Pardon Our Progress • Maggie Griffin Design

Over the summer, I have been working on the renovation of four apartments in Downtown Athens. At the corner of College Avenue and Clayton Street, the apartments are arguably the best address in the Classic City. At least for a college student, that is. However, it wouldn’t take much for this wife and mama to be convinced to live here either – my love affair of this town is still going strong even though I’ve already been there, done that, and gotten a ~~gazillion sorority~~ t-shirts.

Several of my friends lived downtown as UGA students, and loved it. The four apartments are of course above store fronts – memorable places for any past student like Cookies Cafe, Planet Smoothie, Masada, and Marvin’s Shoe Repair.

When contacted to head the interior design of the space, I was salivating before the conversation had ended. What a dream for this girl!

While I would be working with a fantastic contractor, I would be put in charge of the many finishes and design choices that go into such an undertaking. Paint colors, tile choices, hardwood floor stain, appliances, counter tops, cabinetry colors, light fixtures, and the like.

I would be keeping with a historic look with modern touches – the buildings date back for over a hundred years. Part of which were used by the band R.E.M. as their office space before retirement last fall. I mean, how cool is that?

We’re continuing to work on the space and discovering the fun quirks of old buildings, so progress is sometimes halted by these funny little characteristics. However, I had to show you what I began with…so you’ll really appreciate the “after” when it’s all completed.