Tied to Tradition

“As a designer, I don’t want any room to feel too precious,” interior designer Barbara Westbrook says. “Today, people want to live in every room of the house.” In the living room, seating groups (a mix of custom, Bungalow Classic and B.D. Jeffries pieces) encourage lingering conversation and inviting warmth when family and friends gather.

A smooth stucco exterior with slate and copper roof looks sharp thanks to an Edwin Lutyens–inspired, gently sloping roof. The color palette and materials were just as important as the structure itself, says Historical Concepts’ Terry Pylant, who also notes the soft gray window trim and sashes.

As frequent entertainers, the homeowners relish having both casual and formal dining areas. The buffet was one of Westbrook’s finds from Provenance Antiques. “It’s important to add that layer of texture and character that antiques bring to a space,” she says. The dining chairs are from Bungalow Classic, and the iron chandelier is Paul Ferrante through Ainsworth-Noah.

A shining example of the house’s striking architectural design is the kitchen, where traditional transom windows allow extra light at the room’s high points and unfinished wood ceiling beams and custom cabinetry continue along a strong central axis. The barstools are Restoration Hardware, and the smoked-glass ceiling pendants are by Arteriors through Bungalow Classic.

Handsome with its rich wood finishes, the library is undeniably an evening room in which to curl up with cocktails. Armchairs feature an iridescent alligator-effect fabric and were culled from the clients’ personal belongings. Tufted Chesterfield sofa, Bungalow Classic. Leather-top tray table, Madeline Stuart through Jerry Pair.

Just over the threshold, the kitchen’s contained and cozy dimensions transition quickly to soaring heights, where the vaulted ceiling of the combination family and breakfast room features expertly crafted timber framing. Trestle table, Bungalow Classic. Dining chairs, Restoration Hardware.

Just over the threshold, the kitchen’s contained and cozy dimensions transition quickly to soaring heights, where the vaulted ceiling of the combination family and breakfast room features expertly crafted timber framing. Trestle table, Bungalow Classic. Dining chairs, Restoration Hardware.

Pylant, among other Historical Concepts collaborators, took great care to place the locally crafted, leaded-glass windows at heights appropriate for both maximizing light (allowing sunlight to bounce off the ceiling) and ensuring privacy in the master bathroom. Guests feel secluded but can still enjoy the view. Silverleaf chandelier, Circa Lighting. Basket weave floor tiles, Walker Zanger.

Pylant, among other Historical Concepts collaborators, took great care to place the locally crafted, leaded-glass windows at heights appropriate for both maximizing light (allowing sunlight to bounce off the ceiling) and ensuring privacy in the master bathroom. Guests feel secluded but can still enjoy the view. Silverleaf chandelier, Circa Lighting. Basket weave floor tiles, Walker Zanger.

With the subtle pattern of its custom headboard nearly blending into the soft plaster walls (they have a slightly mottled effect, which adds more depth, Westbrook notes), the quietude of the master bedroom verges on divine. “I always believe that a bedroom should be a retreat and should be restful,” says Westbrook, who layered lots of tactile textures for the bedclothes, including cotton, linen and faux fur. “The [cove] ceiling is so gorgeous in that room that there’s absolutely no reason to hang art over that headboard. The shape itself becomes decorative,” she adds. Bedside table, Bungalow Classic.

The swimming pool is perhaps best enjoyed on a patio bound by a bank of tall windows, which stands opposite the entryway and provides a sightline from the front door to the idyllic backyard, where landscape architects Hooten Land Design Inc. designed the grounds.

When a European couple who spend their summers in southwest France relocated to Atlanta for the school year, they sought a timeless Buckhead dwelling that would reflect the family of five’s global inspirations, discriminating tastes and exacting specifications. Upon deciding to create such a place from scratch, there was only one architecture firm they trusted implicitly to do the job.

Historical Concepts, after all, had fashioned their previous home in the California wine country some 20 years prior. “At the time, no one in the [California] area could design the house he wanted,” says Terry Pylant, the architectural designer who spearheaded the family’s Atlanta project. “He found our work in a magazine and commissioned us from there.”

Faithful to his firm’s reputation, Pylant delivered a structure with both presence and lightness. The family’s floor plan features no unnecessary hallways or corridors, facilitating seamless circulation throughout. Axial relationships between rooms—plus the interior and exterior spaces—are exceptionally strong, and because the house is only one room deep throughout, its rooms receive sunshine on both sides.

On the exterior, a mix of leaded-glass windows makes an equally sharp statement, while a simple roofline recalls Edwin Lutyens’ famed English designs and additional elements reference classical Philip Shutze structures nearby. “It is always important [to us] to create something that adds to the fabric of the setting, to look as though it has been there for decades and to stand the test of time,” Pylant says.

From the precisely set keystone at the entryway (flanked by flickering gas lanterns) to the handsomely engineered ceiling beams and balusters (the homeowner hand-selected the latter in a French foundry to punctuate the three-story staircase), the residence is a concert of graceful architecture and impactful but well-edited accents.

Considering the balance of restraint and detail used for the home’s shell, it was essential that its interior design display complementary deftness. Pylant praises Barbara Westbrook, who signed on during the design development stage, as the “hero” of this project—a particular honor as it was her first collaboration with Historical Concepts.

Beyond her judicious manner of enhancing the neutral palette (outfitting the home with pale Belgian linen upholstery, for example), the designer also nudged the clients toward details they may not have been amenable to otherwise—such as soft plaster walls and the ornate motif on the library ceiling, which contributes a feminine moment to an otherwise masculine room.

“As we looked at historical photographs, we kept seeing these beautiful ceilings on houses of the past that the clients loved,” Westbrook recalls. “It was period details like these that ultimately gave the house its individuality and personality.”

On that note, Westbrook even accessorized the residence almost entirely with items the homeowners had collected along their travels—hand-tooled Moroccan silver, ivory-inlaid objets d’art, old books. “We set out their favorite things on folding tables, then selected and placed them,” she says, “rather than going out to buy everything anew.” The results are collected and instantly classic.

Historical Concepts was just as delighted with the outcome, seeing it as a showpiece of sorts in their hometown. “After working on many national projects, it’s wonderful to have something of this caliber in our own backyard,” Pylant says. Considering the manicured landscape and pool pavilion, something tells us the homeowners share that sentiment.

Barbara Westbrook, Westbrook Interiors (404) 355-9430; westbrookinteriors.com ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Terry Pylant, Historical Concepts (678) 325-6665; historicalconcepts.com