A beautiful Spitzmiller and Norris design for sale

While looking through the homes for sale in Atlanta, (one of my favorite cities for beautiful houses) I was immediately struck by this beautiful home. After doing a little digging, I found out that that this home was renovated by the very famous architecture home Spitzmiller and Norris. The home is on the market for the small price of $6,950,000. The home is on almost five acres in the very desirable neighborhood of Buckhead. The home was originally built in 1929.

When you enter the foyer, you are greeted by a beautiful winding staircase. I love how you can see straight into the backyard!



The library is by far my favorite room in the house. I love the fireplace, and the paneling gives the room so much character. Even though the walls and furnishings are quite dark, the room seems to get plenty of light through the four windows.

The exquisite kitchen with white cabinets with a dark wood island. I love the marble countertops, but right now it seems Atlanta homebuilders are a little obsessed with them. Nine out of ten of the real estate listings I viewed had white cabinets and marble countertops in the kitchen. Could anyone who lives in the ATL tell me if this is true?

Three photos of the immaculately landscaped backyard. Landscaping by Graham Pittman.


The large, yet cozy family room. I could see my whole family gathering in this room for Christmas.

Another one of my favorite rooms is the elegant dining room:
My sister would LOVE the chair fabric! (light blue and brown are her favorite colors)

If I had the money, I would certainly look into this wonderful home!

See more photos of the home here.

All images couresy of www.callatlantahome.com

Anyone recognize this house?

While looking for inspiration in the London real estate listings (I'm in the process of designing my personal home) I stumbled upon a beautiful home for sale in a very desirable area of London. Built in the 1840's, the townhouse was absolutely beautiful, with a front courtyard, a second floor balcony with beautiful french doors, and classic black front door to the side, framed by a beautiful portico. The more and more I looked at the beautiful home, the more I knew I had seen it somewhere before. All of the sudden, the answer hit me, I knew just what house this was!
It is none other than the London residence from the Disney remake of "The Parent Trap"

The home can be yours for just £14,000,000. I've never been particularly fond of this movie, but somehow this home has stayed implanted in my memory. The interiors of the home are much different from the ones in the movie, and are quite disappointing. The home in the movie was warm and friendly, In reality, however the owners who renovated the home left it, in my opinion, cold and stark.

The warm, inviting foyer in the movie: I have to say I much prefer the set in the movie. The actual home is VERY white. Every room seems to be almost all white.





The layout is quite different in real life than in the movie, two. In the movie, to the right of the foyer was the living room, and behind that the dining room. Right of the living room was a library, and behind that presumably the kitchen. The movie set made it seem that the building was all one house, because of the floor plan, or that the home occupied the first and second floors, and there was a flat on the next two floors. Here are the floor plans of the townhouse in reality:



I know, in the movie, that Lindsey Lohan's character that lived in london (not sure of the name) drew a sketch of the floor plans to explain her house to the twin that lives in California. As much as I have tried, I can't find an image of them, though. If anyone has a picture of them, please e-mail them to me, thank you!

Overall, I have to say I am a little disappointed. The owners seemed to have stripped away all the beautiful detailing that I imagine must have been in such an old upper-class home. I wonder when, or if, this property will sell, since it has been sitting on the market for quite some time. Here is a link to the listing.

Images courtesy of Strutt and Parker estate agents

Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects

Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects is a nationally recognized firm in Fairhope, Alabama. I am extremely familiar with their work, since I reside in Fairhope, a small coastal town on Mobile Bay.

The firm designs beautiful homes where quality and craftsmanship is paramount. They have been featured in Southern living seven times, Coastal Living four times, and Better Homes and Gardens twice. They have also been featured in This Old House, Southern Accents, From House to Home, and Garden and Gun. Two of their designs, a Mobile riverfront home, and an Irish Country cottage have been featured on HGTV's "Homes Across America"

No detail is overlooked in the design of any Walcott Adams Verneuille home. One of my favorite homes are Lea Verneuille's personal home, a french country cottage:

I also love the Reynolds residence, featured in Southern Accents. The Reynolds use it as a beautiful summer retreat.

The kitchen is beautiful, with classic white cabinets and a dramatic wood ceiling.

The firm also designed many of the buildings on the grounds of the beautiful Grand Hotel Marriott Resort in the nearby community of Point Clear.

Another one of my favorites is the Couch Residence, A bay front Estate in the nearby town of Daphne. The From House To Home article describes it as a "Georgian Revival Mansion."




To see more beautiful photos of these and many other homes, visit the Firm's website.

All images courtesy of Walcott Adams Verneuille Architects