House 4 - 207 Hurt Street

Festival 2001 Main Page | Inman Park Home Page

Closed Friday

Homeowner: Marge and Steve Hays

When Steve bought this spacious 1910 bungalow in 1976, it was a sorry case indeed. Not only had it been divided into four slum apartments, but a group of people had also been living on mattresses in the dirt crawl space. A two-story rear addition was so rickety that Steve was able to demolish it with a crow bar and sledge hammer.

This is a sterling example of many such "rescue and recover" success stories for which this neighborhood is famous. The two shabby basement apartments were fully gutted and transformed into one terrace apartment (not on tour). The two main- floor apartments were also gutted, becoming the bright and tasteful space you enter today. With the exception of the oak parquet floor, living room mantle, some woodwork and doors, little else could be salvaged from the original dwelling.

Marge and Steve met at Inman Park's 1982 Festival and married in 1987. They became regulars on the flea market and antique scene, filling their comfortable home with fabulous pieces such as the dining room furniture and mantle. Marge has a keen eye for color and fabric combinations; she also enjoys interior colors that are bright and cheery in natural light, and warmer in nighttime artificial light. The yellow walls in the living room take on a golden quality in the evening, and the periwinkle blue in the upstairs master bedroom likewise becomes deeper after sundown.

The tall and spacious attic was fully remodeled in 1993, doubling the living space. Notice how the couple favors gifts from the earth and sea and have incorporated natural textures and materials throughout the home. Marge and Steve commissioned Lake Claire artist Janie Wright to create and arrange the five gourd fish that frolic above their bed.

Click on the butterfly to return to our home page.