Beautiful weather and good friends made our trip to Senoia, GA a truly memorable one. We arrived a little before 11:00 AM and had to wait for a few minutes for the Southern Living Idea House, Abercorn Place, to open for tours. If you go, just know it costs $10.00 and they only take cash and checks, no cards. I took a boatload of pictures. In this post I will comment on the grounds, exterior and the top (fourth) floor only.
Here are scenes from the outside:
Well, we first had to visit their "outhouses". This was a cute little free-standing public bathroom in the area behind the town homes. Love that cedar siding!
Behind the bathrooms there is a pond with a fountain and a sidewalk that takes you to a gazebo.
This was the view in the back of the town homes. There are 5 units. The Southern Living Idea House is on the end closest to me, the photographer.
This is the front corner of the Idea House. The wooden gate leads into the courtyard and up onto the covered porch.
These steps in the front of the house lead down to the basement floor.
Now onto the good stuff. After paying for a ticket we were told to ascend the stairs to the open loft level on the fourth floor and begin the tour there. When you first enter that floor you come to a sitting room which looks like a library area with a TV and bar. There is also a round game table. Here are some pictures of that room. The decor colors throughout the home were shades of blues, greens, tans and browns, which just happen to be my faves.
Notice how two area rugs are layered below? One for texture and one for pattern. The oriental rug is from Southern Living Home Collection. www.southernlivingrugstore.com
I'm really lovin' this idea for a wall-mounted flat screen TV. It is framed in a wooden chunky frame! The TV hangs over the bar area. The hanging glass-front storage piece (in next picture) is actually an antique that was taken apart and hung for a creative way to display and add storage.
This is outside on the terrace overlooking the town of Senoia, GA. The SL Idea House Resource Guide says, "the tallest building in Senoia is likely the first-ever Southern Living brownstone project." There is a retractable awning (not shown) for protection from the sun.
As you can see the place was already decorated for Christmas. I am going to wait until later in November to show you more pictures of the Christmas decor and share my favorites.
Down the hall is the happy and lov-er-ly CRAFT ROOM and closet! Oh yeah!
This is the lighting over the work station. Notice how all the trim in this area is painted green? (Sherwin Williams Privilege Green 6193) This is an older decor style that is making a comeback. A really nice touch.
On the backside of the town home and off the craft room is a small landing, called a Meditation Garden. The middle window actually opens for accessing that area. I apologize for the quality of the picture.
Also off the craft room is a full bath.
There were several wall art galleries that were spectacular. The following hangs in the stairwell overlooking the fourth floor. These were from Larson-Juhl & Artaissance.
Finally, the view headed to the third floor, where all the bedrooms are.
Our trip to Abercorn Place had been on the calendar for a while and I was really looking forward to it. I have to say that it exceeded my expectations. I loved it. My thought is that I would rather have that house with all the beautiful decor and design elements on a large piece of land instead of sharing it with other homeowners. Hey, if I am dreaming I am going to go for it. :-)
If you live within a few hours drive I would say, you gotta go see it! Tours are through the end of 2010. Plan to tour the town of Senoia too. Lunchin', shoppin' and tourin' was on our agenda as well. Sites for you to learn more:
2010 Georgia Idea House
Senoia, GA
Well, there is much more to come. In Part Two I will share pictures from the third floor. Stay tuned!
Thanks for stopping by. Libby
