PRIVATE QUARTERS / A look at Atlanta's properties and personalities

Cartersville farm house brought back to life
Civil-war era home took about two years of hard-core renovation

By CHRIS REINOLDS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/19/07

Dee and Jim Andrews have given new, boisterous, life to a Civil War-era farmhouse.

The Andrews' spread in Cartersville is flush with family charm and hard work. The two-story white farmhouse on five acres caters to numerous friends and family as well as a menagerie of horses, goats, dogs, a potbellied pig and a donkey.

When the Andrews moved from Buckhead 10 years ago, the home needed a lot of work. The couple decided to move to Cartersville because Jim Andrews had commuted to Dalton for years.

"When we first moved into the house, we lived in the living room in a 10-foot-square area," Dee Andrews said.

They often went to bed at 2 a.m. and woke at 6 a.m. to get back to the hard-core renovation that took about two years.

Dee Andrews noted that her husband is very handy, but she has also learned to sew (handy for window treatments) and lay tile (granite counters and tile backsplash in the kitchen.)

The couple's den was originally a small kitchen with seven-foot ceilings.

"Jim really wanted to add on. We have company all the time," Dee Andrews said. "There's never a dull moment. We have family and friends all through here. The house has to be very friendly for kids and animals."

Andrews said they made sure not to gut the house, but to "respect the spirit of the people here before us."

For example, Dee Andrews repurposed curtains in the home into valances. When they removed wood siding from the house and from the kitchen ceiling, Jim Andrews flipped over the boards, planed them and put them down as hardwood flooring in the den. The painted edges show through, giving the room an authentic look.

"Everything we've gotten, we've repurposed it," she said. The coffee table in the room was cut down from an old dining table.

The focal point of the cozy den is an old wood hardware cabinet that served as the inspiration for Jim Andrews' entertainment center. He purchased the cabinet from a local hardware store that was going out of business. It features old-fashioned stenciled lettering on the drawers. Andrews then built a floor-to-ceiling entertainment center in the same wood. Some of the cabinet doors were constructed using old screens they had found in the barn.

"We've really decorated with things that mean something," said Dee Andrews, who works in marketing for a school supply company. Her husband is an advertising and marketing consultant.

The cheery red-and-white breakfast area contains a table with battle scars that came from a grist mill.

Dee Andrews says it's perfect because it's childproof. "It just adds to the allure," she said, laughing.

In the kitchen, Jim Andrews used another piece of the old hardware cabinet to make a small island. The old porch was enclosed as a sitting area/mud room. The worn concrete floor has the look of stained concrete that many folks pay for.

"We're in and out of the barn, and the concrete floor is perfect," said Dee Andrews as she surveyed the collection of child and adult boots by the antique hall tree.

The rustic look also allows Dee Andrews to hide the dirt that comes with living on a farm.

Every room is made to accommodate a crowd. A small round table in the dining room has enough leaf capacity to stretch 22 feet.

"We have big dinner parties. It works real well," she said.

The living room seating seems more formal until you discover the wooden piece in the corner. An antique Murphy bed from the late 1800's doubles as a display area. (And yes, the Andrews just used the full-sized bed for guests last weekend.) They found the conversation piece at Liz's Antiques in Cartersville.

Under the Christmas tree, the Andrews decorate with favorite antique toys or sentimental items such as an old pigskin autographed by NFL great Bart Starr for Jim.

In addition to scouring area antique stores, Dee Andrews peruses eBay and Craig's List for great finds.

"I buy things I like, and I have to figure out where they go," she said. Some of her decor comes from family members who need storage.

"When we moved from Buckhead to this house, our things were Mediterranean. I had no idea what to do with this house," she said. Then the home seemed to inspire her with its history and the couple's sweat equity.

The master bedroom includes a white iron bed and her great aunt's cedar chest. An old wash stand and another old table serve as night stands.

In their master bath, Dee Andrews used one of their dressers as a vanity with two basin sinks. Jim Andrews built the mirror/medicine cabinet above. The floor tile is fossil sandstone, a kind of tile that actually contains the imprints of ancient animals.

While they love their rural life, the area is also welcoming some new subdivisions. Dee Andrews hope they can hold onto their country life as long as possible.

"We're very fortunate to have our rural utopia," she said.

HOUSE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Four bedrooms, three full baths. The home has about 4,000 square feet of space.

• Dee Andrews said crucial Civil War battles were fought in the area. They've found a couple of bullets and a caliper in the fields.

• Much of the artwork found throughout the home was created by Jim Andrews' family members. Their 13-year-old niece painted a barn picture and gave it to the couple as a Christmas present. Drawings from Jim Andrews' brother hang in the den, and Jim Andrews' father painted the wildlife scenes on the cedar chest in the upstairs guest room.

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