A Family Affair. At nearly 4,000 square feet, 1961 Continental Dr., NE blends the ultimate family-friendly layout with solitude and convenience of location.
Trying to buy just the right home in Intown is a challenge. Downright frustrating in many cases. Those reports of over a "thousand people a month" moving Intown are true, and housing inventory is at an all-time low. Many buyers are left with the feeling they will have to snap up almost anything that pops up or be left behind. If you've had the discipline to wait for the ideal home to appear, your patience may be rewarded here.
Welcome Home.
When you get just to the northeast of Atlanta’s core, you’ll notice pretty quickly that your options are all over the place. Rest assured, you’re not going to find any displeasing properties — the last of the bona-fide fixer uppers were snatched up years ago — but size of home? Number of bedrooms? How much property you have surrounding your homestead? It goes across the board, from single-person one-beds to, in this case, a family home in the truest sense.
Five bedrooms (plus a study) and four baths (including the pretty-darned-big "apartment sized" space on the basement level which includes a family room, bedroom, bathroom and den) are the baseline in this Briarcliff Woods home that sits on a sprawling, peaceful chunk of green space. And if you work on the east side of the City? The back-road commute could hardly be easier.
Parklike Setting in the heart of Atlanta
The current owners have lived here for two decades, and they are only the second owners since the home’s construction in 1966. We figured if anyone can tell us about the day-to-day at 1961 Continental, it would be them. We discovered the thing that first drew them to the home, and continued to be a point of solace year after year, was the sense of relief the home provided for their entire family.
“It’s very central and convenient — Virginia Highlands and Little Five Points are just down the street, and finding a traffic-free way to get to places like Lenox Square in Buckhead, Home Depot, you name it, is a cinch,” the seller says. “But it’s on all this land at the end of a quiet street so it feels like you’re in a park setting. One of our favorite things has been to sit in the sunroom in the morning, listening to the birds while reading the paper.” At 4,000 square feet, this might be a little ‘too much home’ for some (though the basement, with a separate entrance, is ideal for a long-term rental with a small investment). But, if you’re a… couple with three kids? One of you works from home, the other works in the Emory/CDC area? And you STILL need a space that the in-laws can call their own (again, that basement)? We’ve got a feeling this place is going to shift up to the top of your list pretty quickly.
Large Eat-in Kitchen
Along with a color palette of whites and greys that leave infinite possibilities for your family’s own personality to be infused, warm hardwood is a common feature in this home, from the floors throughout to the cabinetry in the kitchen — certainly enough shelf space to keep provisions for entire the family. As is the case in most homes, the wide-open kitchen, with its terracotta tile and abundance of counter space, serves as the beating heart of the family, and a space where guests can be regaled by culinary tact.
There are so many cabinets!” The seller says. “And lots of counter space... These Silestone countertops are pretty indestructible, so we’ve always experimented away in the kitchen without being afraid of breaking it. A big peninsula to roll out pizza dough, arts, and crafts, surface space for guests to hang out while we’re preparing a meal… and it has a view of the backyard that makes you feel like you’re out in the country. ”
Oversized Master Suite
Upstairs, the landing branches off into three of the bedrooms (the other one is a cute guest suite downstairs), as well as a dedicated study space for working from home. “There are two walls with windows in every bedroom,” the seller says. “And we didn’t have to sacrifice any closet space. I’ve always loved the layout for that reason.”
Downstairs, a large separated basement space lends enough amenities to qualify as a fully functional two-bedroom apartment, separated from the main home. The layout here is pretty genius, so take a close look, especially if you’re thinking of renting this space out on the long-term — guests/tenants can enter from the outside, but there’s a second staircase that leads to a downstairs utility-room that can be easily blocked off. Just spitballing.
But back to those early mornings with the AJC and chirping birds. The back patio is lovely, offering views of a professionally cultivated, easily maintained lawn, and just enough trees to provide some intimacy. But if it’s springtime? The fully enclosed sunroom (more of a lanai, but who’s counting) brings oodles of sunlight inside. A few pieces of rattan, a chunky wooden table, and some soft lighting will easily turn this bright space into somewhere Hemingway would have pounded on a typewriter. “There are so many places in this house to just settle in and read a book for a while,” the seller adds. “No distractions, no traffic outside… The first thing people always notice is how quiet it is here, five minutes away from their home.
Professionally Landscaped Backyard w/ Patio
Finally, we can’t close out without talking about the construction. Not much to say, aside from timeless brickwork on all four sides of the home and subtle nods to classic colonial stylings. No muss, no fuss — one of those (very few) design elements that work as well today as it did in 1966 (or 1866, for that matter). Georgia does do bricks well, after all — an element that bleeds back inside to the turnkey fireplace in the family room.
In short 1961 Continental Drive, NE is a very particular type of home, ideal for a young couple with two kids in the backseat and one more on the way. The third owner of this home will have the pleasure of guiding it into the next several decades, an anchor of comfort and stability in the midst of the wonderful chaos that comes with watching your family grow across the years.
The seller is represented by The Keen Brothers, Ben & Joshua Keen.
Call today for a private showing: 404-538-5356
Please, serious inquiries only.