It’s not every day that you get to own a piece of architectural history. Meredith and Andres purchased a home in Decatur, Georgia, after moving their young family from New York City. Designed in 1915 by Leila Ross Wilburn, Atlanta’s first successful female architect, it’s a classic American foursquare with all the charm of the early-20th-century Arts and Crafts movement.
For this design-minded couple, a professor of ethnomusicology at Emory University and a doctor, respectively, the protected home in Georgia’s MAK Historic District—with its Craftsman details, wood paneling and beams, and beautiful windows—made perfect sense. The previous homeowners had gone through the work of painstakingly restoring the house to its original glory. So, when Meredith and Andres moved in, the majority of upgrades they wanted to make were merely cosmetic (aside from adding closets to all the upstairs bedrooms).
The couple brought in Kate Hayes and Krista Little of Hayes Little Studio to execute their vision of a laid-back family home that honors the space’s unique history through a modern reinterpretation. A collection of midcentury furniture pieces, inherited from Meredith’s parents, and an eclectic assortment of artworks from the couple’s extensive travels became the organizing principle for decor. “We spent two hours together when we first met, chatting all things design and New York,” Kate shares. “Meredith is a design nerd, just like us. It was so fun to work with her because we speak the same language.”
