The Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia: Tour the Outdoor "Rooms"

Hi Everyone! Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

I mentioned in my last post that I'm getting ready to take my son's old room apart and turn it into an office space for me. It's an emotional renovation and will be difficult in the beginning, but once all the furniture is out of the room and safely stored, the hardest part will be over.

When he graduated from high school and went off to UGA, they told the parents during the orientation meeting that it's best to not immediately disassemble your child's room because when they come home for a weekend or a holiday, it is reassuring for them to see it is still the way they left it. Well, that was 9 years ago. He has graduated from UGA and is in his last semester of law school. When he comes home for holidays, he always sleeps in either the guest room or the upstairs family room (the sofa is a sleeper) because those beds are much larger than the twin beds in his old room. He hasn't slept in his room in years. He is totally fine with Mom remodeling his old room. It appears Mom is the one who is a bit sad about it. I miss my little boy but I am proud of him and proud of the man he has become. So, it's time to move forward.

My son and his fiance have said they would be interested in having his old bedroom furniture for a spare bedroom. Do you ever wish you could slow time down...keep them little and with us a little longer? But taking his old room apart means his Dad and I have "raised him right," as we say in the south. He is grown and no longer dependent on us and isn't that what you ultimately strive to do for your children...raise them to be independent? He is a man, but in my heart he will always be my little boy. Always.

So, on Monday I will share more pics of his room before it is taken apart. Then I'll share the dilemma I've been having regarding how I will decorate it and furnish it. It will be interesting to hear your thoughts and opinions.


Southern Living Idea House:

For today I'm sharing the last of the Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia.
Can you believe after 5 posts I still haven't shared all of that wonderful home? Today I'm sharing the outdoor spaces.

Builders are really catching on. They apparently have gotten the message that we really like having outdoor "rooms" to hang out in with our families and for entertaining. Let's take a tour of all the outdoor spaces of this Idea House. There are quite a few so put on your good walking shoes.

This home is described on the Southern Living Idea House site as a "handsome brownstone." It is said to "display all the presence of an 1800’s Federal townhouse, complete with a stucco-over-masonry ground level scored to resemble rusticated limestone blocks, and a raised, classically detailed entry way of cast stone."

After parking our car, this was the view of the side of the Idea House:




And here's the front of the home all decorated for Christmas with wreaths on the windows. The Idea House has a porch on the side, as well as a courtyard.




I'll be taking you out on that porch and into the courtyard behind the brick wall today in our tour of all the outside spaces. :)




You may remember, I toured this home a few weeks after it had been decorated for the holidays. Many of the decorations were a bit passed their prime. Don't you just love those adorable doggies.




This was the front door(s)...decorated with preserved boxwood wreaths.





This balcony/porch was off of the "Entertainment Room." (You can view that room in THIS post.) This house was truly huge...4 stories! This is not one of the outdoor spaces you saw in the first pics of this post...we'll get to those in just a minute. This is the view looking down this porch standing at one end. Behind me was....





A Big Green Egg grill and another seating area.




Now here's what really caught my eye out here. Take a look at the awning over this porch. It's apparently designed to extend out when needed...like during a rainy or very hot day. Pretty cool, huh? This is a great feature to have on a patio or balcony area.




This next outdoor "room" was located immediately off the upstairs living room....also visible in THIS previous post. Here's one end...




And here's the other end. Isn't it interesting that the designer chose a bench for one side of the table? See the room there at the end with the Christmas tree showing in the window. That's the Keeping Room. If you'd like to see more of that room and the gorgeous mantel decorated for Christmas, visit THIS previous post.




I just couldn't believe how many outdoor spaces this home had. The family room was actually located on the terrace (basement) level.

Just off the family room was a brick terrace...could this be called a lanai? Okay, I looked up the word "lanai" and the definition is: "veranda or roofed patio often furnished and used as a living room." So, basically a lanai is a patio with a roof overhead. I guess we would be correct in calling this a lanai, but patio works, too. :) Anyway, it was really large as you can see in this pic. This section is a part of the area that's located behind the brick wall...the wall we saw in the first pics of this post. Ummm, I wonder what those things are on the ceiling...never noticed those until now. Could they be heaters for winter time? Or, perhaps they are fans? Or, maybe they are lights? Your guess is as good as mine. Anyone know? Update: You guys think they are speakers and I think you are right! Good guess!




Here is an interesting idea for a fountain you are no longer using for its original purpose. Turn it into a large planter.




Do you see what's down at the end? Let's move a bit closer...




It's one of those swings that's designed like a bed...and it is definitely large enough for some serious napping.




You can just see into the terrace level family room from here. If you'd like to see more of the downstairs family room, click HERE for that post.




If you walked off the patio/lanai, you would find yourself in the courtyard. All of this is hidden behind the brick walls you saw in the beginning of this post. Note the doggie house behind the seating area.




A little close-up...



This photo is from the Southern Living website...



Looking across the seating area from a different angle, we see another neat little feature.




It's a potting bench partially sheltered from overhead.




It even has a built-in sink.




If you walked out of the courtyard and around back, this would be your view.




Just plain lovely.



Sometime soon I'll post pics from the whole house so you can see them all together. That will be a whopper post...I'll have to whittle down the pics to a manageable bunch. If you missed the post showing the kitchen and dining room of this home, you'll find that post HERE. And if you'd like to tour the Master Bedroom, Child's Room and a Nursery, along with baths and closets, click HERE. Have a fabulous weekend!

Abercorn Place: Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia

While we continue enjoying Jennifer's wonderful kitchen renovation and all the fabulous "Before and Afters" linked for yesterday's Met Monday, lets take a little tour of some more of the rooms in Abercorn Place, this year's Southern Living Idea House in Senoia, Georgia. I've been sharing the rooms in this 4 story home over the last few weeks and today we're touring three rooms: the Living Room, the Entertainment Room and the adorable Craft Room the designer created out of a very small bedroom.




Living Room:

Let's start in the living room...it has a bit of "library" feel with all the wonderful built-in shelving.




Here's a photo from the Southern Living Idea House site. All the smaller photos you'll see today are from their online site.




The designer chose to decorate this room in soft blues and greens which he felt reflected the landscape of Senoia since it's a rural area. The mantel over the fire place looks so small doesn't it? Wait until you see it decorated for Christmas!




Here's the same mantel decorated at Christmastime. Looks huge here, doesn't it?




Here's how the mantel looked the day I toured the home...not so fresh anymore. It's interesting to compare it to when it was first decorated a few weeks before. In case you are wondering, this mantel in this room is not the same mantel I shared in THIS post. The mantel I shared previously was in the Keeping Room off of the kitchen.




Entertainment Room:

This is the upstairs "Entertainment Room." This room was designed as a getaway/entertaining spot for the adults in the home. The children have their own place for entertaining friends in the family room down on the terrace level. This space has some really neat features that really wouldn't be too difficult to incorporate into your average home.





I took this pic and I'm not sure why I focused it so low. Perhaps I was trying to get a photo showing how the designer layered the rugs. Note the furniture piece in the corner of the room. It is designed specifically for the storage of wine.




Here's another view of this room from Southern Living online. You may recall from my previous posts, I wasn't able to get many full room pics due to the large number of folks touring the house this day. Thankfully, I was able to find some pics online to share showing larger views.




This room has a small bar area. The designer placed lawyer or barrister bookshelves on the wall for the storage of the wine glasses. I'm not sure if I like this idea because those cabinets open up by the glass front sliding inside the cabinet across the top of whatever is inside. You would have to make sure your wine glasses were not even a smidgen too tall for this to work. They do look great, though!




Under the counter hidden behind closed panels you'll find a wine cooler, an ice maker and a small refrigerator. Perfect for a room designed for entertaining.




This is kind of a neat idea. The designer framed the t.v. on the wall behind the bar to make it feel more like art when it wasn't in use.



A view of the other side of this room. I'm not too crazy about the color green chosen for the walls...but otherwise, I do like this room. Actually, looking back at the photo I took, I loved the color of the walls in my photo. This photo below is from the SL site and the green looks very different, doesn't it?




Craft Room:

Now for the Craft Room...this is a pretty cool idea. The designer felt this small bedroom was really too small to be used as a bedroom, so he turned it into a Craft Room.





The stool is designed to look like a giant spool of thread. :)



Check out the closet off of the Craft Room...lots of custom made cabinetry designed with crafting in mind.



So what do you think about the spaces you toured today? Did you like the Entertainment Room? How about the Craft Closet? I can't wait to show you all the outdoor "rooms" in an upcoming post. I think you're going to love all those wonderful spaces...I know I did! :)

Southern Living Idea House in Senoia Georgia: Bedrooms and Baths

Merry Christmas, Eve! While we continue enjoying all the beautiful tablescapes posted for Tablescape Thursday, here are a few more rooms in the Southern Living Idea House I toured several weeks ago.

This was the Master Bedroom. The colors were really soft and soothing...very warm.



I was really curious about how the lamps were mounted above the bed...so I spread the fabric apart to see. Here's the best pic I could capture in case you were wondering, too.




Love, love, love the secretary! The door there on the right leads to the master bath.




Here's the view looking back at the bed...this pic is from Southern Living, online.




And here's the Master Bath. Notice how the sink is designed to look like an old dresser or piece of furniture. Beautiful mirror! You can just see the built-ins inside the master closet in this pic. How about a look inside?




The master closet...


More of the Master Bath area...I was intrigued with the tub and how it sort of fit down into the cabinetry around it.


So I took a close up to share with you in case you were curious how it looked, too. The cabinetry was literally cut to fit around the shape of the tub.




This was one of the children's bedrooms in the home...




Another view... It was impossible to get full views of rooms...people were everywhere!




This bathroom was located between the bedroom you just saw and a nursery...coming up next. :) I had to rush to get all the pics because people were entering and exiting the rooms all the time. I really wish I could have captured more full-room pics for you. Oh well, this is better than nothing, right? :)




Cute nursery! I managed to catch this room with no one in it. I really loved all the bright colors in this home. After so many tours in the past years of new homes/model homes with bland, neutral, beige interiors, it's was wonderful to see lots of color in rooms again.




Another bath in the home...cute cabinet and...WAIT. JUST. A. MINUTE! Hold the Presses! It's a shiny brass mirror! Can you believe it??? It makes me happy to see some polished brass in a Southern Living Idea House. There's hope! My home just may be back in style again one day. ;) Wallpaper and a brass mirror! It is sort of funny/interesting to see a modern "vessel sink" in a bathroom with wallpaper and a brass mirror, isn't it?


Hope you enjoyed this part of the tour and I hope you're having a wonderful holiday with your family!