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"              While some houses are designed from the outside in, interior designer Stacey Kirby, of Seiber Design in Atlanta, created her house from the inside out. &amp;quot;I thought about the flow before the structure. I knew I wanted the kitchen to be the central hub. And, as the mother of a five-year-old and a newborn, I wanted to be able to entertain on one side of the house while the children slept on the other.&amp;quot; That focus on real-life functionality inspired a house with two wings-one an open living-dining room, the other a cluster of bedrooms and baths-with a spacious island kitchen and deck in between.  Located in Buckhead, Georgia, a rural community 65 miles east of Atlanta, the 25-acre wooded site seemed to call for something simple, as did the Kirbys&amp;#039; lifestyle. &amp;quot;I knew we would never use a formal dining room, so I incorporated a dining area into a large, informal living room.&amp;quot; Stacey also carefully considered costs, deciding to splurge on two features she felt made a tangible difference: quality semicustom windows (transoms over single-pane casements) and countertops (honed granite for the kitchen and cast concrete for the bathrooms). She economized in other areas by specifying, for example, paint-grade wood cabinets (made of less expensive wood that&amp;#039;s coated after installation with an opaque finish such as paint) on the perimeter of the kitchen and by installing pine floors throughout-which, though more easily scratched, felt appropriate to the country setting. Stained a dark walnut, the floors &amp;quot;have been a lifesaver&amp;quot; because the owners&amp;#039; black Labrador retrievers, six-year-old Sadie and puppy Ali, like to roll around in the mud; in addition, wood flooring was a good choice, says Stacey, because of her husband, Daryl&amp;#039;s, allergies.  Another way the Kirbys accommodated their budget-and Stacey&amp;#039;s limited time to design and supervise construction-was by building the house in two stages. Framing took place all at once, but the second floor won&amp;#039;t be finished until next spring, when it will become two children&amp;#039;s bedrooms, a bath, and a playroom. Once the couple&amp;#039;s older child moves upstairs, her first-floor bedroom and bath will be redecorated as an adult guest suite.  One of Stacey and Daryl&amp;#039;s priorities was the large, open kitchen that forms the central core of the house. &amp;quot;Some of my friends advised against placing the kitchen so that it&amp;#039;s the first living space you see when you enter the house, but now it&amp;#039;s everyone&amp;#039;s favorite place, just as we had hoped,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;It was partly a reaction to the claustrophobic galley kitchen we had in our previous home, a small bungalow in Atlanta&amp;#039;s Morningside neighborhood. The new kitchen is 15 by 20 feet-nice and big. Whenever we entertain, everyone gathers there or on the screen porch off the living-dining room.&amp;quot; A massive, 11-by-3\u00BD-foot work island crafted from beech anchors the kitchen. Stacey keeps it clean and uncluttered, without appliances (other than a microwave on a lower shelf) or a sink interrupting the expanse of honed black Absolute granite. There are no upper cabinets, just one open shelf above the dishwasher for glassware; ample storage is provided in the island and in the painted lower cabinets that line one window wall and flank the range.  With easy indoor-outdoor living in mind, the house was designed to enhance natural cross ventilation and reduce the need for air conditioning. Banks of windows on opposite sides of the kitchen encourage the breeze, as do French doors connecting the living-dining room to a screen porch on one side and a deck on the other, and those joining the master bedroom and a covered porch.   On cooler nights, the fireplace is a focal point in the living area. Its distinctive surround (filling much of the wall) was welded from heavy-gauge sheet metal, then waxed by Mark Schweitzer, an Atlanta artist. At one end is a niche for firewood; at the other are built-in shelves of maple, which house the TV and stereo and are capped by a rustic, chunky mantel of rough-sawn wood that extends the length of the fireplace wall.  Like the architecture, the furnishings are intentionally simple. Shots of color from a bright red Asian chest, rugs, and artwork enliven walls painted a parchment hue in the living-dining room. &amp;quot;In an open house like this, without moldings, it works better to have one seamless, continuous color,&amp;quot; says Stacey-although she did vary the palette slightly in the bedrooms, selecting a camel color for the master bedroom and a yellow-green for her daughter&amp;#039;s room. The couple&amp;#039;s sleeping quarters are minimally furnished: A large walk- in closet (off the bath) eliminates the need for bureaus in the master bedroom and also allows Stacey, who wakes up much earlier than her husband, to get dressed without disturbing him.  &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s so fortunate to be able to plan your own house-you understand best how you live,&amp;quot; she says. Of course, sometimes it&amp;#039;s the unplanned results that truly make a house a home. Case in point: The walk-in, two-person shower that Stacey designed for the master bathroom has become extremely popular-with the entire family. Avery and her friends like to don bathing suits and play there, and even the dogs like to jump into the shower with Stacey-proof that the best-laid plans are the ones that are flexible enough to welcome change. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/house-interiors/a909/going-the-flow-17384/>