1869 Ridgeland Dr was the address to the first single family home I ever purchased. I was living in Colorado at the time and flew back to my home state of Georgia when I saw this property become available. There was something about this 4 sided brick home, its solid cedar doors, and its unique arched doorway between the living room and kitchen that I fell in love with.
You will notice a trend with me, unlike most real estate investors, buying a home is not just about the numbers – of course that matters but the home also has to speak to me. When I find that combination of perfect numbers and a perfect layout with original charm in a home – a bond is formed and I must buy it! I am hard driven by my calculations just as I am by my design. I knew from the moment I walked in to this home in 2015 that I needed to add a bedroom and a bathroom to maximize its functionality. I wasn’t ready to do this at the time of purchasing the home; to pull my vision together. I did minimal work to the home to get the property rentable for a number of years. Once my tenant told me she wanted to move out in 2019 – I started pulling my vision back together.
When I started demolition on the property we found newspaper articles, womens shoes, handwritten letters from their son in the military, and childrens homework from grade school. One of my favorite pieces is from a local Atlanta journal newspaper from November 26th 1963. This was an ad for Rich’s department store for a ‘Luscious lunch’ every wednesday for just $.85. Rich’s was an Atlanta staple from 1867 – 2005 when they were purchased by Macy’s.
Once demolition was complete – rebuilding the home commenced. I took my knowledge from the renovation of 3460 pinehill and started working. I realized very quickly that part of the charm of 1869 Ridgeland that I fell in love with, I would lose by maximizing its functionality. I lost my arched doorway between the former living room and dining room but I worked for a solid month to make sure I saved those cedar doors! Check out the video above to see all the changes!
Below are the after photos. Let me know what you think about this renovation. I hope you love it as much as I loved saving this space.
