A tour of Southern Living magazine’s 2012 Idea House on the Gin Property in Senoia by Peachtree City residents Susan and Evan Stitt soon became an adventure that the couple had not predicted.
Though they purchased the home and moved in more than a year ago, Evan and Susan are still contacted weekly by people wanting a peek at the custom home which features an Old South/New South theme.
The former Peachtree City residents bought their new home on the Gin Property in September 2012 while the Idea House tours were ongoing and moved into the home in February 2013 after the tours ended.
Originally from Michigan, Susan and Evan lived in Peachtree City for nearly a dozen years before claiming their new home in Senoia. The couple has three grown daughters.
In all, approximately 30,000 people toured the 2012 Idea House. But the official tours that ceased in December 2012 were not the end of the interest in the 3,400 sq. ft. house that carries an Old South/New South theme.
Susan said they toured the Idea House, thinking that once they retired a home such as that might be what they would like. The couple had dinner at Southern Ground the next Friday night and found that about half the people from their neighborhood in Peachtree City were at the restaurant. After dinner Evan and Susan walked over to the Idea House a short distance away and checked out another home being built nearby.
“We kept thinking about it and decided to go ahead and do it,” Susan said of the decision to make the purchase. “It was here, so do it. It fit our current lifestyle and our future.”
So Evan and Susan bought the Idea House in September and, prior to it closing for tours in December 2012, the couple visited often.
“Some people who came for the tour would take their pictures in the bathtub or around the fire pit and post them on Facebook,” Susan said with a chuckle. “And dozens of people would have their pictures taken sitting in the front porch swing.”
Many people would think the end of the tours in December 2012 would be the end of the visitors wanting to see the home. But that’s not what happened.
“It was dozens of people per month from multiple states,” the couple said of people arriving to see the Idea House even though the tours had long ended. “We’re still contacted at least weekly by people who missed the tour or by someone building a home on the Old South/New South theme and wanting to see something similar.”
And still today, many of those visitors want their picture taken while sitting in the front porch swing.
So now just over a year since transitioning to their home in Senoia, Evan and Susan offered some insight on how they assessed the move.
“We loved Peachtree City, but here we can walk to downtown restaurants and shops and events. And we can still use our golf cart,” Evan said with a smile.
In considering the transition to their new home, Susan had a complimentary take on the move.
“We’ll be married 30 years in October,” Susan said, eyes sparkling. “Doing this is the smartest, funnest thing we’ve ever done.”
That says it all.
