Atlanta Business Chronicle
Sep 11, 2015
Peter Michelson has removed a lot of barriers for families throughout Atlanta.
No, he’s not a therapist, though results he provides are arguably therapeutic. He’s a home designer and renovation consultant — one who literally takes down walls and creates new living spaces for the many Atlanta homeowners who like their homes for where they are but have grown tired of what they are.
“Anytime you see one of our signs up, we have been hired by that homeowner to transform their home,” said Michelson, CEO and owner of Decatur-based Renewal Design-Build Inc. “Pretty much all we do are renovation jobs and we have about 30 to 35 projects a year.”
Michelson and his team at Renewal are among several Atlanta design firms whose primary work involves making homeowners happy with staying where they are: typically in homes constructed in the 1950s and ’60s.
“We always have the conversation when we first meet with clients about whether they should move or renovate,” Michelson said. “Usually when people stay it’s because they love their neighborhood, they love the location, there is something about the history of the home that they love, they love their neighbors. There is just something very special about where they are that they don’t want to leave.”
That’s when Renewal helps the homeowner look at what they paid for their house, what houses are selling for in the neighborhood and then calculate if they put “X” dollars back into it, where the home will be relative to neighborhood comparables.
“When you decide to remodel, you are paying for your layout, your sense of aesthetics, your quality level as opposed to when you’re buying something else, you are buying what someone else designed whether you like it or not,” Michelson said. “So part of the value proposition of remodeling is you get to customize it. If you love where you are going to be and have at least a five-year outlook of where you are going to be, it can make a lot of sense to go ahead and do that. We always advise people that remodeling is so custom that it’s more of a return on lifestyle than a return on investment.”
That’s a compromise many Atlanta homeowners are willing to make, according to architect and real estate agent Natalie Martinez.
“Many of my clients love the old homes, but don’t want ‘old home’ problems like outdated electrical wiring and exterior maintenance of a multi-colored Victorian,” Martinez said. “While it’s possible to recreate architectural character in new construction, it’s more expensive now to recreate it than it is to repurpose what’s already here. (And) from an environmental standpoint, renovating houses that are already here is a more sustainable approach than tearing down houses and using resources to build them from the ground up.”
Atlanta’s intown neighborhoods have unique and timeless architecture that is attractive to today’s homebuyers, but the chopped-up floor plans don’t always work for a modern lifestyle and busy families, said Martinez, who has designed homes in intown Atlanta for more than a decade and works with builders in Buckhead, Kirkwood, Decatur and Oakhurst.
“The first thing my clients ask for is opening the floor plan to create a better flow between the main living spaces,” Martinez said. “The second request is a highly functional kitchen with oversized islands for accommodating guests. … We strive to create spaces that bring people together and the kitchen is one of the rooms we spend a lot of time designing. Recent kitchens that we have designed have included small casual non-eating and food prep areas like mini-family rooms.”
Flexible rooms and spaces on the main floor are also high on the list of requests, especially with the ability to open and close off the space, Martinez said.
“For example, we have a project under construction right now that has a music room that has a pair of wide pocket doors on two different walls that allow the space to open up and become a gathering and entertaining space,” Martinez said. “On another day it can be closed off and become a private retreat.”
One amenity not on the list of must-haves is a ton of square footage, according to Jeff Raw, founder of Black Dawg Construction and president and CEO of Raw Real Estate Group of Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta.
“We are seeing a shift in buyer mindset that has them emphasizing character, charm, and usability over square footage. … I think that the majority of our clients want to live in the city with easy access to the amenities. They are willing to give up square footage for character for the most part,” Raw said. “I think a home is successful if all of the rooms are truly utilized. Simple things like employing reclaimed finishes on walls or ceilings can make a big difference. Every home should have a unique little touch that makes it stand out.”
Preserving older homes and bringing them up to modern construction standards is not only a win for the homeowners but also for the entire community, Raw said.
“It is a lot easier to tear down a home and build new construction,” Raw said, “but if the original home has character and charm you will be rewarded immensely if you can highlight that charm and add the modern amenities.”
CLOSER LOOK
What are homeowners looking for in old home renovations? According to Jeff Raw, founder of Black Dawg Construction and president and CEO of Raw Real Estate Group of Keller Williams Realty Metro Atlanta, four requests top the list:
- Open floor plans: “I know people are tired of hearing about it all the time, but 99 percent of our clients want to be able to entertain in the kitchen while friends and family are in the adjacent family room or keeping room space.”
- Outdoor living spaces: “Covered porches, screened porches, outdoor fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, outdoor televisions. We have an awesome climate that you can really enjoy year-round so why not extend your living space outside?”
- Bathrooms: We see a lot of large showers that are beautiful and functional. At the higher price points, if you have the space in the master bath, a cool claw-foot or modern take on a claw-foot tub is a nice touch.”
- Layouts: “We always think about family dynamics and what parents are comfortable with when laying out bedrooms and bathrooms. It is good to avoid the master bedroom on the second floor if you are going to have bedrooms for children on the first floor. A great layout we see now is to have the master, a couple kids bedrooms with a shared bath, with a loft type living space on the second floor.
