Home Improvement: Before & After

This month Atlanta INtown is featuring renovation work by Wickstead Design and Management based in Decatur. Owner Frank Wickstead completed the upgrades in a Peachtree Hills home (top) and a total rebuild of his own home (below) in these dramatic before and after photos.

Andreas and Nonnie Preuss decided that their 1892 farmhouse, one of the oldest homes in Peachtree Hills, needed a serious upgrade. They wanted to complement the historic structure with a new addition featuring modern conveniences. Top on the list was a new kitchen, which tripled the existing space. Spare design, Jurassic green tile and a low island for seating and prep work make this kitchen a stunner.

Wickstead's 1,600-square-foot ranch-style home on Moonstone Drive in Decatur was torn down to the foundation and a 4,000-square-foot home built on the same footprint in 2005. Wickstead said he wanted the new structure to blend in with the neighborhood of older homes. "You can do a lot with an average ranch," he said. "It's basically a blank canvas."