Theresa Butler rescued a modest three-bedroom, two-bath mid-century house in Mableton, Georgia and christened the renovation the Revival Project. From concept sketches to the final throw pillow, she treated the house as more than a facelift—her work was about restoring rhythm, proportion and the feeling of home. Light, easy movement and clean architectural lines guided every decision, so the rooms now feel like an embrace: places for art, plants, ceramics and carefully chosen furniture.
Butler began with a clear, simple rule: respect the mid-century bones while adapting the house to how people actually live today. She preserved original sight lines, widened openings where it made sense, and introduced larger windows and lighter finishes so daylight could travel through the interior without erasing the home’s period character. The result preserves the property’s story while making it brighter and more usable.
Her interventions are quietly contemporary—repair instead of replace, precise upgrades rather than wholesale demolition. That approach kept historic material in place, minimized waste and let the house read as lived-in, not staged. Practical choices—reworking circulation so rooms flow intuitively, selecting fabrics and finishes that age gracefully, and sticking to a muted warm palette—support both comfort and display, letting artwork and pottery take center stage.
For Butler, design is emotional work. Every paint color, shelf detail and light fixture was part of a personal rebuilding, not a mere cosmetic fix. The Revival Project became both a home and a kind of therapy: an environment meant to restore as much as shelter.
She also kept the project tactile. Rather than outsource everything, Butler painted, papered, built shelves and sewed window treatments herself, calling in tradespeople only for plumbing, electrical and other specialized systems. That hands-on ethic makes many elements feel bespoke—pieces crafted by the person who lives with them rather than mass-produced.
The finished house blends custom work, handmade art and vintage finds with carefully chosen new fixtures and structural upgrades. The open living area is the emotional center: an A-frame ceiling and floor-to-ceiling glazing create a cinematic volume where light functions like a material. Warm wood paneling, sculptural lighting and abundant greenery balance drama with intimacy.
Small decisions give the house personality. A neon-green front door offers a cheerful, contemporary wink against the restrained mid-century vocabulary. In the kitchen, a discovery of a compromised subfloor became an opportunity to rework the space at the structural level—walls opened to the studs, circulation and plumbing rethought, cabinetry and counters replaced with soft-wood finishes and natural stone. A cozy banquette turns the kitchen into a place to linger, not just to cook.
Utility rooms received the same thoughtful treatment. The laundry, for instance, sports playful wallpaper and honed, marble-like surfaces—little comforts that make daily chores feel integrated into life instead of hidden away. Throughout, the project balances craft and story: professional workmanship intertwined with a personal narrative, creating a house that welcomes you in and holds its history with quiet confidence.