Touring the Maggie Griffin Design Studio & Office: Exterior

As you might already know, the past few months have brought several exciting changes for me and my business, Maggie Griffin Design. Mainly, I’ve just opened our new office space and studio! It’s a little white cottage full of big ideas, and today, I am thrilled to share a peek at the before and after of the exterior of the house.

While just a few short months have passed since we welcomed friends, family, and clients through our doors, the process for my office and studio has been in the works for quite some time. For the better part of the last year, I’ve been working on the planning and renovation of the office space and studio for Maggie Griffin Design. While that process was completed in a little under 5 months, my husband, David, and I have been scouting potential houses for me to renovate for my office space for roughly two years. It’s been a roller coaster project, but I’ve loved every second of it.  

With the help of Brian Hughes of The Simpson Company, we worked together to find a space for me. In fact, when David and Brian found the cottage that is now mine, it wasn’t even for sale, and the family who owned it hadn’t planned to sell it just yet. However, David and Brian are a wealth of knowledge, and a powerhouse real estate team, so I trusted them completely. With their guidance, we landed on a little white cottage just steps from bustling downtown Gainesville and Brenau University, right in the middle of the historic district.

Before our little white cottage became ours, it had been in the same family since it was built in 1921. From what we understand, the house was ordered from a Sears and Roebuck catalog, and built on the lot where it still stands.

Even before construction began, I had a vision for the house and trusted our friend and contractor, Kevin Flack of Treadstone Construction to help us make it happen. With much care and attention to the original charm, character, and details of the home, we made it into the perfect studio space for my interior design business.

We made just a few changes to the exterior of the house because I loved the small cottage feel. We freshened everything up with a coat of Benjamin Moore’s China White and added beautiful Knoxville Gray shutters. My contractor’s talented father sanded down the front door to its original splendor, and we get so many sweet compliments on it! The original screened-in porch needed some TLC, so while we were at it during construction, we changed it to an open airport with a pretty blue ceiling in Benjamin Moore’s Ice Cap. We couldn’t miss an opportunity to have a traditional Southern “Haint blue” ceiling! We added a simple x-railing under the handrail, too.

A little peek into our paint colors:

Here are a few more before and during images of our process:

And now, here is my happy “after”:

I know you guys love knowing the design details as much as I do. The teak bench is from Overstock, as are the yellow garden stools. Those items are a good reminder that great products can truly come from anywhere! The outdoor pillows are from one of my favorite local Atlanta companies, Lacefield Designs.

In addition to being a home for Maggie Griffin Design, I am also lucky enough have my friends Caroline of Caroline Nix Gallery and Jennifer of Looms and Lighting under the little white house’s roof too. We often joke we, along with a few other new Maggie Griffin Design faces,  are the modern day version of “Designing Women”. Since our grand opening on April 26, we’ve been settling into our new headquarters. Let’s just say there have been a lot of pinch-me moments.

Here’s a few peeks into their office “before and afters” too!

The Looms and Lighting space transformed into a gorgeous place to house Jenn’s rugs and lamps!

Caroline’s lovely gallery space also saw a pretty dramatic “before and after!”

Over the next few days and weeks, I’ll be sharing even more about this renovation project. It is a dream come true to have my own space, designed by me, housing all of my favorite fabrics, trims, and accessories. Be sure to check back in as I give you even more peeks into Maggie Griffin Design!