Where We Build

Craftsman bungalows and cottages built mostly in the 1910s and 1920s, on lots that are narrower than they are deep. Almost nothing here can grow sideways, so the work is usually a rear addition, a second story, or a smarter plan inside the existing footprint. The compact original bathrooms and closed-off kitchens are the two things we get called about most.

Morningside and Lenox Park are largely 1920s through 1940s: Tudors, English cottages, and traditional two-stories, on bigger lots with mature trees and, very often, a backyard that slopes. That grade is an opportunity. Several of our best outdoor living projects here started with a yard nobody could comfortably use.

Olmsted-planned, with early 1900s homes built to a scale and level of detail that is rare anywhere in the city. Large lots, deep setbacks, and a great deal of original millwork, plaster, and window detail worth preserving. Much of the area sits within a historic district, so exterior work carries a design review step. We plan for that in the schedule rather than discovering it.

Atlanta’s first suburb, and it shows. Victorians from the 1890s with turrets, wraparound porches, and interior detail that cannot be bought new. Renovating here is a preservation exercise as much as a construction one, and the goal is nearly always modern systems and a modern kitchen inside a house that still reads as what it is. Historic district review applies to much of the neighborhood.

Bungalows and Craftsman cottages, close cousins of Virginia-Highland but often a bit smaller and with a bit more room behind them. Deep rear lots make this good territory for a rear addition or a detached garage with space above it. Small original kitchens at the back of the house are the recurring theme.

A mix, and the mix is what makes it interesting. Bungalows near the square, and then street after street of 1950s and 1960s brick ranches, which is the single best housing stock in Atlanta for a second-story addition. Solid foundations, simple roof structures, and a footprint that supports a full second floor. Our Modern Transformation project took a 1960s Decatur ranch up a story without the owners ever moving out.

Larger traditional homes, plus a substantial stock of mid-century ranches on generous lots. The lot sizes here mean building out is genuinely an option rather than a theory, and the scale of the houses supports whole-home work: ceilings raised, main floors rebuilt, and additions that double the square footage. Two of our 9-month projects were Buckhead houses.

Two very different kinds of project. The historic houses on the residential streets, mostly early 1900s and often in a landmark district, and the high-rise condominiums, where the renovation is straightforward but the logistics are not. Building approvals, freight elevator scheduling, restricted work hours, and no place to park a dumpster all have to be planned around. We do both.

Craftsman bungalows and cottages from the 1910s and 1920s on lots that are often deeper than they look, frequently with alley access at the rear. That combination makes Kirkwood one of the better neighborhoods intown for a detached garage with a suite above it. Many houses here have already had one round of renovation, so part of our work is undoing what someone else did in 1998.

Victorians and Craftsman houses around the park, many of them narrow, tall, and detailed. Much of the neighborhood is a historic district, so exterior changes go through review. The interior challenge is usually the same one: a long, narrow floor plan with rooms strung down one side and a kitchen tacked on the back.

The most varied housing stock on this list. Historic cottages and shotgun houses sit next to new infill construction and converted industrial buildings, all of it now shaped by the Beltline. Older houses here often carry decades of partial, unpermitted work, so our first job is frequently figuring out what is actually there before deciding what to do about it.

Bungalows, small-scale multifamily, and one of the most walkable pockets in the city, tucked between Ponce and the Beltline. Compact houses on compact lots, which puts a premium on floor plans that use every square foot. This is also our own neighborhood: our office is on Ponce, a few minutes from most of the houses here.

Later housing stock than the rest of this list: 1960s through 1980s ranches, split-levels, and brick traditionals on large, wooded, often sloping lots. Split-levels in particular respond well to renovation because there is usually more room to reconfigure than the original plan suggests. The lot sizes also make additions and real outdoor living projects straightforward.

Early 1900s homes on curving streets built around a series of small parks, and one of the most architecturally consistent neighborhoods in the city. The houses are grand, the detail is original, and the expectation on any renovation is that new work is indistinguishable from old. Wide, deliberate lots leave room for additions that do not crowd the street presence.

Historic Brookhaven’s 1920s through 1940s traditional homes, plus a large stock of mid-century ranches on the surrounding streets, many on flat lots with room to spare. Like Decatur, it is strong territory for building up. The ranches here have the foundations and the footprint to support a second story, and the lots are wide enough that a rear addition is often the easier answer.