D. Stanley Dixon: my favorite architect

I just received my December issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, and although I normally do not post about articles from the current issue (what's the fun in that- everyone should get to experience them first hand in the magazine), I could not resist mentioning one of the features that made me so proud of the beautiful homes in our city, and the long-standing tradition of talented architects and outstanding Classical architecture in Atlanta.

The style section of AH&L has a photo feature on 'timeless style' as seen in the architecture of Atlanta. Twenty homes were selected to represent the best of classical design - some old, some new. Although the architects behind the homes were not listed, I immediately noticed that my favorite architect, D. Stanley Dixon, was the architect on four of the twenty homes - an amazing testament to Stan's talent for creating beautiful homes with the purity of form that speaks to the very best in Classical architecture. Here are the four 'Stan Dixon' homes in the AH&L twenty:

229 Nacoochie

This home was a renovation project that can be more aptly described as a transformation, so extensive were the modifications to the exterior facade, roofline, and floorplan. It is hard to believe that this home was originally a 1940s Colonial ranch! Stan Dixon won the 2009 Shutze Award for small renovation with this spectacular project. The prestigious Shutze Awards are sponsored by the Southeast Chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture and recognize excellence in Classical architecture. The awards are named for Philip Trammell Shutze (1890-1982), one of America's greatest Classical architects. Shutze practiced out of Atlanta, and some of the most revered historical buildings in Atlanta were designed by him.

174 Peachtree Battle

I snapped a quick iphone picture of this home in the spring, as it is one of the most beautiful examples of a newly built French style house in Atlanta. Stan Dixon designed this house, and it was completed earlier this year. It looks perfectly at home among its neighbors on the gracious Peachtree Battle Avenue.

280 Peachtree Battle

Stan was the project architect on the design of this new home when he worked for Norman Askins Architects during the early part of this decade. As with the previous house, it is truly difficult to tell that this house was built less than 10 years ago. It fits right in with the neighboring homes, many of which were built in the 1920s-1940s.

2841 Vernon

This home was a renovation of a 1950s ranch. The goal of the renovation was to improve the scale and proportion of the home, and make it more fitting to the elegant neighborhood in which it resides. Stan Dixon decided to take the renovation of the home in a French Provincial style direction, as the already existing pitched hip roof and French doors across the front lent themselves very easily to this style. Stan won the 2008 Shutze award for residential /single family under 4000 square feet category.

I have known Stan for many years, as our daughters go to school together. In my pre-blog days, he was the only architect I knew, so I would always pepper him with questions about architecture whenever I saw him. Finally, all of his patience with my questions and enthusiasm for architecture has paid off; Stan is the architect that my husband and I have selected to design our new home, which is slowly but surely emerging as French Revival style. We appreciate Stan's dedication to Classical architecture, his excellence at his craft, and his talent in blending the best of Classical architecture with the needs of a family in the 21st century. It has been a pleasure working with him; even though we are still in the early stages of the process, already it has been a fascinating experience to begin the design of a home from the ground up.

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