What ever happened to less is more?
I could do with a few less turrets. One can’t help but notice the construction going on all over town. On any given day, the clogged winding streets of many Intown neighborhoods are flooded with contractors, plumbers and designers. Add in a school bus, a dump truck and a lawn crew and forget it. While waiting last week, I counted 31 trucks at one house on Habersahm Road.
Old homes topple every day, replaced by the new and gigantic. Families today desire more space and amenities than in the past, but 12,000 square feet seems well, excessive. Couldn’t all that granite, marble and stainless steal fit into a more modest house?
When is enough ever enough?
Who needs seven full bathrooms plus two half-baths? "McMansions," aptly describes the super-sized and the ultra tacky. In our neighborhood, two McMansions remain empty for more than two years now. How is it possible for developers to continue building extravagant and highly customized homes without viable buyers?
I admit it. I do not like change. I love old things. I derive pleasure from collecting antiques, living in a charming old house and tending a garden. Woodward Way and West Wesley have some of the prettiest homes and yards in town, exemplifying classic looks that endure. The trees loom large and majestic over these familiar routes. Their ethereal beauty is mesmerizing having stood the test of time.
A glorious bed of Southern Shield ferns on Peachtree Battle is gorgeous and warrants a lingering gaze. These views are lovely and appealing, and to me, somehow comforting. The sloping lawns and swings in the yards take me back in time. It’s like going home again, even if it’s just for a moment.
New construction breaks the spell. The popular checklist appears identical to new homebuilders. One size fits all. Tear down everything including every last plant, tree and shrub. Build a mammoth house roughly the size of the lot.
Check off these items:
• Install a fountain and Belgian block driveway.
• Build a three-car garage then park at least four vehicles outside all the time.
• Use enough outdoor lighting to illuminate the Biltmore.
• Add more, just to out-do the neighbors.
• Have jungle gym equipment delivered (no one is ever home to play on it).
• Basketball hoop. Same as above. Get it anyway.
• Add a water feature.
• Put in over sized Corinthian columns, giving the flavor of Tara.
• Hang a chandelier over the porte cochere.
The hodge podge mix is part Italian Renaissance part Greek revival. No matter. Fortify the compound with fences, gates and intercom. Now it looks as if the Fed Ex guy has pulled up at Versailles. Done. What ever happened to, less is more?
It’s not all bad news however. Some successful examples of new construction in old neighborhoods are seen around town. Nancy Creek and Ridgewood Road have new homes tastefully done. The homes are large by most standards, but they appear more balanced and in scale with the existing homes in the neighborhood. The houses are built further back off the street on much larger lots, achieving a better balance and proportion. The effort paid off. Working with existing features in the yards, leaving mature tress, woods and natural hedges create tasteful landscaping, enhancing and not so over the top. The final result: an aesthetic triumph.
My mother was in town recently for a visit. At Northside Drive we drove across Mt. Paran Road, winding through all the new construction she had not seen. When we reached Roswell Road, "Well," she sighed, "There’s no accounting for taste." I guess that about sums it up.
