A Classic Buckhead Residence Gets a Modern-Day Refresh With Color, Depth & Texture

A Sanderson wallpaper adds interest to the formal dining room, as does Fabric Giant drapery, made by Home Accent Inc. and featuring a Schumacher trim. The chandelier is Visual Comfort & Co. and the dining chairs are Ballard Designs.

A console table and mirror from Scott Antique Markets add layers of history to the dining room.

t A watercolor wallpaper from Sanderson adds pattern and color to the downstairs powder room. The mirror is WebbMarsteller Designs.

Architect Norman Askins transformed the foyer of this Buckhead home by raising the ceilings, adding windows, refreshing the stair railing, and replacing the front door. The rug is Kaleen Carpet through Myers Carpet.

To create contrast with the adjoining foyer, designers Mandy Lowry and Holly Bradford painted the living room Farrow & Ball’s Peignor in a lacquer finish. The four swivel chairs are Highland House and the drapery is Koeppel Textiles through Ernest Gaspard and made by Home Accent Inc.

A swivel chair from Highland House and a drink table from Huff Harrington create a moment of repose in front of the living room fireplace. The artwork is by Alexis Walter and the sconces are Vaughan Designs.

A coffee table from the homeowners’ own collection anchors the living room’s seating area.

Barstools from Ballard Designs sidle up to Carrara marble countertops in the kitchen. The pendant lights are Visual Comfort & Co. and the hardware is Rocky Mountain Hardware.

Barstools from Ballard Designs sidle up to Carrara marble countertops in the kitchen. The pendant lights are Visual Comfort & Co. and the hardware is Rocky Mountain Hardware.

The design team transformed what was originally a sitting room into a family-friendly breakfast room. A dining table from the clients’ own collection anchors the space, along with dining chairs from Mainly Baskets. Botanical artwork by Lulie Wallace set the tone for the room’s color scheme.

The breakfast room opens to the kitchen, living room, and family room, making it a central space where the family can gather for cozy meals in front of the fireplace.

In the family room, a sofa from Highland House creates a comfortable place for the family to lounge. Artwork by Renee Bouchon through Gregg Irby Gallery provides contrast to the Holland & Sherry wallpaper.

A nook in the family room lends itself to game nights, weeknight dinners, and casual family time. The round table is Made Goods and the benches are from Celadon, upholstered in a Morris & Co. fabric through Travis & Company. The artwork is by Lindsay Von Art.

Shades of blue ensconce the primary bedroom, which is painted Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light. The bedding and pillows are Gramercy and the rug is Myers Carpet.

Drapery from Textiles by Smith and Lulie Wallace add softness to the daughter’s bedroom. The headboard is covered in a Pindler fabric and the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Calluna.

A Thibaut floral wallpaper makes an impact in the daughter’s bathroom.

Askins added a dormer to an upstairs lounge, which dramatically brightened the area and made it more usable for the homeowners. The colored prints on the walls are antiques from the husband’s mother’s collection.

When the opportunity presented itself to purchase a home in their dream neighborhood—a quiet, family-friendly enclave in Buckhead—a young family of four jumped at the chance. Though they were in love with the home’s location, the residence, a 1960s ranch home, called for a few improvements to better suit the family’s personalities and busy lifestyle.

Fortunately, this presented the couple with another opportunity. Having been longtime admirers of his work, they enlisted esteemed Atlanta architect Norman Askins to give their home a new life. They also tapped the interior design talents of Mandy Lowry and Holly Bradford, the duo behind Bradford Lowry Interiors.

“They wanted to upgrade the look of the house because it was very horizontal and very low,” explains Askins, who added height by raising the roofline and opening up the foyer, which also flooded the home with natural light. On the exterior, Askins created a proper portico, rearranged and resized columns, and added dormer windows and faux chimneys to create classic symmetry.

Inside, Askins added character with charming architectural elements, including arches in the entry hall, a new stair railing, round windows, and arched niches in the family room.

To accentuate Askins’ work, Lowry and Bradford layered shades of blue, coral, blush, and green throughout, opting for richer and deeper shades in the home’s more central spaces. “We knew we needed to highlight the beautiful, now-light foyer and that what we needed beyond that foyer was depth of color,” explains Lowry. “The wife said, ‘Please take me out of my comfort zone of blue and white.’ And the husband said, ‘Please bring us color, depth, and texture.’”

“It had to be super functional and beautiful, but it also had to withstand being loved and worn by the family,” adds Bradford. This is particularly evident in spaces such as the family room, where the design team added a bar area and game nook. Askins also suggested transforming a sitting room into a more functional breakfast room, which now serves as a family-friendly gathering space.

Likewise, a color-filled lounge upstairs serves as another landing spot for the family to spend time together. The addition of a dormer adds light and height, making it more functional and visually appealing.

And the collaboration paid off. “Mandy and Holly were absolutely amazing; we worked with them closely and were on the same page throughout the project,” says Askins. “The house lives even better than it did before.”

INTERIOR DESIGN Holly Bradford and Mandy Lowry, Bradford Lowry Interiors; bradfordlowryinteriors.com ARCHITECT Norman Askins, Norman Davenport Askins, Architect, (404) 233-6565; normanaskins.com PROJECT MANAGER Daniel Witt, Norman Davenport Askins, Architect, (404) 233-6565; normanaskins.com landscape ARCHITECT Jonathan Bussell, Jonathan Bussell Landscape Architect, (404) 805-1817; jonathanbussell.com CONTRACTOR Neal Gasaway, Gasaway Homes