Back in July of this year Southern Living Magazine released their issue with the cover story being the 2012 Idea House. The Idea House is a beautifully decorated farmhouse in Senoia, GA. It was instant love for me. Truly everything I would include in my dream home. Literally from the wrap around porch to the open floor plan to the amazing back yard-- it would all be included in the home of my dreams (hopefully one day).
As I read and reread the issue of Southern Living I knew I had to make it Senoia to tour the house. Senoia is about an hour from Stone Mountain so after a quick breakfast we loaded up and headed that way.
I knew from the article in the magazine that Fried Green Tomatoes and Driving Mrs. Daisy were both filmed in this small southern town. However, once we got there we realized the several other movies were made there.
Currently AMC's The Walking Dead is being filmed there. I love anything with celebrity ties and this had me so excited.
The show is currently set in the fictional town of Woodbury, GA so the town had a Bank of Woodbury and banners throughout the downtown area.
The downtown/main street area was the cutest! It is the quintessential southern town.
As we shopped we made small talk with one of the owners and he explained that as they film The Walking Dead the production company blacks out their shop windows and film in the street out front while business goes on as usual with patrons entering using the back door.
After touring the quaint downtown area we headed to Maguire's Irish Pub for lunch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was perfect. Ryan got crazy and ordered a mac-n-cheese burger. Who has ever heard of such? Lunch was great.
After lunch we made our way to the 2012 Southern Living Idea House. I thought this house was beautiful when I saw it in the magazine, but in real life I was head over heels in LOVE. I can't even explain how much this house is every single thing I could ever want.
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| Just at home on the front stoop |
Ryan quickly informed me that I wasn't alone in that thought process, as it was probably every other persons dream home too. That's fine... I can share my dream with others.
The house was decorated for the holidays. They had some great ideas that anyone could DIY. The wreaths were made of magnolia leaves and the tables were decorated with jars of evergreen and cranberries.
Here is a picture of the living room when not decorated for Christmas:
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| From Southern Living's website |
Look! I'm at home in the dinning area-- ready to host a holiday gathering.
The gingham painted pattern in the "keeping room" was awesome.
Some of the reoccurring things in the house included sliding barn doors, old trunks, and paintings of cows. All things I love.
I couldn't help but think of my friend, Katie, in the room below because her wedding bouquet had the dried Lily pad seed pods that are displayed in the bowl. That Katie is always in the know about what's cool.
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| I had a tough time figuring out what the print above meant. Finally it came to me-- it's Southern twang for A T L Georgia (because that's how we say it down here) |
In the magazine the deer painting in this sitting area looked like this:
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| from Southern Living website |
But in real life it was much more textured.
The idea house had lots of trends that we had seen the day before at the Country Living Fair such as the paint by numbers paintings, the deer antlers, burlap, and skeleton keys.
The hardwood floors, below, are restored from the original portion of the farmhouse dating back to the 1800's.
If this were my home you would be invited to roast marshmallows by the outdoor fire pit. We would also sip wine here and discuss life and then I would ask you to sleep over in the guest room so as not to drive home from Senoia. The next morning I would cook you breakfast in my fancy kitchen while you sipped coffee in the keeping room. If only....
The 2010 Southern Living Idea Home was also built in this small town and was open for tours, although it was unfurnished and not decorated. The 2010 idea house was actually a brownstone similar to what one would find in Savannah, GA.
The back of the brownstone, pictured below, backs up to a pond and looks out toward the 2012 Farmhouse.
There was a real estate agent on site at the brownstone. She and I chatted regarding pricing and why Southern Living chose to do more than one idea house in this small town.
She explained that eventually this entire area will be developed into a small subdivision of sorts. As it turns out, one of the owners of the production company fell in love with this area and decided to develop the community. The lots are marked off for sale and the brownstone is up for sale for just under $1 million.
Here are a couple of the houses in that surroud the pond in the community:
Truth be told, I would move into this smaller white one tomorrow. How cute is it?
The Farm House has already been sold and went for somewhere between $550K and $600K.
If I had half a million dollars readily avalible to purchase one of the homes I would be moving to Senoia, GA. I would open a small shop in downtown. I fell in love.
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