The Modern Atlanta Home Tour is a two day self-guided tour of homes in Atlanta. The architecture tour is mostly private residences, but occasionally a few commercial buildings are featured. It is usually held on a weekend in mid June – MA was founded in 2007. The tour is the finale of “Design is Human Week” – a week of speakers and events focusing on design, sustainability, and innovation.
Project name: 194 Pearl
Location: 194 Pearl St. SE, Atlanta, Ga 30316
Architect: Brian Ahern & Jeff Darby of Darby Construction
Year Completed: 2012-2013
Square Footage: 2,100 sq ft.
Construction time: five months
194 Pearl is part of a set of three homes on the tour by the same architect: Described as “baby moderns” – all feature open living spaces & “unexpected” exterior spaces in common. 3 bed room, 3 1/2 bath. The tour book specifically sites: spray foam insulation and aluminum windows for energy efficiency. To create a modern aesthetic the houses use variable ceiling levels, flat roofs, concrete floors on the main level, random-width oak floors & minimal interior trim. Cementitious panels are used on the exterior. Local trades people sourced readily available materials, “making each home unique”. Each home boasts a “european kitchen”…. (aka, Ikea.) None of the homes had garages. 194 Pearl is unique in the fact that it has two exterior spaces: one, in the form of a ground-level patio area and the second, is in the form of a roofed deck.
Metal step detail as you enter the house. (184 Pearl in the background.)
View of the dining room, kitchen, and living room from the door. I like that there is a slender window that lets light into the room over by the book stand – it adds dimension to the room & seems to have no other purpose than a design element.
Looking back toward the door from the living room. The stairs to the second floor face the red front door. On this level – along the grey wall, behind the kitchen: the half bath, first bedroom, & a full bathroom.
All Ikea high gloss white cabinets with what looks like a plywood surround.
The first bedroom tucked behind the kitchen area. To the right of this room is the first full bath.
The half bath tucked under the stairs. The first dark paint I have seen on the tour. Abstrakt high gloss grey doors with a red re-stiched/re-dyed rug.
Up to the second floor: oak treads, white risers, with a square bullnose.
The landing/hall area at the top of the stairs. Closed mystery doors in the hall, the master bedroom is to the left, all other rooms are to the right.
The master bedroom features a full wall of windows.
View of the back patio from the master bedroom. You can see 200 Pearl next door & some older homes in the distance. On the right of the image, the roof deck is barely visible. Also, notice how the white stucco portion of the house wraps around and off sets the grey paneled area. The wall turns and creates the first step down onto the wooden landing for the patio.
Master bath: the same finishings as 184 Pearl – except this bathroom has a big skylight.
Third bedroom (to the right at the top of the stairs.) The horizontal window was a reminder that this room was a little different than a typical bedroom.
Another bathroom. I think this bathroom was accessible from the last bedroom, but it could have been the hall. The clerestory window lets in enough light, yet provides privacy.
Past the third bedroom is the covered roof deck. It is described as an “all season” deck – The roof and partitions make it feel cozy and protected from most of the elements. It really does feel like just a great bonus space. I overheard someone comment “This is what sells it.” With being so close to the neighbors, this space does seem very private.
Looking back from the opposite corner towards the third bedroom window and hall leading back to the stairs.
View of the backyard from the second floor deck. The upper large window belongs to the master bedroom. The kitchen island can be seen through the ground level window. I really like the spacing of the cement “blocks” with the slate chips.
Bay far, the highlights of this home was the two exterior spaces. I include both because, not only was the second story deck lovely, but fining a level lot in Atlanta for this kind of patio is near impossible. Even though 194 pearl is 2,100 sq ft. and 184 Pearl was 2,150, this house definitely felt smaller. The placement of the office/bedroom in this house is toward the back of the home, where as many other homes on the tour (like 184 Pearl) had the first bedroom/office at the front. I think this contributed to the house feeling smaller than it was, because you didn’t walk past a room and mentally check off that space. It was nice, however, to skip an entry hall & walk straight into the main living space though. In addition, compared to 184, the upper hall felt more cramped: less window light & chunkier drywall partition at the top of the stairs were factors.