My Favorite House: Long Island style in Mount Paran

Designer Melanie Turner picks a house her husband constructed as her favorite in Atlanta—and understandably so.
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Summer 2016 favorite house
Photograph by Emily Followill

It’s not surprising that, when asked to name her favorite house in Atlanta, designer Melanie Turner selected this Mount Paran–area estate constructed by her builder husband, Stan Benecki. Her loyalty is understandable. With its classic symmetry and three rear gables, this 8,000-square-foot English home evokes Long Island’s North Shore. In fact, the stone was hand-collected from the same New York quarry used for Ralph Lauren’s house. “It has consistent, simple elegance,” says Turner. “It is not rambling architecture.” Although completed in 2009, the house looks like it has been around a long time, she adds. Do she and Benecki still drive by to check on their north Atlanta gem? “Always.”

This article appeared in our Summer 2016 issue of Atlanta Magazine’s HOME.

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