For years, Warner and Allison McConaughey longed to have a house of their own, but limited funds suggested that home ownership might be an impossible dream. Then Warner learned of a house auction in Atlanta, where they lived. “It was built in 1910, an American Foursquare,” he says. “That was a really popular style after the Victorian period—a simple two-story home with simple rooms.” It was also a mess, as it had been vacant for twenty years. In the 1960s, it had been converted into eight apartments, all of which shared a
single bath. The roof was mostly missing, as were many of the windows.
Only one person was bidding against the McConaugheys; when he dropped out, they got the house for $15,900. Warner felt confident that given his and Allison’s expertise—she is an interior designer; he is the founder and president of HammerSmith, a Decatur, Georgia, general contractor—they could bring the house back to something approaching its former beauty. The two then embarked on a fifteen-year renovation, and it took a full year of initial spade work before they could even think of moving in. “The heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing all had to be redone,” Warner explained.
The dilapidated house was acquired at auction.
A new roof, patched and repainted siding, plus a new front porch—supported by salvaged columns—restored this American Foursquare to its 1910 profile.
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