The Swan House, built in 1928 by the Edward Inman family, is on 28 acres in the heart of Atlanta. It was designed by Atlanta architect Philip Trammel Shutze in collaboration with Neel Reid and other architects at Hentz, Reid and Adler. (To read more about Shutze please visit: ArchitectureTourist).
This house is one of Atlanta's most famous, photographed landmarks. Growing up here, you might take this treasure for granted - but it is truly a treasure worth visiting.
The house was fully renovated in 2004 and is open for tours (even the bedroom level and kitchen). It is is one of the most beautiful estates of its era and attention was paid to every detail.
My favorite part of the house is (surprise here) the entrance hall with black and white Italian marble. This room alone is worth the tour. I could stand here for hours and be happy:
Photo below from Classic Atlanta by William Mitchell and Van Jones Martin:
The formal rooms are lovely, below is the dining room:
The library, pictured below, is one of the most approachable rooms in the house with its beautiful wood carvings by H.J. Millard of Bath, Englad. The painting over the fireplace is of Saint Cecilia. (photo from Classic Atlanta by William Mitchell and Van Jones Martin)
Below is the breakfast room off of the entrance hall. The red alcoves have convinced me to paint my own bookshelves brick red.
Mrs. Inman's bedroom
Entrance facade with Doric columned Palladian portico:
The view from Andrews Drive
For more information about the Swan House, please visit the Atlanta History Center.
All photographs from the Atlanta History Center Website, unless indicated otherwise.
I took this photo of the front door on my camera on my phone. The color fascinates me. Wouldn't you have expected black? I like the blue.
I took a better photo of the front door:
Wow! That rotunda and those stairs absolutely take my breath away. Will definitely put this tour on my "to do" list next time Im in Atlanta.
ReplyDeleteSpectacular!! This warrants a trip to Atlanta pronto! I have always wanted to visit Swan House...it looks just incredible!
ReplyDeleteI love Swan House but have not visited for several years. So I was very surprised at the blue front doors; not unattractive but unexpected. (I think they may have been black or very dark green previously). Since it is a house museum, to paint them a new color would be highly inappropriate, so are we to assume it is a restoration of the original? In historic paint analysis, blue is a notoriously fugitive color, especially on the exterior even though this location has protection against direct weather, and often difficult to analyze with accuracy. Surely there are still Atlantans who remember the house from the Inmans' occupancy. It would be interesting to know the history.
ReplyDeleteI visited the Swan House a few years back and also posted of the tour on my blog also following my visit. Wandering up to the house through the woods and around the grounds was lovely as well. I was particularly charmed by the sun porch, its furnishings and side garden areas. Sort of a Downton Abbey right here in the US!
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Brings back memories of my 5 years in Atlanta right out of law school. I really thought I had the world by the tail!! Thanks for these images. Just lovely. M.
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