Pierce-Lee Residence

• The Cabins at Pierce-Lee Farm
• The Land at Pierce-Lee Farm
• Thoughts from C.Clay Chapman, the designer and builder

This grand home house sits atop one of Northwestern Georgia’s low-lying mountains. Its roof is framed with cypress timbers and the floors are made of oak and ceilings of spruce. There are two master suites and two guest bedrooms in the main house and a third suite in the adjacent carriage house, which Chapman designed and built first and where he lived for two years while constructing the residence. The home offers not only a quiet escape from the chaos of city life, but the property’s unique cabins and pasturelands of rich, Southern earth present the possibility of commercial ventures. The cabins have been shared with family but also rented out to lavish praise. The farmland could be used in the same manner as the nearby farm of a highly acclaimed chef to produce organic vegetables and fruit for Atlanta’s stylish restaurants.

One owner of the Pierce-Lee Residence has had family in the area for more than four generations.  The owners accumulated the property that became their 60-acre farm over a period of 20 years. Because of their love of the land and their community, they commissioned designer C. Clay Chapman to build a period brick home that would blend with the area’s laid back, rural way of life and their desire for elegance in a pastoral setting. Chapman first built a carriage house at the highest point on the property where he lived while he planned and executed his plan and the owners’ vision. Part of his challenge was to achieve not only the owners’ aesthetic desires but the home’s need for functional efficiency. He achieved both goals by running the duct work, electrical and plumbing run through the beams where possible and the property’s four functional fireplaces are the centerpiece of the design.

Video of the Pierce-Lee Residence and Farm

 

The period main house combines Chapman’s background in fine arts and his penchant for using brick as a sculpting medium with the peaceful setting of rural Polk County. It also reflects his building philosophy that because “ … our lives are too brief for mediocrity … it is we who decide daily whether to participate in that which is hopeful and amazing or that which is ineffectual and mundane.” The result is a unique, comfortable and private period farmland home that beautifully reflects a slower, more relaxed pace of life in a simpler time yet is built to last for hundreds of years.

The home won the 2011 Brick In Architecture Award from the Brick Industry Association not only for its elegant brickwork in every room but its time-honored traditional use of structural masonry. The exterior walls are three bricks – 12 inches — thick, and the interior walls are two bricks thick.  It is surrounded by deciduous trees that keep it cool in summer and warm in winter. More than 100 structural arches span the openings of all the windows, doors, and vaults throughout the home, which features magnificent post and beam construction and modern amenities in the kitchen and bathrooms. Chapman used 170,000+ clay bricks to build this grand home with the help of two apprentices.

 

When visitors first arrive at this inspiring home, they are greeted by a porch with a swing that invites them to sit a moment, relax and contemplate the grandeur that awaits them behind the front door. As they open the door undulating brick walls welcome them like arms embracing a friend or loved one. As they look around, they will see that a refreshing mixture of classic architecture and modern elements blend together seamlessly to form a unique canvas that can accommodate a myriad of decorative styles.

The fireplace in the great room dominates the open interior. Flying buttress supports elevate the ceilings to soaring heights and draw the eye upward to emphasize the grandeur of the fireplace. This wood-burning Goliath is almost large enough for a person to stand in! The masonry of the cylindrical fireplace demonstrates Chapman’s skill as a true Master of his craft.

The use of hardwood floors and wooden ceilings give the brickwork a warmth that makes it less overwhelming, and more awe-inspiring.  The great room shares its space with the dining room. A triptych of windows on the dining room wall frames the exterior landscape like a work of art. If one lingers long enough and a storm begins, they will be stirred by childhood memories of being lulled to sleep by the pattering of a rain on a tin roof.

The dining room flows seamlessly into the gourmet kitchen where most modern conveniences have been cloaked in discreet paneling. The overall effect provides a functional, yet cohesive look with the rest of the home. The exposed beams and wooden ceiling match the cabinetry and floors, unifying the space from top to bottom.  Six windows with structural masonry arches flood the space with natural light.  Black honed granite countertops provide a striking contrast with the Romano black/white granite of an island that boasts a breakfast bar and a gas range.  Elegant and modern drop lighting fixtures provide an interesting juxtaposition between the brick and modern steel.

The owners reassembled two historic cabins prior to commissioning Chapman to build the Pierce-Lee Residence.  They lived full time in the cabin on the lake for many years but now rent them out or invite friends and family to vacation on the expansive property.  For more information on the cabins, land and the award winning architectural achievements of Clay Chapman click on the appropriate links.  This remarkable property is being offered for sale for the first time.  To arrange a private viewing of the property or for even more information and details please contact us here or we can be reached by phone at 404-647-4944.

View of Lee Road in Cedartown and the entrances to the Pierce-Lee Farm property