The 2015 Cathedral Antiques Show Tour of Homes is thrilled to present five of Atlanta’s most beautiful private residences. Each home is a showcase of the best in interior design, architecture, and the art of good living. The houses are open to the public for one day only, so you will not want to miss this premier Atlanta house tour! The tour is on February 8 from 11am-5pm. All proceeds from the tour benefit Covenant House.
Here’s what this fantastic organization does:
Out there on the street, homeless youth have few choices: Hopelessness. Deprivation. Jail. Or, Covenant House. When everyone and everything else in their young lives fail them, we are there to save them from the streets—with unconditional love and a door that’s open 24/7. Covenant House provides the food, shelter and care they desperately need right now, as well as the support and life skills they need to put their lives on the right track.
Some of the kids who come to us have run away from abusive or neglectful homes, some have been rejected by their families due to teenage pregnancy or revealing their sexual orientation, some have “aged out” of foster care, some have escaped the city’s notorious sex trafficking trade, and others grew up in homeless or poverty-stricken families who couldn’t afford to care for them once they turned 18. They all share one thing in common; they have turned to Covenant House for help.
Covenant House Georgia is one of the state’s few shelters dedicated to serving homeless youth. Browse our website to get an in depth look at our operation and see how we help provide the kids in our care with something many of them have never had in their lives before… hope. But remember, we can’t do it without you. We need your help, the youth on the streets of Atlanta need your help.
All Photographs by Emily Followill, you can click on any image to enlarge.
Purchase tickets for the tour here.
Polo Lane
Tim Adams of TS Adams Design Studio recently designed this shingle style country house with a slate roof for a family who had long admired the property. They wanted the house to resemble those on Virginia horse farms and also wanted to maximize the beautiful view of the land. Because the owners wanted the feel of a “new old house,” Tim employed reclaimed wood throughout the house. The house also needed to suit the needs of this blended family of 7 (5 children ranging from 5-25 years old at time of move-in), so he also included something for everyone in the family. They love to entertain family and friends, and the house serves that purpose beautifully.
When it came time to decorate their new house the couple called on Mary McWilliams of Mary Mac & Company. Together the couple and the designer created a color scheme of soft creams, taupes, blues, and pale greens and also incorporated antiques from the husband’s family. The house is a comfortable blend of beauty and functionality for this busy family. The homeowners enjoy sitting outdoors on the terrace or the screened porch watching horses and enjoying the views of nature. They love their new residence and call it “a little slice of country life right in the heart of Vinings.”
Andrews Drive
Harvard educated architect Sigmund Nesselroth designed this grand stone estate in 1929 for the president of Georgia Power. Its stunning site is just down the street from the Swan house. In a similar way to the Swan house, the house sits up on a hill with beautiful steps sweeping down the front lawn. The driveway leads around the house to the entrance, which is located in the stone motor court at the rear. The original granite for the façade was reclaimed from First Baptist church on Peachtree. Beautiful wrought leaded glass windows and a Vermont slate roof complete the look.
Keith Summerour was the architect for a two part renovation of the house in 2000 and 2004. The second renovation added a new wing to the right of the house and included a new kitchen and stone porch, a Pilates studio, an art studio and an attached garage. Granite was found to match the existing stone and the process took two years to complete because the stone was cut by hand. Summerour says: “Our goal was to make the old and the new nearly impossible to distinguish, while still incorporating the updates the homeowners wanted. As you walk around this house, I think you will see that vision was accomplished.”
The current homeowners hired the design firm Southern Ridge to redecorate the house for their family. Wendy Wells and Paige Lee have showcased the owners’ priceless art collection while making the home warm and approachable.
Nancy Creek Road
The owners of this charming shingle country house wanted to create a warm sanctuary for their extended family. They called on Norman Askins and Tammy Connor to make that vision a reality. The house was originally built in 1998 and was renovated in 2006. The whole house renovation involved changing all of the moldings, adding a sunroom and reworking the entrance hall completely to make it more intimate.
Tammy Connor’s interior design work is well-known in the south, and the owners admired houses she decorated. Tammy’s deft use of a soft color palette of blue-greens, soft ivories, tans, browns and grays creates the soothing environment the owners desired. She was able to use all of their furniture from a previous house on Tuxedo Road and add antiques and lighting from sources in Charleston, New Orleans, Birmingham and New York. Connor describes the house as ““soft and comfortable, yet sophisticated.” Perfect execution of the couples’ vision for their home.
Old Ivy Road
This New York Style brownstone townhouse was built in 2006 by the Bentley Group, Ltd. Harrison and Associates designed the handsome townhouses along with another set next door. Interior decorator Judy Bentley and her husband built several other houses together and they knew exactly what they wanted – a more compact style of living that sacrificed none of the beauty and flow of their former residences. In this stunning townhouse Judy Bentley gets to have her cake and eat it too.
The architectural details give it the feel of an old house. Of particular interest is the elaborate stairwell that is a nod to a Bentley family house in Charleston on the Battery. The staircase curves up four stories under a skylight. Judy, whose design business is called Interior Views, decorated the house in her style which she describes as traditional with a large dose of fun. She says: “In terms of style I like tradition but I like for it to have a little twist – even if you do that with accessories or fabrics or a piece of furniture that’s unexpected.” She is a master of color and pattern, texture and trim, and there are many antiques mixed with Chinoisserie wallpaper and gorgeous fabrics. Judy has a passion for Chinoisserie, and there are touches of it in every room.
The terrace at the rear of the house feels like a European garden, with lush greenery and fountains. One would never know from the peaceful setting that Piedmont and Habersham roads are only a short distance away. This is elegant, urban living at its best!
Pinestream Road
Originally sited on 100 acres adjacent to West Paces Ferry Road, this historic Italianate estate was designed by Hentz Reed and Adler and was built in 1923 for the Calhoun family. Neil Reed was the original architect on the project, also known as Trygveson, the pink palace and the pink castle. The name “Trygveson” comes from the Welsh version of the last name of Mary Guy Trigg, wife of Andrew Calhoun, the original owner. Philip Shutze was a junior architect on the project and contributed much of the Italian inspiration for the house. The house was modeled on two Italian villas, Villa Allegri Arvedi and Villa Gori. Neil Reed traveled to Europe with the Calhouns to purchase much of the furniture for the house.
The house stayed in the Calhoun family until 1958, when its owners, Roby and Louise Calhoun Robinson, sold the house to the Thornwell family. The Thornwell family lived there for more than 50 years. When the house was sold to the Thornwells it only included 3-4 acres of land, the rest of the land was sold to developers Gene and Jerry Cates who developed Pinestream and Pinemeadow Rds.
This magnificent estate house was recently purchased by Melanie Turner and Stan Benecki, who are updating the house. Their primary focus on the project is stewardship of the home and preserving its character and history. Melanie and Stan wish to bring the house back to life as a family home and to open the house to the arts and philanthropy communities.
Helen Draper Young 
