This kind of compromise continued throughout the renovation process and resulted in a home that combines family antiques and contemporary décor with fanciful touches that hint at the couple’s happy-go-lucky attitudes and respect for one another. Whether they are deciding what to hang on the walls or discussing the state of the union, this rare pair finds a way to voice their differing opinions without letting it affect their happy home. “It’s not some huge peace treaty with us,” Dye says. “We enjoy each other so much, just being around each other, that there are things you can give in on.” Dye, 52, and Franklin, 59, met for the first time in 1997 in Washington, D.C., while Franklin was a lobbyist with the Kellogg Co. and Dye served as chief of staff to Georgia’s late Sen. Paul Coverdell. Franklin says he noticed Dye’s Southern drawl—much like his mother’s—and they connected on the fact that both their families were from Augusta. “We had this very animated conversation about family— I’d been to high school with his first cousins and knew his family,” says Dye, now a self-employed government-relations consultant. “George was happily married and there was no follow-up at the time.” After Franklin’s wife passed away unexpectedly in 2002, he reconnected with Dye in April 2004 while passing through Atlanta. Less than two years after their first date, they were married and currently split their time between Atlanta and Michigan, where Franklin runs a public-affairs company and has a radio show called “Ask the Lobbyist” on 95.3 WBCK-FM. When setting up their Atlanta home, they decided to stay in Howell Mill Plantation, a townhome community in Buckhead where Dye had lived for many years, and move into a larger unit across the street. “We wanted something bigger and we thought, let’s start over instead of living in her past or living in my past,” Franklin says. Upon closing on the three-bedroom, three-bath home in August 2008, they hired Esther McMaster Andrew of Esther Ashe Designs, whose home they had seen on the Cathedral of St. Philips Tour of Homes in 2007. They admired Andrew’s ability to combine sophisticated antiques with fun, trendy accents and wanted her to translate that into their own home. “When I went into their home, the house was dated and it was dark,” Andrew recalls. “They wanted something fresh and a little more transitional.”
In November 2008, the renovation team began by completely gutting the home. Dye and Franklin replaced the yellowish oak floors with a dark chocolate wood and converted the downstairs bedroom into an open den. They also transformed the downstairs bathroom into a quaint powder room by concealing the tub with a seat cushion and throw pillows and adding an antique sink from J. Tribble and antique sconces from Jerry Pair Antiques. The most notable aspect of the powder room, however, is the wall of old, black-and-white family photos in antique frames. “Both of them really have a strong affection for the legacy of their families,” Andrew says. “That was a nice thing to give it a touch of who they are.” Dye and Franklin (with Andrew’s help) also completely redid the kitchen, exchanging the 1970s-style, dark cabinets with prefabricated ones painted in Farrow and Ball’s Hardwick White. To make the best use of light, they also broke out a wall and added stylish double arches leading to the dining room, as well as a coffered ceiling above the breakfast table. The table itself was brought down from Franklin’s lake house in Michigan—much to Dye’s chagrin. In the end, the couple leaned on their designer for the final word in many decorating decisions. “[The breakfast table] was the one thing she didn’t want brought in from the lake house,” Franklin says with a smirk. “There was room for it and it was the first thing that came off the moving truck. Esther said, unprompted, ‘That table will work.’” The dining room was also an important aspect of the redesign. Painted in a fanciful Farrow and Ball Powder Blue, the room contains traditional furniture pieces—Dye’s mother’s table and chairs—to create an ideal space for entertaining. Other adornments include a silver tea service and candelabras that were given to Dye’s parents as a wedding gift. “I am of the era and the ilk where you save all your antiques and you pass your antiques down, so I really wanted to use my mother’s and grandmother’s things,” Dye says. Although Andrew and Dye influenced many of the decorating decisions, Franklin had complete veto power over the décor of the converted front den, which was designated as his “man cave.” “George got to choose and approve anything that went into the den,” Dye says. “My grandmother Continued >>
George Franklin and Molly Dye cook in their kitchen, which was redone in cabinets painted in Farrow and Ball’s Hardwick White. TJ Hart/hartografie.com
A desk in the living room showcases crystal candlesticks and a sculpture called “The Passion,” which George gave Molly as a Christmas present. TJ Hart/hartografie.com
May/June 2011 | Simply Buckhead
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