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: Salmon Residence
Location: 2889 Salmon Avenue, Atlanta GA 30317
Architect: Jordache K. Avery of XMETRICAL
General Contractor: Modern by Jr. McDowell
Interior Design: XMETRICAL & Kristen Brown
Landscape: Paradise Landscaping
Square Footage: 2,000 sq ft.
3 bed, 3.5 bath
2 levels:
– bedroom, bathroom, storage space, carport
– living, dining, 1/2 bath, kitchen, two decks, bedroom & bath, master bedroom & bath
To me, the most modern element of this home is the exterior. The panel siding choice, the overhang flat roof clad in wood, the tall storefront entryway windows, the metal stair railings, the boxy protrusions clad in different materials, and the “cantilevered look” to the carport area.
The home owners disclosed the amount it cost to construct this home. (For privacy, I’m not going to say the amount). But, it was a good thing to keep in mind when looking at finishings compared to larger, more expensive homes on the tour. For example, cinderblock was kept exposed but painted… and regular painted pine boards were used for the red front deck (a more exotic hard wood like Ipe has been used on other modern homes in the past… or even a more common wood like cedar was not used in this case.)
Steps up to the main level and down to the lower level. (The lower handrail was just temporarily missing, in case you were wondering). Since we had been looking into handrails, those metal rails & cables are a more expensive choice (compared to wood). I think its about choosing what matters – what will maintain a modern look and impact – when it comes to budget choices. Oak floors were a common choice in all but the most expensive homes on the tour (which had walnut).
Down to the lower level first. It had one bedroom and a bathroom with stained cement floors. Even though this space was above grade, in person, it really felt like a basement. Notice the simple baseboards and no moulding around the windows (which is more difficult to accomplish & modern).
I wouldn’t say this bathroom is modern, per se, just current. Love that Ikea floor mat – we have one – so nice on the toes.
At the top of the stairs on the main level: The space was divided by an accent wall. (A home on the tour had a similar wall last year). The door to the left is a half bathroom, the door on the right leads to a patio and in the background, beyond the accent wall, you can see the living space in the back left.
The patio that was on the right. The fence/wall was a nice height for privacy.
Moving past the accent wall into the living room and kitchen:
Another view looking back toward the front of the house:
Toward the middle of the home… a second porch and hallway leading to bedrooms on the right. Check out that full wall of metal framed, storefront windows overlooking the porch (the wall maintains privacy) and the clerestory window above the tv.
Looking down the hallway, at this point we had already passed the first upstairs bedroom door, which was on the right. I think those double doors in the hall might have been the laundry closet.
The first bedroom (used as an office) with private bathroom:
At the end of the hall is the master bedroom:
…with fairly large attached master bath:
Back at the front of the house, taking a better look at the foyer stairwell:
A detailed look a the cable railing system:
Cinder block with every other line of mortar troweled out to add another layer of detail:
Old power line glass insulators as kitchen cabinet lighting:
The home owners were very nice: they were candid and answered our questions about their home. So, basically it turns out the amount that they spent on this home (for the land and construction) makes this a good representation of what we would have been able to afford/build if we had done so. A few similarities was the fact that there would have been no garage (this home has a carport), the square footage, style, and price.
Unfortunately, when touring the house, it felt like a 2 bedroom/ 2.5 bath house… I kept forgetting about the lower level (which had an additional bedroom & bath). Due to the location of this part of the space, the house just felt smaller than it actually was. I still think 2,000 sq. ft. is a good amount of space though. Yet again, this is a good reflection of what one builder was trying to suggest to us (in order to build our modern house)… a “garden level” master bedroom. With out getting into too much detail, they basically took our design and designed a different house: they made it a one story building with a “garden level” aka basement master suite. That wasn’t cutting it – they were trying to make a smaller house and count the basement as livable area – we were not too happy about that. Anyway, long story short – we never purchased land & obviously wouldn’t have hired that builder if we had gotten a lot. Back to the tour house: it did have a bedroom & bath on the lower level – a level that was not at all underground…. but, again, really felt like it was when you were inside.
This home had elements of modern: especially on the exterior. The foyer was grand and impressive, but felt large for the rest of the space… I think it had to do with ceiling height… not that the foyer could have had a smaller footprint, the two story ceilings & windows made it feel big while the rest of the home had standard 8 ft. ceilings. Overall, it was a cool space that made for a great personal comparison – it was lovely to tour!