“I’ve always been drawn to homes with good framing, and this was just too appealing not to move forward with,” says Skye.
The 1920s four-square that the Replogles purchased in December 2017 has been completely renovated and expanded over the years. In 1983, a two-story addition doubled the home’s square footage and won a residential design award from the American Institute of Architects. But what might have been great by ’80s standards didn’t really work for a busy 21st century family with two young daughters. And after 40 years, this update was ready for an update. To help with the renovation, they enlisted the help of interior designers Lathem Gordon and Cate Dunning of Atlanta-based Gordon Dunning. The couple met Gordon at the University of South Carolina and count the designer as a close friend.
Here’s how the designers modernized the historic home.
During the 1983 renovation, the previous owners did something almost unheard of in renovations: They reduced the size of the kitchen, restoring it to its 1920s proportions. (It had been enlarged earlier.) According to David Neumann, the architect of this renovation, the owners had requested a compact kitchen space with a separate breakfast room. So they used a few meters of the kitchen to create a dining area. space that can accommodate a table.
“The previous owners took very seriously maintaining the spirit of the original kitchen, which we respect as history lovers, but that meant the kitchen was extremely small and utilitarian,” says Dunning.
“It’s funny because if you read articles about design since the pandemic, they’ll say people want to go back to more separate spaces, but this was a whole new level. It was completely closed,” Skye adds.
The designers removed the walls between the kitchen, breakfast room and dining room to make way for a more functional and fluid layout. “The kitchen was so narrow that only one person could work in it at a time, and they were cooks and entertainers, so come hell or high water, they would get an island,” Gordon says.
To ensure the whole family could sit together at the island, they extended one end of the counter with a rounded edge to accommodate a fourth stool. “Getting there was a game of inches,” says Gordon.
Give period details a modern twist
The dining room had a Shaker peg rail attached to the perimeter of the room. While the dowels were lovely, they prevented tall furniture from being placed against the wall and didn’t fit the Replogles’ aesthetic. So they swapped one vintage detail for another. The peg rail was replaced with floor-to-ceiling china cabinets that mimic the corner hutches often seen in older homes. By orienting the built-ins against the wall rather than diagonally, the designers achieved a more modern look. Updated hardware also helps: “The cabinets have gold handles with malachite centers that look like dogwood,” Skye says. “It’s these little touches that add so much detail and character.”
Old homes are notorious for their lack of closets, and this one is no exception. “This house didn’t prioritize storage at all,” says Skye. “The closets that existed were tiny, and the downside of removing the walls between the kitchen, dining room and breakfast room is that we lost a pantry.” To compensate for this loss, the designers installed a sliding wardrobe and wide drawers in the unused space under the stairs.
“One of our big sayings is ‘leave no void,’” Dunning says, referring to the company’s ability to extract storage from difficult niches. They took the same approach upstairs, where the previous renovation left a large master bedroom with a small bathroom and closet. Stealing square footage from the bedroom gave the couple a larger closet and bathroom. It also allowed for the creation of built-ins, including kennel cages for the family dogs and a cozy reading nook.
Weigh the cost of changes
“In any project, when we start presenting ideas to clients, we talk a lot about opportunity costs,” Dunning says. “Usually Lathem and I hang on to a historical object, like a window or a doorknob, and we show what the cost will be if we keep it and what the cost will be if we lose it.” This value is not just monetary; aesthetics also matter.
Case in point: The original kitchen featured a window above the sink that overlooks a neighborhood park with a popular toboggan run. When the Replogles expanded the kitchen, the sink was moved to the old breakfast room and the only logical place to put the stove was in front of the window. Moving the window would have been expensive and they would have lost their vision. So the team decided to keep it and place the stove in front of it – an unusual decision that turned out to be one of the family’s favorite features. “Having that window by the stove allows them to look out and see the kids when they’re making hot chocolate,” Dunning says. An added bonus: When it comes to backsplashes, a window is a fairly easy surface to clean.
Bring a personal touch
While changes made to a home over the years reflect the desires of the previous inhabitants, the interior of a home should reflect the people who live there today. “These are Southern people who love color and leaned into the idea of a house that looks layered and collected over time,” Gordon says. “Beige just wasn’t going to cut it.” To this end, the designers used a bold tonal palette, accented with brightly colored flowers and an abundance of antique Heriz rugs scattered throughout the home.
“One of the things Lathem and Cate do so well is making sure a house tells the story of its inhabitants,” says Skye. For example, the master suite’s playful wallpaper depicting rhino heads is a nod to the couple’s love of travel and fantasy.
“They definitely have a quirky, fun family vibe,” Gordon says. “We didn’t want any part of this house to be too valuable.”
Michelle Brunner is a writer in DC who covers interior design and culture.
