Julia, Rich, and their two sons recently moved to Athens from a beautiful mid-century modern home in Michigan. They were interested in living near Athens’ vibrant downtown in a walkable community setting. When this house in Pulaski Heights became available, they found their new home (and we were blessed with more great neighbors). Thanks for contributing to our series, y’all!
“Some of the best elements of our house are the unique ‘cut outs’ on the ground floor in the staircase,” wrote Julia. “We were thrilled to find a perfect stand-alone bar that fits perfectly in one of the alcoves; I just love the way these spaces look.” Architect’s note: these nooks were originally designed specifically to fit the previous homeowner’s piano and an heirloom piece of antique furniture.
“Clearly a lot of thought also went into the window placement. The north side of the house has the most and biggest windows, allowing light and fabulous views of the neighboring trees. The other sides of the house have strategically-placed windows to allow views and light while still providing privacy and minimizing the summer heat.”
“In our urban neighborhood of Pulaski Heights, I’m amazed we get to enjoy this many sightlines to nature. We especially love our screen porch. We keep the sliding glass doors open as often as temperatures allow, so our cats can enjoy it as much as we do. The screen porch has even doubled as a home gym this past year in the time of COVID!”
Thanks, Roger and Julia, for contributing to our series and for being such wonderful people. We’re looking forward to the upcoming Pulaski Heights Movie Night hosted in your carport.
“The living room captures so much of what we wanted in a design and love about our house,” said Roger. “The sculpted space; the light; the half-wall by the bedroom hall, which opens the space and provides additional room for displaying art; the general sense of well-being (Joie de vivre, if you prefer) which comes from living in this kind of space. Hardly a day goes by without one of us mentioning how much we love living in, and moving through, this area. The intersecting planes are a joy.”
“The pictures which follow capture unanticipated joys which keep unfolding.”
The view coming up the stairs from the lower level dramatizes the intersecting planes. It also sets off the mobile.
The water feature isn’t at its best this time of year, but the reflections are still captivating. We hadn’t anticipated that the sound of the water feature would be so calming. Passers by sometimes just stop and listen.
(Note: audio of the water feature will appear on our Facebook page along with the link to this post)
A sliver of light slices down the wall and bisects a sculpture made of Kissi ‘pennies’ from West Africa.
As far as we know, Lori never collaborated with our Lab, Gracie, about the front windows. But sometimes I wonder.
This week we’re delighted to share some images from Deb Grosenbaugh’s farm just outside Athens. Thank you for sharing, Deb! These are wonderful!
“I asked Lori to design a house in the spirit of the Japanese sukiya living environment, with a seamless transition between inside and outside the house. Working from home this past year, it is hard to imagine a better place to be ‘stuck’ during a pandemic.”
“A variety of aesthetics are often expressed in the sukiya living environment. One of my favorite rooms allows me to express my love of ikebana (flower arranging) and shodo (calligraphy) in a traditional tokonoma.”
“In the other corner of that room there is an alcove where I can practice shodo while viewing the azaleas in bloom.”
“The master bedroom opens to an enclosed garden, which is also visible from the shower and soaking tub in the attached bath. This allows for a tranquil start and end to each day and is constantly changing with the seasons.”
“The kitchen/dining area commands a view of the back pasture where, at sunrise, the horses come up to remind me that it is time to grab a “to go” coffee and head down to the barn to feed.”
“Hi, I’m Mary, and my studio is also here in the Leathers Building. Would you be interested to design a modern house with a climbing wall inside?”
15 years ago (2006), shortly after Lori moved to Athens, local artist Mary Engel came to her with an exciting proposition — designing her first house, and a fun one at that! For a young architect who had been focused on commercial and higher education projects (at the time, Lori was finishing construction administration for the Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA), this was a dream opportunity that kicked off her design of multiple modern residences in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood in Athens.
While Athens has a wonderful history of mid-century modern homes and commercial buildings, and there are pockets of 1970s and 1980s modern homes scattered around town, there weren’t too many modern style homes being built in Athens at the time. We remember the head of the framing crew remarking one day, “this isn’t like any houses from around here; it looks like something from California!” :+}
Thanks for sharing some pictures with us, Mary!
The climbing wall has since been repurposed for artwork (it initially extend from the lower floor to the main floor ceiling) when Mary’s studio moved into the lower floor.
Thanks to Janelle and Kirk Anderson for sharing these beautiful photos from their home at Lake Oconee.
“This personal photo was taken from the upper left bedroom. Hands down, the best view from inside-out!” said Janelle.
“We built this modern home with significant glass (doors and windows), so nature was always in view. During Co-Vid, we opted for this destination to do a lot of ‘work from home.’ Kirk has a sit-stand desk in this bedroom/office, and keeps his binoculars close by to watch for birds (herons, ospreys, woodpeckers and now bluebirds), fishing boats (are they catching anything?), and of course the light views as the sun goes up (and down).”
Below: sunrise on a winter day, from our kitchen windows.
“For this blog project, we thought it would be fun to compare this rendering image created during design with the actual results,” said Janelle.
Arcollab shout out to Jones & Jones Premier Builders for the outstanding job they did building this beautiful home. We hope we’ll have more collaboration together!
This week’s post highlights another in-town Athens home that looks out into the trees. Thanks to our friends and neighbors, Kim & Tim, for your contribution to our series.
“This beautiful space was created for two musicians and now it’s home to three musicians! The open and modular common area space is amazing for our son, especially, to create whatever scene is necessary for his creativity. You can see his log drum space and his art space (he calls it his architecture work). It has also housed many a family dance party as well as a drumset, and the list goes on!”
“We also love our views and outdoor space,” said Kim. “Since living here, we’ve created a beautiful backyard retreat, only enhancing our views from our plentiful decks and porches.” (Note from Arcollab: Their deck and porch have been some of our most liked images posted on our Houzz.com page.)
“Our favorite ‘wasabi wall’ 🙂
“Lastly, with abundant glazing throughout the home, the sun shines in beautifully and creates lovely shadows and plenty of natural light. Daytime hours generally never require our lights to be turned on, which we love.”
Arcollab designed a custom mountain home with sauna, soaring cantilevered porch ceilings, open floor plan, and beautiful views out to the surrounding forest. The project is now nearing construction completion, just in time for springtime to burst forth.
Our clients, David and Katie, sent these photos of the construction progression, noting, “it has been fun watching the house grow up as an extension of the ridge top.”
