Modern On Their Mind (continued)
Bucking tradition in the suburbs of Atlanta, an art-loving couple and their architect best friend created a relaxed contemporary showcase for their family's 21st-century lifestyle.
An open kitchen/dining area was the "starting element" in redesigning the house, Bonnie recalls. It was so important to the Fishmans that it survived a cutback to the original design plan to meet the project budget. "Design derives from client needs," Sherman says. When the Fishmans entertain, "Eric is doing a lot of the cooking, or he's bringing in a chef friend. I can remember these conversations: 'If I'm cooking, I want to be able to look into the dining room. And I want to be able to see the river.'" Kevin Rathbun of Rathbun's and Gerry Klaskala of Aria, friends of the family who are both top Atlanta chefs, helped devise the kitchen layout.
"After using this kitchen for a while," Eric says, "I wouldn't do anything differently."
Another friend, Scott Reilly of RetroModern.com, helped pick out the furniture. The dining tables—three, end to end—were chosen partly for their casual look, which recalls picnic tables. When places are needed for more people, tabletops of a similar finish and the same dimensions are placed onto folding tables, extending seating continuously into the living area. Other nights, Eric separates the three tables and rotates them 45 degrees. "Thirty guys come over and we play poker," he says.
Atlanta's climate invites indoor-outdoor living most of the year. Even on the hottest days of summer, the glass doors are slid back at least in the early mornings, to let in the breeze off the river. "From the beginning," says Eric, the house was "thought of in relation to this gorgeous, gorgeous piece of property."
Bonnie Fishman thinks of the master bedroom as "a retreat, a restorative space." It is quite modest in size; the contrast with the voluminous, flowing living areas surely enhances its feeling of refuge. But she worried that Sherman's design for the hearth, which extends even farther into the room than the wall above it, would take too much space. "That's an example of how I took the leap and trusted him because I know him so well," she says. And if anything, this strong, dark horizontal element makes the room seem larger.
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