When Jones Pierce was contacted, it was after new owners of 987 Waverly Way had an initial set of plans presented to and rejected by neighbors nearly to the point of a lawsuit. A common case of a young family wanting to live in an older, established neighborhood where houses have charm, but also wanting modern conveniences and additional space. However what the neighbors saw was a design that tampered too much with the massing and character of the house. To calm nerves, we assessed the neighbor’s objections along with the desires of the homeowners, and derived a solution that made everyone happy. The 1911 home’s quirky, asymmetrical façade roams stylistically between Carpenter Gothic and Queen Ann. Through gathering oral histories from previous owners and long-standing Inman Park residents and by paying close attention during selective demolition we were able to determine what were modifications and what appeared to be original. This resulted in the removal of non-period trim around the front porch and the restructuring of the shed portion of the roof which created a waterproofing issue by draining on an original window. The primary concern was to restore the front elevation and arrange the necessary addition in the rear within the massing cues demonstrated by the original structure. The rear three-level renovation replaced an ill-conceived earlier addition and utilized existing openings to create the new circulation. Especially ingenious was using two existing window openings at the rear wall of the paneled dining room to locate pass-through cased openings to the new rear family room. Thus we avoided tampering with the excellent original paneling. The existing dining room beams are extended visually into the family room which itself addresses a new rear screened porch. There are back-to-back wood burning fireplaces between these rooms which helps to make this screened porch a 4-season experience, which was a major client request for a family that likes spending time outdoors. The porch is adjacent to a grilling deck, which has direct access from the kitchen through a mudroom. Millwork at the Entry, Front Parlor and Dining Room were refurbished while the more private parts of the house, notably the master bathroom, have as contemporary an edge as would be tasteful in an historic home.

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