Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Owning a Piece of History- perhaps for a day (Philip Trammell Shutze Part II)

Welcome to Part II of Philip Shutze treasures for sale (or in this case, for rent).  Thanks to Things That Inspire and the Architectural Tourist, I will be featuring a Part III tomorrow with more finds!

This house has such a great history (and TONS of photos) that I think it warrants its own post. Dubbed "The Pink Palace" for its original exterior color, The Rhodes House (1929) sits at 541 West Paces Ferry Road. The house was built for the Rhodes family, of the famed Rhodes Furniture company.  More recently, the home was purchased by Zurab Lezhava for his wife, Nino Sukhishvili, in 2004 for $3.6 million, and underwent a complete renovation and became "green."  Apparently, this reduced the energy bills from $6,500/month down to $150.  

Though the couple initially had no plans to sell, the surprising death of her father, head of the Georgia State Dance Company (as in the country of Georgia, rather than the state), prompted the couple to return to Georgia.  The house created a buzz in Atlanta as the most expensive piece of property, with an asking price of $20 million.  Interestingly, the agent, Rosina Seydel (for Sotheby's International Real Estate at the time), spent her teenage years in the home.  The Pink Palace made headlines once again when they slashed the price to $10 million- a veritable bargain.  I'm not clear if Lezhava still owns the property (I couldn't find any record of a sale) but Seydel is now the rental manager of the property for Smithson Seydel Real Estate.  So, if you're planning a little fête, the 16k square foot home can be yours... at least for a few hours.  The Pink Palace even has its own website, 541WestPaces.com, though I couldn't get most of the pages to load.


Take a look at the extensive renovation- Lezhava, an engineer by trade, actually trained many of the workers to ensure they got it just right.  My favorite quote that I found involves the last few photos of the attic space, where Lezhava commented, "This room didn't exist before.  I was free to do whatever I wanted as I had no obligation to Atlanta."  Which says to me that he did consider Atlanta and the rich history of this house in the other rooms.  You'll see photos of the basement, pool, etc. in party reviews as well as several musicians and NeNe's (of The Real Housewives of Atlanta) photo shoot.

Yes, this house is over the top (it's a palace for goodness sake!) but I think there are a few elements one could incorporate into one's own little palace too.  I think the chandeliers are one of my favorite accent pieces.








 















Photos from Leasing Luxury Lifestyles, WBSTV, AJC, For all the photos, please visit these sources.  To learn more about the home and its history, take a look at the article, "If These Walls Could Talk" published in the April 2008 Atlanta Peach.



21 comments:

  1. Stunning! I live in Braselton GA (about 30 minuties North of Atlanta). there are some magnificent homes in Atl... I believe this tops them all!

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  2. I believe all these houses are houses to get lost in! Looks like you could get lost even in the bathtub... I'm quite fascinated with this style, we haven't got many of these in Norway.
    Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog, it's much appreciated =)

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  3. does that clawfoot tub have a glass frame around it? oh my goodness that's the solution i've been looking for (you know, if i had tons of money).

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  4. Thank you for the wonderful blog post on the Pink Palace. My parents owned the home in the seventies. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to re-connect with the Pink Palace as the listing agent and leasing agent . The home is no longer for sale. We have made it avaliable for very special events and lease opportunities through my company Leasing Luxury Lifestyles (www.leasingluxurylifestyles.com
    Again thank you for the well written post.

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  5. Your GORGEOUS post makes me keenly aware of something I have long suspected, I need to be wildly rich. Le sigh!!

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  6. sigh... me too. To quote my grandmother- I am a pauper with princess taste. Really, it's not the social status of having a palace, but all that room to run around and throw fabulous parties and be able to have many different interior design styles but somehow have it all work. And that's just the house- not even the yard and garden areas!!! And all the neat details!

    Speaking of details, Christina has written about clawfoot tubs today in Down and Out Chic!

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  7. These photos are stunning!! So glad I found your blog through Down & Out Chic!

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  8. I'm very pleased that the Pink Palace can have a more public life so that more folks can enjoy it. I'm afraid that many of our extraordinary houses are white elephants. Who could live in the Swan House these days? This way maybe somebody will invite me to a Pink Palace party. I sure hope so.

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  9. Thanks, TBF!

    Terry-- you and me both (wanting an invite to a PPP). I think for the art event in January, tickets were just $150/person? But perhaps I'm wrong.

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  10. great post, Emmie! Very fascinating to see inside these places after passing them so many times over the years.

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  11. What beautiful photos. I wonder what life was like in that mansion...the parties, wow!
    Thank you for stopping by my blog! :)

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  12. So many gorgeous mirrors! Beautiful and grand gardens!

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  13. Hi! I just popped over from SITS! This house is PHENOMENAL!!!! Wow!

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  14. Why can't that pool be mine? Love those images!

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  15. Hi! I am in desperate need of side wall mount acrylic/fiberglass whatever like your claw foot tub inspiration! Where did you find this???? Thanks! Ml

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  16. Wow ~ it is wonderful to read all the lovely comments about a house I lived in as a teenager and represent as a leasing agent. Smithson Seydel is the only company representing this Atlanta landmark. Thank you for the beautifully written blog ~ I have emailed it to my client ~ he was very happy.

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