Peter Block On The Park

If Veranda's feature this month of a Jackson Hole collaboration between designer Barbara Barry and architect Peter Block left you wanting more, you'll certainly enjoy this skillful collaboration executed right here in Atlanta.

This new home designed by Peter Block is situated literally across the street from Chastain Park and caught my eye early last year when it was under construction. At the time I wasn't familiar with Peter Block and was pleasantly surprised to see such striking architecture on the Eastern side of Chastain Park. Typically such architecture has been reserved for homes West of the park.

The home was built by Woody King of King Developers. After some research I learned that Woody and his wife, Meridy King - an interior designer, work together on his speculative homes infusing them with unique architectural elements and antiques from their travels in Europe. You may recognize the Kings' name as their personal home recently graced the cover of Atlanta's esteemed Beacham Series. Meridy's work was also featured recently in the October issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles.

Some of the distinctive touches incorporated in this house include floors from a church in England, beams from France, and an iron window from Europe. In the photo above the intricate detail of an iron railing on the house's terrace, which overlooks a creek, stands out. Notice also the rounded French doors. You can't see from the photos in this post, but the home's front door looks through the house all the way out to the back of the house via the doors above. At the far end of this picture is a screened-in porch off of the kitchen.

Another interesting detail of the home is the front door's rounded arch being a continual theme throughout the home.

The photo above affords a sideways view of the hallway that you enter through the front door of the home. As you enter, to the left (straight ahead in the photo) is the kitchen.

The hardwood floor in the front hall is done in a parquet finger pattern with reclaimed wood from a church in England. A detail, which doesn't show up well in the photos, is that many of the walls are done in plaster, adding to the old world charm of the home.

I admire this antique iron window on the third garage bay a few times a week as I pass by the home on regular bicycle rides in the area.

Connecting a side entrance from the home to the third garage bay is this port o'cochere framed in antique beams. If you look closely, you can see remnants of paint from the beams' former lives.

Instead of using a more stereotypical vanity, the Kings opted to use a piece of furniture in the powder room.

I found the unique, chunky limestone fireplace surround to be a nice diversion from the norm as well, adding to the overall authentic European feel of the home.

A view down the main stair way affords a glimpse of the standout architecture of Peter Block.

A final view into the master bathroom gives a glimpse of the upstairs terrace across the back of the home.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of this new Atlanta architectural gem. The home recently sold to its first residents and I understand they are investing a significant amount of money to put on the finishing touches. I'm sure it will be amazing.

Eagerly Anticipating Bobby McAlpine's New Book

A little over a year ago, while researching Atlanta architects, I became aware of Bobby McAlpine (not Atlanta-based) and his eponymous architecture firm: McAlpine Tankersley Architecture. I already had a growing admiration for Keith Summerour's classical architecture with clean lines and was happy to learn of another similarly oriented architect. Upon researching McAlpine, I was immediately taken by his architectural work and that of his interior design firm: McAlpine, Booth and Ferrier. Since then I've become thoroughly enamored with McAlpine's architecture, interior design projects and furniture, devouring all of the details I can find via magazines and his companies' websites.

I was particularly excited when I learned recently of an upcoming book by Bobby McAlpine that is being published by Rizzoli. The book, The Home Within Us: The Romantic Houses of McAlpine Tankersley Architecture, will be released on April 20, 2010. The book will chronicle various houses his architecture firm has designed and assorted projects completed by his interior design firm. Many of the projects are collaborations between the two sister firms and typically feature his furniture designs as well.

An interesting detail I picked up on in the press release for the new book was that McAlpine had already published a book and that the new book was to be the second. I was surprised by that as I didn't believe I had seen any other book by (or about) him and quickly did a search for the previous book.  The search didn't yield any results so I contacted McAlpine's architecture firm to find out where I could pickup a copy of the first book. As it turns out, the first book was produced by the firm specifically for their clients, not as a book you'd purchase at your local bookstore.

The folks at McAlpine's firm generously mailed me a copy of the original book, titled Finding Home. It's clear, from even the simplest things as the packaging that the book was sent in, that the firm exudes style and pays attention to every detail.

The first book elegantly highlights some of McAlpine's signature projects from the past 20 years by way of poem-like short stories. At only 4 inches wide and 6 inches tall, featuring only black and white photographs, the petite book has certainly whetted my appetite for what is to come in the full-sized, (presumably) color second book. I have already put my copy on pre-order with Amazon.

One last thing - no post about an architect would be complete without some pictures of their work. Here are a few select photos of McAlpine's work that I really like. I will follow up later with another post dedicated specifically to McAlpine's architecture and a more comprehensive set of photos.