Updated Victorian
for a LIvely Art Collector

This wonderful house is located in an historic neighborhood on the southwest edge of downtown Atlanta. This victorian enclave was once home to some of Atlanta's most famous residents such as Joel Chandler Harris, author of the "Brear Rabbit" stories. Today, the area, for many years known as West End, is being reborn and filled with a cross section of new residents and new life.

In the late 1980s, owner of the house, Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds approached me about working with him to bring this house back to life. Dr. Hammonds, or "O.T." as he was known to friends, was a remarkable ball of creative energy and over the years had amassed quite an eclectic collection of artwork, furnishings and antiques. Much of the art he had collected was comprised of works by Haitian artists which reflected the color and energy I found in O.T.'s outlook on life.

As we discussed the project it was clear that he wanted a lively house that would be exuberant yet livable. Our decision was to take the best of it's victorian qualities and weave them into his collection. The house was never meant to be an historic restoration in the typical sense, but an interpretation. We could have fun with it and we did. We were after all, presenting his life and not someone else's.

O.T. called every few days to tell me of some new purchase or to relate stories of the "things that got away", sharing the details in his engaging and animated way. He was, however, a determined task master and could be "firm" with tradesmen. Our working relationship was never anything but a pleasure and I enjoyed helping him work toward his dream.

The photos presented here were taken during the last days of the project and reflect it's unfinished state, perhaps not the best representation of what might have been, but a peak at it anyway. Unfortunately the project was never completed due to Otis' untimely death, made even sadder because we were so close to his dream realized. Everything had come out of storage, all of the portiers and drapery treatments were in process and soon to be delivered and upholstered furniture was arriving daily.

His legacy lives on, and his dream house has become a dream realized in the form of a major non-profit arts organization. Promoted by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and receiving local and national funding, Hammonds House Museum and Resource Center of African American Art, offers unique cultural and arts programming for Atlanta, the State of Georgia and the nation.

Hammonds House from the street

The "Second" or "Large" parlor with an anti-room to the right

The formal dinning room with original wainscot
paneling

The smaller or "Front" parlor - windows rising from the floor could be opened and used as doors to the wide front porch

The study, across the main hall from the front parlor - the door to the rear opens into a narrow room behind the fireplace with original floor to ceiling book shelves

The upper landing of the
main staircase

I will be adding a few more photos and drawings for custom drapery treatments and upholstered pieces.