This city house makes the most of its idyllic Silver Lake setting

The homeowner wanted a personal take on a modern farmhouse with industrial elements, playing with tones and textures to elevate the look.

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This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Architects Sonia and Steve Markey kept this front exterior clean-lined with a hint of modern, incorporating stucco and stone materials, an arch motif, and steel windows and doors. At homeowner Michelle Clery’s request, they added a wide upper porch as a place to greet visitors.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

Some homes are worth playing the long game. “We had told a realtor friend that our dream was to find a house to renovate on Silver Lake, and nothing had really come available for over 10 years,” says Michelle Clery, who is a longtime Atlanta resident, along with her husband, Bob Roddewig. “He called us a year later about a home going up for sale the next day, so we jumped in the car to take a look right away.” Conveniently located near Brookhaven, the charming Silver Lake neighborhood allows residents to live on a private, 38-acre lake and take advantage of water activities—kayaking, fishing, and cocktail cruises on small boats docked in backyards—while still being part of the city.

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
The homeowners wanted a water feature that was on the smaller side, so this plunge pool/hot tub does the trick, a favorite place to watch the sunset. Lee Furniture and curtains in Perennials fabric keep the look upscale but casual.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Michelle Clery and Bob Roddewig waited years until they were able to buy lake property in the heart of Atlanta; then, it was game on for building their dream house. “This house took on a life of its own,” says Michelle.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Architects Sonia and Steve Markey incorporated arch motifs across the front of the house.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

The ’70s-era house proved difficult to renovate (seven-foot ceilings, for starters), so the couple decided on a new build. They turned to Sonia and Steve Markey of Markey Architectural Design, whom they’d worked with before, as well as their longtime interior designer, Gretchen Edwards. Architecturally, the goal was to make everything about the lake view, which meant angling the structure in the back so that more rooms could accommodate floor-to-ceiling windows. But out front, the house needed to blend into a somewhat traditional setting. “We’re in Atlanta, after all, so the look needed to be transitional—casual, but elegant with clean lines,” says Steve.

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
“Michelle wanted a dark, dramatic foyer,” says interior designer Gretchen Edwards. Wide-plank white oak flooring is distinguished with a herringbone pattern, joined by statement lighting from RH in the stairwell. The entryway table is from Stanton Home furnishings. The wood veneer wallcovering is from Philip Jeffries.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
“I call this my ‘four seasons’ room,” says Michelle, who wanted a year-round retreat to enjoy lake views. Most months, the retractable doors can remain open for fresh air. Bob constructed the wooden bar that overlooks the lake, one of many projects he tackled in the house.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Going for comfort and informality in the living room, Gretchen paired swivel chairs from Lee Industries covered in a neutral gray with window treatments in a bold pattern from Zoffany.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Special features in the kitchen include a banquette built into the island, quartzite countertops, Block & Chisel cabinetry, and—for marital bliss, quips Michelle—two cooktops and two ovens, so the couple can work side-by-side but separately. A large-scale rock-crystal chandelier by Allan Knight spans the wide room. Custom sliding doors can close to hide clutter, but they also provide storage for kitchen items.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

Michelle wanted a personal take on a modern farmhouse with industrial elements, playing with tones and textures to elevate the look. In choosing furniture and interior details, Gretchen combined practicality, such as swivel chairs and performance fabrics, with sophisticated touches: textured wallcoverings, hide rugs, and elegant materials like a pecky cypress ceiling. “Michelle likes contrasts, such as going from dark to light, and vice versa,” says Gretchen. The tone starts with a moody foyer, which opens up to a two-story dining room looking over the lake.

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
A wall of riddling racks—used to store wine—becomes a sculptural element in the loggia-level sitting area. The racks and all of the home’s barnwood came from Distinctive Building Materials in Alpharetta.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
The dining room includes plenty of wow factors, starting with a two-story, pecky cypress ceiling and a span of porcelain slabs on the upper wall. A custom dining table from Tritter Feefer is in a less-typical square shape, flanked by RH chairs atop a Kyle Bunting hide rug.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
Michelle’s love of ombre shows up in the owners’ bath curtains (Stroheim fabric), which pick up her favorite colors in striated tones.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

This city house makes the most of its idyllic lake setting
A custom bed through Gilstrap Edwards Interior Design is framed by Lee Jofa window treatments in the owners’ bedroom. Rug is by Surya, and chairs are Donghia.

Photograph by Lauren Rubinstein

Michelle and Bob had always appreciated the serenity of lake settings, but a city location suits them better on a day-to-day basis. “We wanted the view, but with more to do,” says Michelle. “Being on Silver Lake allowed my husband to combine his love for fishing with options for great dining and, for my love, shopping.”

RESOURCES | Interior design Gretchen Gilstrap Edwards, gilstrapedwards.com Architectural design Sonia and Stephen Markey, Markey Architectural Design, @markeyarchdesign Foyer Table: Stanton Home Furnishings, stantonhomefurnishings.com. Light fixtures: RH, rh.com. Wallcovering: Phillip Jeffries, phillipjeffries.com. Kitchen Cabinetry: Block & Chisel, blockandchisel.com. Light fixtures: Allan Knight, allan-knight.com. Living room Chairs: Lee Industries, leeindustries.com. Dining room Table: Tritter Feefer, tritterfeefer.com. Chairs: RH. Rug: Kyle Bunting, kylebunting.com. Porcelain slabs: Ciot, ciot.com. “Four seasons” porch Furniture: Lee Industries. Owners’ bedroom Bed: Custom through Gilstrap-Edwards. Window-treatment fabric: Lee Jofa through Kravet, kravet.com. Rug: Surya, surya.com. Owners’ bath Window-treatment fabric: Stroheim through Fabricut, fabricut.com. Tile: Walker Zanger, walkerzanger.com. Crafts room (not shown) Wallpaper: Thibaut, thibautdesign.com. Counter stools: Worlds Away, worlds-away.com. Table: Custom through Gilstrap-Edwards. Loggia Riddling racks and barnwood: Distinctive Building Materials, distinctivebuildingmaterials.com. Furniture: Lee Industries. Window-treatment fabric: Perennials, perennialsfabrics.com.

This article appears in our Fall 2021 issue.

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