Case Study

Virginia Highland House

A modern interpretation of the classic Virginia Highland bungalow — designed to maximize natural light and indoor-outdoor connection on a compact urban lot.

4,200

Square Feet

2019

Year Completed

Urban Modern

Style

$1.8M

Build Cost

The Challenge

Virginia Highland is one of Atlanta's most coveted intown neighborhoods — historic, walkable, and tightly built. The challenge was designing a home that felt generous and connected to the outdoors, despite a compact 0.28-acre lot with close neighbors on both sides and strict setback requirements.

The clients — a young professional couple — wanted a home that felt modern and open, but respected the neighborhood's architectural character. They needed a main-level primary suite, a dedicated home office, and an outdoor entertaining area that felt like an extension of the interior.

Modern architecture with stone facade and expansive glass walls at sunset

The Design Approach

Rather than fighting the tight lot, we embraced it. The design organizes the home around a central courtyard that pulls natural light deep into the floor plan while maintaining privacy from adjacent properties. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls on the courtyard side create a seamless visual connection between inside and outside from nearly every room.

The street-facing elevation draws from the neighborhood's residential scale — a restrained facade with a single garage bay, natural stone, and a welcoming entry sequence. The rear of the home, hidden from the street, is where the design opens up: a two-story glass wall, cantilevered roof planes, and a covered terrace that extends the living room by 400 square feet.

The floor plan places the primary suite on the main level, with a private garden view and direct access to the courtyard. Two guest bedrooms and a media room occupy the upper level, each oriented to capture tree canopy views. The dedicated home office sits at the front of the home, separated from living spaces for focused work.

Luxury home with stone facade and expansive glass windows at evening

The Builder's Eye in Action

A compact urban lot amplifies construction complexity. Every detail must be coordinated tightly — there is no room for field adjustments when your setbacks are measured in inches.

Structural Coordination: The cantilevered roof planes required steel moment frames engineered to specific deflection tolerances. We coordinated structural steel sizes and connections during design, preventing the sizing surprises that commonly delay steel fabrication.

Mechanical Systems: With limited ceiling cavities in a modern, flat-roof design, HVAC routing was planned during schematic design. Dedicated mechanical chases were integrated into the floor plan, and duct sizing was confirmed with the MEP consultant before construction documents were finalized.

Site Logistics: Construction access on a tight intown lot requires planning. We specified material staging areas, crane swing radii, and equipment access paths on the site plan — details that saved the builder significant coordination time during framing.

On a tight lot, every inch of the design is a construction decision.

— Daniel Allen Sievers

Design Details

Key Features

Central Courtyard

A private outdoor room at the heart of the floor plan, pulling natural light into every adjacent space while maintaining privacy from neighbors.

Main-Level Primary Suite

A full primary suite on the main level with private garden access, walk-in closet with custom millwork, and spa-quality bath with soaking tub.

Indoor-Outdoor Living

Sliding glass wall systems connect the great room to 400 SF of covered terrace, effectively doubling the entertaining space in warm months.

Dedicated Home Office

A sound-isolated office at the front of the home with built-in cabinetry and a separate entrance — designed for the way people actually work.

Material Palette

Natural stone, smooth stucco, black steel windows, and white oak accents — a material language that bridges contemporary and approachable.

Energy Performance

High-performance glazing, continuous exterior insulation, and zoned HVAC systems engineered for the large glass areas typical of modern design.

Gallery

Project Images

Stone facade with expansive glass walls at sunset

Modern natural stone home with gabled roof

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