Mid-century modern styling is hot and classic. Those of us who grew up in the last half of the 20th century easily recall homes that were considered leading edge, with large sliding glass doors, walls of windows, flat or low-pitched roofs and semi-open floor plans to encourage entertaining as well as family-gathering places.
Add in that the house is on nearly 1.8 acres on the shoreline of Lake Lanier and that the architect William Martin of Atlanta apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright as he built his historic Taliesin in Wisconsin, and you’ve got not only a piece of history but an incredible lake home.
“Aqua Casa, custom-built for Gainesville Dentist Ben E. Hampton and his family, is on the market for the first time,” said Gina Kendrick, Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services of Georgia. “Built in the late 1950s in Chattahoochee Country Club, we receive inquiries daily for this distinctive residence.”
Ben and Betty Hampton Sr. raised their three children in the 3,226-square-foot, 4-bedroom, 4-bath home. Now adults, they reflect on their memories of growing up in Aqua Casa.
Aqua Casa was designed by William Martin, an apprentice to famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. / Aqua Casa offers stunning sunset views.
“I moved into the house when I was 4, and initially worried that Santa wouldn’t know how to enter the house because instead of a fireplace, my parents chose to build a fountain,” said Elizabeth Hampton Harris. “Somehow Santa found a way. And the stunning fountain with its tropical plants was always the first thing people noticed when they visited.”
From the foyer of the split-level two-story home guests can see beyond the fountain for a view through the house toward the lake and nightly sunsets. The main level space is flexible with “Woodmaster” folding door dividers that create separated rooms for formal entertaining or casual family and friends gatherings.
“As children, when my parents entertained their adult friends, my brothers and I rarely used the ‘entertainment rooms,’ and most of our friends never used the front door,” Harris said. “The family room and kitchen saw all the action. Friends, family and pets entered through the back door next to the kitchen, facing the woods, or from the large sliding glass door.”
“The house is situated to optimize privacy from the street,” Kendrick said. “Many of its features, such as skylights, transoms, large windows and sliding glass doors, incorporate nature and the westward views of the lake almost never disappoint because of the stunning sunsets.”
Aqua Casa offers stunning sunset views.
Ample outdoor living and entertaining space includes a patio/deck that runs the full width of the first floor that looks toward the lake and dock.
“The family room, patio and lake were fantastic spaces for all ages-birthday parties, wedding showers, baby showers and family reunions over the years,” Harris said.
The basement was used for recreation (ping pong, pool), a workshop and a spacious laundry room with laundry chutes from the upstairs bedrooms and one from the master bedroom.
“Now that I’m older, I really appreciate the beauty of nature that surrounds the house,” Harris said. “I love seeing the geese that watch over the house, gliding across the lake in the morning, going one way, and then in the opposite direction in the evening, as though they are changing guard.
“And at bedtime, you can hear the sounds of crickets on the wooded side of the house, and nothing but quiet on the lake side. Best of all every evening spectacular sunsets paint the sky above the lake.”
For more info about Aqua Casa, contact Gina Kendrick, 770 654-5698.
Photos: by Gina Kendrick
The annual Sweep the Hooch is your chance to walk, wade, or paddle as we come together to clean up the river we all depend on.
