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 Midcentury Modern, California-style fashion.
Kevin Gillespie, a former Top Chef contestant, cookbook author, and current owner of the highly regarded Gunshow restaurant in Atlanta, and his wife, Valerie Combs, gutted the original home (keeping only the original shell and the 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.
“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 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 up 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.
Another set of double Series 600 Sliding Glass Doors is prominently featured in the dining space, with its handsome walnut table and modern Italian light fixture. 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 pass-through bar accessing the giant sunroom.
The master suite is highlighted by an amazing bathroom. It features facing his-and-hers 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 Buckhead neighborhood, the home, with its sleek black exterior paint, has a private, tranquil feel. Said Gillespie to Atlanta Magazine: “I wanted a house to make me calm. And we wanted it to be very personal.”
