House of the Week

Hentz, Reid and Adler's Vaughn Nixon house




This has been my very favorite Atlanta house for my entire life. I remember driving by it as a child and thinking this was the perfect house. It sits on Andrews Drive next to the Swan House (Inman house) and is situated in an idyllic setting.

The house was built in 1925-6 for Vaughn Nixon and is one of Neel Reid's last designs - he was dying of brain cancer as the house was completed. It was Neel Reid's homage to the Hammond-Harwood house in Annapolis, Maryland. The Hammond-Harwood house is one of the primary landmarks of colonial American Georgian architecture. The Vaughn Nixon house is not a copy, but was inspired by the Hammond-Harwood house, which was in turn inspired by the Villa Pisani pictured below.




Hammond-Harwood house


Villa Pisani

Of particular inspiration for Reid was the facade and front door, pictured below:




(Please ignore the Halloween decorations on the railing - now you know when I took the photo :))

Here is another Reid facade (Logan Clarke house in Brookwood Hills, 1922) that resembles Hammond-Harwood:



I am thankful to my architect, Brad Heppner, for my Federal style front door - which is not dissimilar to the Georgian doorways above. My entrance has an open pediment, which is common in the Federal or Adams style.



Perhaps Brad was inspired by a federal door like this one:



or this one:




You can click on any of the images to enlarge them.

Brad Heppner/Amy Morris House on the Cover of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

This Brad Heppner designed house is on the cover of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles. If you remember, I am a big Brad Heppner fan - he designed my house. Terry over at the Architecture Tourist wrote about this fascinating house right after it was finished at the end of 2009. To visit Brad's website click here.



Brad is coming by my house for a visit today - I'm looking forward to hearing about his new projects.

images courtesy of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles, photography by Erica George Dines

Brookwood Hills Brad Heppner Renovation

We swim at Brookwood Hills pool. So for three glorious months every summer I get to drive around this beautiful intown neighborhood that was developed in the 1920's by Benjamin Franklin Burdett and his son, Arthur. Besides my own neighborhood (Peachtree Heights East also known as the Duck Pond neighborhood), Brookwood Hills and Ansley Park are my favorite Atlanta neighborhoods. I like the dense urban feel and the lack of yard work!

All of last summer I watched the progress of a Brad Heppner renovation in Brookwood Hills. The house has special meaning to me because my aunt and uncle lived in the house most of my childhood. The best wedding party we had was at this house after our wedding (if you're planning a wedding I highly recommend this idea - which is to keep entertaining the out of town guests). Everyone is so relaxed and all of the pressure is gone.

Anyway, back to Brookwood Hills. Yesterday, I drove past the renovation and it was complete. I couldn't resist taking photos. The house began it's life as a modest four over four with a center hall. When my aunt and uncle lived there it had an addition on the back with a kitchen, family room and master bedroom. Today, there is actually more usable outdoor space than before the renovation. There is a grassy courtyard that you can see in the pictures below and also another courtyard behind the new garage. The kitchen, keeping room and new family room open onto it. Despite the fact that the house takes up a good bit of the lot, I think it is well situated and blends in nicely. (Full disclosure, they have more green space than I do now).

A Beautiful Atlanta House...Please come inside!

A few weeks ago Jane Douglas co-hosted an event at this beautiful home. As she described the fabulous kitchen to me, she mentioned that the architect on the renovation was Brad Heppner, who was our architect when we built our house in 2007. The delightful owner agreed that we could come and take photos of the kitchen for a post on Brad Heppner kitchens. So, we were surprised and glad to see the post on the exterior of the house yesterday at Things That Inspire. Please come with us as we take a peak inside this truly fantastic kitchen.



The house was totally renovated in 2007-08. The charming owner told me yesterday that every room was touched in the renovation. The kitchen is of course completely new and the use of space is brilliant. The first thing that struck me when I walked in was the color. It's a warm beigey-gray called revere pewter (Benjamin Moore). It looks great with the honed carrera marble counter tops. The inset cabinets have elegant hardware that also complements the color.



There are two islands, both topped with honed marble, but each has a different base. One base matches the cabinetry, the other is meant to look like furniture.





This kitchen works hard and looks beautiful. Look at all of the counter space where a cook can work. The stove is impressive and well placed in its environment. There is a sink under the casement windows and another on the island next to the stove. This is a family kitchen that can handle many people working at once.



But what makes this kitchen soar above most is the attention to detail in the cabinetry and the surprise baking kitchen placed behind the main kitchen. There are two refrigerators in the main kitchen with this classic bookcase in the middle.


Two refrigerators on either side of the bookcase with elliptical arch



Another great feature of this kitchen that Brad Heppner likes to use in his kitchen design is drawers below the counter tops with few cabinets down low.



I have this in my own kitchen and it works beautifully. The drawers hold so much and the items inside are easy to access. Below are two photos of my Brad Heppner kitchen.





You can also see the prevalence of drawers in this Brad Heppner kitchen below, that was featured in the Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles kitchen contest.

Photo courtesy of Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles blog, Bradley Heppner architect, Amy Morris Interior Design


Our absolutely favorite part of this amazing space is the baking kitchen. It is located to the left of the stove through this doorway...



It has its own sink, two ovens, a movable marble island and stunning shelves! A kitchen within a kitchen.

The baking kitchen -





Are you swooning yet? If not, this butler's pantry between the kitchen and dining room will do the trick.











Third photo below is the Butler's pantry that Brad Heppner designed for the award winning kitchen featured in Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles.



A few details from the outside of the house.
The garage


View from the breakfast room door




A HUGE thank you to the fabulous homeowner who so graciously welcomed us and shared her home!


Unless specified otherwise, photos by Whitehaven