135 W Pharr Rd., Decatur, GA 30030

It’s no secret that Oakhurst has come to embody the quintessence of Intown living. The utterly tranquil, tree-strewn streets that radiate outward from a darling central dining hub are populated by families who enjoy access to one of the best school districts in the state, proximity to Decatur and Midtown alike, and neighbors who actually… know each other.  These denizens of Oakhurst are unified by their homes — elevated affairs that embody the time-honed history and individual personality in equal parts. Yet, even so, there are only a handful of homes that truly “stand out.”  If HGTV serves to aggregate, 135 West Pharr Road is one of these homes. (Literally.) This 4 bed/3 bath — the recipient of a fresh head-to-toe overhaul from Atlanta’s renowned Terracotta Design Build — has been touted on the network in recent months.  It’s easy to see why. “Family Friendly” and something akin to “Boatloads of Natural Light” were concepts tossed around. No doubt, the broadcast included references to a staggeringly large front yard, the heavenly north-facing back deck, twin fireplaces, upgraded flooring, intentional coloring, the apotheosis of a cozy front porch… the pitch-perfect bathroom fixtures, for heaven’s sake. The subtleties of a panel of wallpaper in the formal dining space that just “bring the room together…” And, ahh, heck. Those coffered ceilings.   Television, however, is a limited medium. It’s not really capable of expressing simple joys. Sitting around a roiling fire, tucked away in the backyard, on a cool fall evening, with a bottle of white fresh out of the wine fridge. The humble luxury of the quiet afforded by such separation from an already tranquil street. The windows, windows, windows. Or, conveying the extreme convenience of an entirely separate, fully outfitted, 600-square-foot (1/1) apartment on the lowest level (which preserves, incidentally, the 4/3 format on the two floors above). A perfect In-Law Suite or transform it into a rental property that surely nets an additional $1200+ in monthly income. But, in the end, very little of that matters. This is all observation and suggestion, seen and unseen, through the proverbial cathode ray. Life is not a TV show, and a home is not a museum to be boasted. It’s a place, one where memories are made, where people grow and evolve, and where all the faintest touches of personality can be imbued. This is a slow process, and it simply takes more time than 30-minutes (minus ads) can provide. The individual, profoundly personal reality is more of a… human kind of thing. And isn’t it wonderful when this all takes place in a house, and in a neighborhood, and in a city that is objectively lovely? Priced to bring immediate attention.