Georgia Peach

A celebrity chef opens up an old home to light and air.

In Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood, a celebrity chef known for his Southern-style cooking has taken a 1968 home and rebuilt it in a decidedly Mid-century Modern, California-style fashion.

Categories

Remodel Series 600
Multi-slide door
Sliding glass door
Classic Line

Location

Atlanta
Georgia

This stunning sunroom includes an array of Series 600 Sliding Glass Doors.

Kevin Gillespie, the owner of the highly regarded Gunshow restaurant in Atlanta, cookbook author, and former Top Chef contestant, and his wife, Valerie Combs, gutted the original home (keeping only the shell and fireplace) and remade it with a contemporary open floor plan featuring huge expanses of glass, perfect for letting in tons of natural light and setting the stage for indoor-outdoor living possibilities.

The dining room features a pair of sliding glass doors whose contemporary appeal fits the home’s updated Midcentury Modern styling.

“I’m a little bit of an architecture nerd,” Gillespie, also a former James Beard Award nominee, told Atlanta Magazine.

The centerpiece of the home is the huge, enclosed sunroom, with its two seating areas, vaulted ceiling, and skylights. On three of the walls are several arrays of nearly floor-to-ceiling Series 600 Sliding Glass Doors, above which is a series of clerestory windows whose shapes mirror the incline of the ceiling. In temperate seasons, the doors can be opened to the backyard, letting in fresh Georgia breezes. In cooler times of the year, the dual-pane low-E glass keeps the room comfortably warm. The sunroom is accessed from the kitchen by a giant Series 600 Multi-Slide Door.

As one might expect from a high-profile chef, the kitchen is a sight to behold. A professional-grade glass-front, subzero refrigerator and double-wide oven highlight the appliances, which are set among striking royal blue cabinetry and white oak floor. Also in the kitchen, over a prep counter, is a pass-through bar accessing the giant sunroom. Another set of double Series 600 Sliding Glass Doors is prominently featured in the dining space with a handsome walnut table and modern Italian light fixture.

When its numerous sliding glass doors are opened, the sunroom becomes one with the outdoors.

The open floor plan is conducive to modern living.

The master suite is highlighted by an amazing bathroom. It features facing his-and-her vanities and a swinging glass double-door opening to a huge, tiled shower room that also contains the commode.
Located in a woodsy area of the neighborhood, the sleek black home has a private, tranquil feel. “I wanted a house to make me calm. And we wanted it to be very personal,” Gillespie told Atlanta Magazine.