Commercial Buildings Turned Into Homes

Architect David Hill, his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children (from left: Wade, eight, Luke, six, and Breyton, ten), have an unusual home by the standards of their college-town setting in Auburn, Alabama. Built in 1920, the industrial brick building has had previous incarnations as a church, a recycling center, and a pool hall, among others.

In the kitchen, the continuous kitchen worktop and table are made of marble from Caledonia Marble. The pink Tamatik dining chairs are by Connie Chisholm and are from the Canadian design shop Made. The Blinding Love pendant lights are by Periphere, which has shops in Montreal and Toronto. The iron rails were inspired both by screens the couple had seen on their travels in the Middle East and by the ornate wrought ironwork favored by their Portuguese neighbors. Barzel Ironworks fabricated the banister to Sawatzky’s design by slicing up iron pipe, welding it, and painting it.

When Jean-Guy Chabauty and Chris Barrie of Atelier Moderno began tackling the space, they decided to stay true to the character and grace of the old autobody shop. "We wanted to retain the spirit and the grit of the original space as much as possible, while creating something modern, comfortable, and alluring," says Barrie. "Sometimes you really need to work to get that character." After playing with a few options for the 1,600-square-foot building, they decided to keep the existing envelope untouched, instead focusing the bulk of the $250,000 renovation project on building out an open interior that included reclaimed and rich materials.

The structure boasts a roof garden replete with turbines and solar panels, as well as fifteen geothermal wells sunk underground.