Atlanta interior designer Bill Murphy was on the hunt for a new home when he spotted an orange brick, 1960s-era ranch tucked among grand Tudors and elegant Georgians in the prestigious Buckhead district. The house's deceptively generous size-5,700 square feet on two levels-and heavily wooded lot won him over. With encouragement and advice from his longtime business partner and fellow designer, Jim Essary, Bill bought the house and embarked on an extensive renovation. The orange brick was painted a neutral putty that blends with the wooded surroundings. To camouflage the chimney, a wrought-iron ladder-style trellis was added and planted with jasmine. A new driveway, walkways, and plantings of magnolia trees, azaleas, ivy, bamboo, and flowering annuals make the house a welcome retreat at the end of Bill's busy workday.

Design:
Architect: Fred Bainbridge (deceased).
Interior designer: Bill Murphy, Essary & Murphy Inc., 2870 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta, GA 30305; 404/609-9091, jessary.com.
Landscape designer: Hamilton Land Services, 404/842-1949, hamiltonlandservices.com.

Photographs by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
Text by Amy Elbert
Produced by Lisa Mowry