Glass walls and pocket gardens blur the lines between inside and outside in this Buckhead home
By Betsy Riley,
25 days ago
Ipe overhangs, hand-troweled stucco, and grassy terraced gardens soften the home’s dramatic angles.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
Frank Lloyd Wright is credited with coining the phrase “organic architecture,” which blends modern design and natural elements. He famously said, “The good building is not one that hurts the landscape, but one which makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before the building was built.”
Whitney chose a Tom Dixon blown-glass light fixture for the foyer because of its imperfect, organic feel. Likewise, concrete panels above the see-through fireplace were deliberately placed in an abstract pattern. Whitney directed the installers carefully. “I stood there, and they hated me very much,” she says with a laugh.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
Organic materials such as glass, wood, concrete, and stone were used throughout the home to emphasize its connection with nature. Ipe ceilings flow from inside to out. The foyer ends with a glass wall and pocket garden that create the illusion of one continuous space.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
Architect Scott West channeled Wright’s philosophy when designing this Buckhead house for a family of four. He used natural materials like wood, stone, and concrete throughout the structure. Ipe ceilings stretch across glass transom windows and out above the terrace. Marble with dramatic veining functions as art. Glass-walled “pocket gardens” are tucked into the entry, primary suite, and even the basement garage to add organic texture. And, most dramatically, a 40-foot-long wall of retractable glass panels stretches across the entire back of the house, literally erasing the line between indoors and out.
A spectacular 40-foot wall of sliding glass panels by Otiima USA opens to the pool area. When installed, it was the largest such wall in the U.S. Opening the glass panels turns the living room and patio into one space.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
A sleek Poliform kitchen runs through the middle of the house. Although the owners considered manmade surfaces, they ultimately preferred the vibrancy of real marble. The bookmatched stone makes a statement like a piece of art, says Whitney.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
“The way the house flows from one room to the next and also to the outside, it feels like one continuous space,” says project designer Whitney Ray of Wyeth Ray Interiors. “You have to walk through the spine of the house to get to any other part, so the family uses the entire home.”
From a practical standpoint, the owners craved a single-floor lifestyle. They had lived in a four-story townhouse when their children, now teenagers, were born. “We had always said that if we were ever able to build our own home, we wanted a ranch,” says the wife. Another benefit is that the expansive space allows for a subterranean garage large enough to accommodate the owners’ sports car collection.
A double trough marble sink appears to float in the primary bath.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
Calacatta Viola marble stars in the primary bathroom, while black cork walls provide subtle texture. Light pours into the space through tall windows facing a private outdoor shower surrounded by lush foliage.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
The husband develops luxury hotels, so the home’s aesthetic was also influenced by the couple’s extensive travels, especially to Asia. They gravitate toward dramatic, luxurious materials with fewer accessories. Furniture is clean-lined and upholstered in mostly dark neutrals, with hints of navy. Accessories are kept to a minimum. And, outside, pom-pom trees, bamboo, and tall grasses add moments of zen.
In the dining area, an organic, blown-glass light fixture softly diffuses the light above a dark marble Poliform table.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
To encourage social interaction, the homeowners chose not to hang a TV in the living room. A see-through metal screen divides the space from an adjoining music room. Its pattern grows more dense toward the bottom, providing both architectural interest and privacy.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
“The home feels like a luxurious, faraway space, but it’s very much in the city,” says Whitney. “There’s something magical. If you look through the trees, you see buildings, but it also feels intimate.”
A wall of windows in the primary bedroom faces the back yard, where stone walls surrounding the pool add drama with built-in firepits, planters, and fountains. Architect Scott West also got involved in designing the outdoor space.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
One corner of the primary bedroom features glass walls surrounding the shower garden, transforming the suite into a private oasis.
Photograph by Jeff Herr
White oak floors in a custom stain contrast with the primary suite’s dark palette, including a gray mohair-upholstered wall. “The owners almost always gravitated toward darker colors,” says Whitney. “But we kept the walls and floors lighter. That contrast makes the room feel crisp and fresh.”
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