained Loesing, so she was glad the Tootlas decided to keep it. With the assertive texture of the brick and all of the wood in the home, walls were left a neutral white which is also a great backdrop for the couple’s art collection.
Beyond the living room bar area is a deck projecting out over the hillside. The Tootlas kept the outdoor spaces of the home uncluttered and used more contemporary furniture that occasionally nods to the 1950s in keeping with the sensibility of the rest of the home. “It’s really so peaceful,” said Larissa, of their home on a hillside. “It’s kind of elevated and it’s kind of hiding too.”
The large picture window in the Tootlas’ primary bedroom boasts a gorgeous view of a sculptural Japanese maple. The retaining wall and multilevel yard were the work of the previous owner. The Tootlas investigated putting a pool in their sloped backyard but it would have been prohibitively expensive to get equipment and materials into that tight, steep space.
The former owner’s handsome library was sacrificed to make room for bedrooms for the Tootlas’ two children, 8 and 6. Their daughter’s room made use of the lofted ceiling with a cozy loft accessible via a ladder. Loesing said one feature she really loves about midcentury modern homes is their defined public and private spaces. “I always love how they organize the sleeping spaces to be, you know, separated from the public spaces.” Even if the adults are in the living room or kitchen, the hallway provides a nice sound buffer.
“This is my favorite bathroom” said Larissa of the top to tail sage-green hallway bathroom. “They didn’t have a fear of color, which is so nice,” said Loesing. “They knew they wanted to go pretty green,” which in this guest bathroom meant floor to ceiling tile in beautiful shades of green.
“I always say green feels kind of like a neutral, because it’s part of every house palette, whether you love green or not. Because you know, every view out the windows involves green,” said Loesing. Larissa replaced all hardware and fixtures with gold ones in this bathroom and even painted vents gold for continuity and to give spaces a more contemporary feel.
Loesing used Sherwin Williams Iron Ore in Larissa’s office on the home’s main floor to give the space both warmth and a hip contrast with the verdant view outside. Larissa is a huge fan of sourcing design accessories and artwork from estate sales, Facebook Marketplace and websites like 1st Dibs. She’s had good luck finding vintage-style light fixtures for the home as well as original art on Etsy.
“Downstairs is like a toy zone right now,” said Larissa. “One day when they’re grown out of it, it won’t look like a toy chest.” The lower level of the home, also leaning into the green theme, is an open playroom for the kids and an entertainment hub. It’s also where Adam’s home office provides a critical separation between his work space and his wife’s. His office easily converts to a guest room with a Murphy bed hidden in the wall and an en suite bathroom.
“it’s always a real treat to get to design with someone who wants to design it for the way they want to live in it, versus making everything really vague for resale,” said Loesing.
