Earlier this year, actually around mid-summer, a friend and I had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in Atlanta, Six Feet Under.
They have the BEST fish tacos and their potato chips are beyond yummy. I think they make them in-house. You may wonder how this restaurant got it’s name.
Six Feet Under is located directly across the street from this.
Yup, it’s a cemetery…but not just any cemetery. This is Historic Oakland Cemetery . Their online site describes it this way:
Oakland is much more than an outstanding example of a Victorian garden cemetery. It is also a magnificent sculpture garden, botanical garden, flourishing wildlife habitat, public park and picturesque setting for quiet reflection.
Some of Georgia’s most famous legends are laid to rest in Atlanta’s oldest and most scenic cemetery. You can visit the gravesite of Gone With The Wind author, Margaret Mitchell and golfing legend, Bobby Jones.
This pic was taken from the roof top of Six Feet Under…my favorite spot when dining there.
After dinner, it was such a beautiful day we decided to drive the short block or so to nearby Grant Parkand walk around gawking at all the beautiful, historic homes in this Victorian neighborhood. I took a few pics of some of my favorites to share with you.
Adorable yellow cottage.
You’ll notice a lot of neat exterior paint schemes. Isn’t it beautiful how they highlighted the sunburst effect here…love it!
Check out the color of the porch ceiling on this house below. Here in the south, it’s pretty common to see historic homes with porch ceilings painted a light blue that’s affectionately known as “haint blue.” Folklore has it, if you paint the ceiling of your front porch haint blue, it will keep any evil spirits or haints from entering into your home. It’s also, thought to help by keeping annoying insects away. Why? Because they will think it’s the sky and not land on it.
Don’t you just love the south with it’s quirky superstitions. I found some interesting information about the haint blue tradition HERE at Squidoo.com. I’ve copied and pasted a bit from their site, but there’s a lot more about it at Squidoo, if you want to know more.
What exactly IS Haint Blue?
I discovered that Haint Blue is a spiritual and cultural based color especially in the southern United States. Back in the day, Haint Blue was mixed as milk paint formulas using lime and whatever local pigments were available. The color was mixed in pits dug on the properties where the painters were working. Hand-crafted Haint Blue translates into a range of colors, not any one specific color.
What does Haint Blue do?
Haint Blue is meant to look like water and keep the Haints out of your house making you safe from their influence. Speculation has it that the tints, tones, and shades from the blue-green to blue-violet part of the visible spectrum fools the Haints. Haints can not cross water. Using Haint Blue on doors, shutters, window trim, ceilings, the whole darn structure, can fool Haints and discourage them from “crossing” into your house.
It’s believed that Haint Blue may fake out insects and birds as well. Using Haint Blue on exteriors supposedly looks like endless sky to the little critters and deters them from making themselves at home. No one can say for sure, but personally I think the key ingredient of lime in the milk paint formulas is what deterred the insects and birds, not the color itself. Modern paint formulas do not contain lime, so I’m not so sure painting your porch ceiling blue is going to help shoo the bugs and birds, but it certainly can be an attractive exterior color treatment.
This house makes me think “Christmas” with it’s red and green color scheme. Is that Crossvine growing around the porch? Even the cute birdhouse coordinates!
Don’t you just love all the ferns and that wonderful wrought iron fence?
Look at all the wonderful details on the trim of this Victorian home…especially around the turret and the peak…wow! I keep hoping this house will be on the Grant Park Christmas Tour of Homes one year…I’d love to see inside. I love that quirky keyhole window.
A sweet, blue cottage with lovely gardens…
Wow…look at all those flowers! Is that a Snowball Viburnum on the left? This house was on the tour one year, so I’ve been inside and it is much larger than it looks here in this pic. It goes way, way back and has a large, beautiful, two-story porch on the rear.
I would never have thought of mixing pink and yellow together but I like how it looks on this house. I always find the homes that have these corner front doors so interesting. They are normally on corner lots, just like this house.
Why did we ever stop putting huge porches across the front of our homes? I know we have good ole air conditioning now…but wow, just look at the curb appeal!
Love these double front porches…
I’ve saved two of my favorite homes in Grant Park for last. I’ve been in both of these homes during past tours. The one below stole my heart because of the two-story front porch. After being on this porch, I totally understand the appeal of an upper, second-floor porch.
It was furnished very comfortably with several cozy seating areas. I found myself lingering, not wanting to leave this peaceful spot. When you are on this porch, you are partially hidden away from the world…high above in your treehouse. Yet, you could easily see up and down the street in either direction. It was a magical place. ~~~SIGH~~~
Here it is…my favorite Grant Park home of all. Would you just look at all those porches…I count 4 in this pic alone…and there are more on the other side!
Yep, this is definitely my “stalker” house…the one that I MUST stalk each time I’m in the neighborhood. 🙂 The owners of this house recently completed an extensive restoration. I was thrilled when it appeared on tour one year…and it certainly did not disappoint! The brick and stone work on the front is just beautiful…this pic does not do it justice!
We had a little company across the street.
One of the features I truly love about this home, are it’s porches. There are 3 porches on the front of the home and at least two on each side. This was my favorite side porch because of it’s size and it’s second floor location.
When I was in the process of adding a front porch on my home a couple of years ago, I searched online for a hanging lantern. I already had one in mind that I had found locally, but, as is my custom, I was torturing myself by checking out every possible hanging lantern that existed at that very moment for sale in the world. Do you ever do that…feel like you need to see every single specimen available on the market, before committing to “that one?” It’s a disease…you don’t want it!
Anyway, I came across this one hanging lantern (below) that was veeery, veeery different from all the others. And, it had a jaw dropping price of almost $2,000! I decided I’d have a little fun. I sent out e-mails to 3 or 4 of my closest friends telling them I was sooooo excited because I’d finally found THE lantern for my front porch…and I attached this pic. The responses I got back were hilarious and we all had quite a few laughs over that e-mail once they realized I was just messing with ’em and wasn’t really planning on a Gothic-style bat and snake lantern for my front porch.
Fast forward…six months later, and I’m on a Grant Park Home tour with one of the above mentioned friends. We were touring my favorite house below, ooohing and ahhhing our way through this beautifully restored, Queen Anne Victorian, and had just reached the upper most floor. Before long, we found ourselves standing in the turret, and as I was gazing around admiring the shape of the room, my friend began elbowing me and pointing up. Yep, there it was…my snake and bat lantern…I couldn’t believe my eyes! We both burst out laughing and the other folks on the tour looked at us like we had bats in OUR belfry. And, you know what? The bat lantern…it was absolutely perfect in that spot…maybe even $2,000 perfect.
Check out this great “haunted house” pic I stole from Really Rainey’s blog, The Project Table. Stop by and see her fun Halloween tablescape…and turn up your speakers for the Halloween music she has playing.
These photos are amazing and I am in awe of the amazing architecture of the area-Another amazing place for me to come visit one day! Thanks for posting these great images.
Happy Halloween!
Best wishes, NM.
Beautiful homes! The character of each is so amazing. I love the little stalkers.
Blessings
I'm up early cracking up laughing at the restaurant's name! Someone has a fun and somewhat twisted sense of humor. I just love those old victorian homes with their beautiful interior woodwork. Also the old craftsman style and the homes that look like fairytale cottages. I always want to look inside to see if the interior furnishings match the exterior of the home. Sooo, on your tour did you find out how many of the homes were haunted and by whom? It is Halloween you know.
Susan, all of these homes are just gorgeous. I would love to take a tour of any of them. Your favorite in stunning. Such fabulous architecture. Love the story of the snake and bat lantern. Too cute. Hugs, Marty
Susan…Your posts are always such a treat! I too love Ol' Victorians! Happy PS!
Interesting post. I loved learning about the cemetary and the blue!
I enjoyed seeing pictures of those beautiful homes. I'm trying to get my mom to paint her porch ceilings haint blue. I love that tradition.
What great pictures. Beautiful!! Happy Halloween to you.
What beautiful old homes! I'd love to live in one that looks like that, but I'd want it to be new. We have a similar neighborhood here in Raleigh, but much smaller, I'm sure.
I always enjoy home tours — love the Victorians!
Love love love those homes!! Oh I would so stalk that house! (and your story about the bat fixture is hysterical!) Thanks for sharing!
WOW! An amazing tour of homes and a funny little restaurant too. The fixture? Really neat (my hubby would die for this).
Happy Halloween!
So many beautiful homes – thanks for the tour.
I love the painted ladies! Although, the pretty little cottages are more up my alley about now!
O, Susan…aren't these just wonderful!! In my next life, I will have one like these!! Porches, ferns and all!! Thanks for taking us along on this amazing home tour.
O, and I haven't heard the word, "haint" since I was a young girl !!! 🙂
I would love to tour all those wonderful homes!! Thanks for sharing! So funny about the snake and bat lantern encounter!
blessings
mary
Susan, Oh, to have the opportunity to roam around in those houses. I love the look of Victorian era houses, but somehow wound up living in a suburban tract style…go figure. Your photos are just wonderful. Happy Pink Saturday and I hope that you are enjoying your weekend.
Susan
Hmmmmmm, I'm not too sure I'd want to eat lunch across from a cemetery but the view is beautiful. Those homes are also, sugar! WOW. I've never really been to south except for one time and just about fainted when I saw people wearing heavy coats and hats in 70° weather, chick!!! Come to Idaho and I'll show ya cold weather, honey….LOL
xoxo,
Connie
Wow – what a wonderful tour of homes! I, too, love old homes. I'll have to post some of the ones on Mackinaw Island one day. Never got to go inside of them though. But I enjoyed reading about the ones on your post so very much. We have some beautiful old Victorian ones here in MI too.
Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Halloween.
Smiles,
Tricia
oh my goodness so many charming homes!!
Happy Pink Saturday:)
Fall blessing and Happy Halloween too!
I am having giveaway also….tis the season to give:)
Smiles,
kayellen
Susan, I just love GA and everytime I come to visit you is like coming home. What a wonderful story and I love the name of the resturant, very fitting for sure, Happy Pink Saturday and Happy Halloween my friend, Char
I really enjoyed your stories and tour of the Grant Park area. Those are some beautiful Victorian Homes.
Very interesting about the Haint Blue paint. My porch has White beadboard, but maybe I should consider blue.
That was funny about the bat lantern. I think I would only want it hanging around this time of year though.
Don't know how people can be so clever as to come up with a name of a restaurant to go with the cemetary across the street. I guess it would help remember where i was.
Have a great weekend. I'll be back.
I really enjoyed the house tour. Thank you for taking the time to put it together for us. I hope you are having a wonderful Pink Saturday.
Thank you for the virtual stroll down the Grant Park area…I really enjoyed seeing every single home. 😀
I know exactly the feeling you described when being up on the second story porch, as that's how I feel in my little gazebo! We're up on a wee bit of a hill & I look out & down to a pond with a fountain then across to a farm with a red silo & barn. I've said its like being in a tree house many times.
♥ Rettabug
Happy Pink Saturday… I am so late today in getting my "pink" post done… Your home tour is fabulous!!! Very interesting to learn a bout Haint Blue… never knew that!
Happy Weekend! 🙂
Hi Susan 🙂
Great post! Have fun tonight. I love ALL your Halloween posts!
Happy Halloween!
~Really Rainey~
WOWZA..WOWZA…I have never seen a resturant over looking a cemetary before! Kind of neat, kind of creepy!
Loved the homes…would love to see each one inside too! That was really neat, thank you! Come say hi 😀
Hey, would you like for us to swap blog links, I mean affiliate? Let me know when you add me. http://deedee1whoa.blogspot.com/
I actually like the bat lights but I am a little on the weird side.
I agree with you on the favorite house though with the keyhole window one coming in second.
They are stunning and I can only imagine the beauty inside.
Thanks for the tour of beautiful homes, Susan! Loved your interesting commentary, as usual. Someday I'll get back east so I can soak up all this beauty first hand!!
Susan, I thoroughly enjoyed this post today and next time I am in Atlanta will definitely make the time to first of all lunch at Six Feet Under, then tour the cemetary and then go take a look at those gorgeous Victorian homes.
I am one of those strange people who absolutely loves to tour cemetary's and this one sounds like a true gem. Thanks for the info.
Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook
What glorious architecture! I love these kinds of homes. I've always favored a house with porches. But yours, Susan, is my all-time favorite!
Brenda
Susan, the Grant Park area of Atlanta is one of my favorite neighborhoods. College friends of my husband live in that area. Thanks for sharing these photos. I agree, the snake and bat lantern would be perfect for a turret. Best witches for a spooktacular Halloween. ~ Sarah
Beautiful your post this day !
Love from the Netherlands Rini
Fabulous post Susan! Wow! I love all the old houses – what an absolutely charming neighborhood. I would love walking there, looking at all the houses! Happy Pink Saturday!
Oh what a fun virtual tour. Thanks for sharing with those of us that don't get to see such amazing houses with porches! Oh I loved it thanks for sharing and I loved the haunted house at the end. It was really cool.
Hope your Saturday and Sunday are Blessed,
Sherry
Hey Susan; Happy Pink Saturday;
OH my all those beautiful homes.. I am in love with each one…. can you do that?? It is so sad how they don't make big beautiful front porches any more,, they all stay in the back.. I am a front yard person, but I do like my back yard too…. Thank you for the great tour… have a great weekend,
Hugs;
Alaura
Oh my gosh! Those houses are amazing!!!
m ^..^
I particularly liked your stalker house. Each year, relatives of ours who live in Chicago and sell houses, send us their business calendar, and each year I look through the months and pick out the houses I like. They all look similar to your stalker house.
The haunted house is fantastic. Love it (wouldn't want to live there, though). xx
How funny…..Six Feet Under…somebody had a sense of humor when they named that place! 🙂
I loved your home tour. I simply love looking at pictures of the south. I'm going to make a trip come heck or high water…
Have a wonderful weekend.
Blessings,
Spencer
Thank you so much for the fabulous tour of all the beautiful homes! They are so well restored and charming! I hope you have a Happy Halloween!
Susan. Thanks for the photos of the lovely victorian houses. They are so beautiful. For many years I hoped to live in one, and we even put a contract on one at one time, but backed out after the home inspection showed major problems. Now if I ever have to move again it will be to something senior-friendly, but I will always enjoy looking at victorian houses.
Joanie
How lucky you are to be able to visit all these beautiful homes! I agree, front porches should still be a must! Happy Pink Saturday!
I love all these houses, haunted or not. Just wonderful.. all I need is to win the lottery (sigh). This week my post isn't pink at all (although it may be a little red in tooth and claw…)
Happy Halloween and Spooky Pink Saturday!
I never tire of looking at homes that have character and charm. I adore porches and these homes are so beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful tour of such beautiful homes. How I would love to peek in the windows!
Love your blog. Glad I'm a follower.
I posted my very first Pink Saturday and now I am hooked.
We are all having too much fun!
Hope you will stop by and see me sometime.
Oh that was fun, I love the houses. We have always loved homes with wrap-a-round porches and yet they aren't that common around here. We've never owned one, but we always drool over them. My favorite house is the little yellow cottage. I would love to have a big doll house to dress up and escape to on occasion.
Sue
The houses are so amazing! I wish I could go tour them too. Love your home tours – please keep 'em comin'! ☺ Diane
Susan,
Happy Pink Saturday.These homes are so beautiful.Love everyone of them.Have a Happy Halloween.Hugs,Jennifer
Double, double toil and trouble;
fire burn and cauldron bubble.
~ Shakespeare "Macbeth"~
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I love old houses! The pictures are just beautiful. Yep, something about the porches. I did my own tour recently of a nearby town full of the beauties.
Ooh, Susan. I love your favorite, too. The detail is incredible. And, the fence is gorgeous.
Happy Pink Saturday, Happy Blue Monday and Happy Halloween.
Amazings Homes.
Happy Pink Halloween!!!
These homes remind me so much of Cape May, N.J. on the East coast.It is a beautiful town full of gorgeous,old, restored Victorian homes. Thanks for sharing your pictures!!!! Loved the tour of homes! XO, Pinky
I'm new to your blog and find myself visiting several times a day. It's so relaxing. It feels like I'm visiting with a friend.
Thank you, Susan. The homes are just lovely and your comments, as always, illuminating and entertaining. I love the name of the restaurant, and the bat fixture story is so amusing … delightful post!
Bill
Thanks for the shout out Susan… that was a cool old haunted house wasn't it? I got it from somewhere on the internet myself… Can't recall where… Great post… I loved every single one of those homes! There is a guy in Phoenix that will take a photo of your home and then oil paint it to look like a haunted house.. I am looking for him or his website… If I do I'll let you know.. wouldn't that be fun?
Here's to Fall…~Rainey~
Susan, what wonderful houses you chose to show us. I really enjoyed the tour. I'm kind of surprised that nobody was sitting on their porch, enjoying that pretty day. (Loved your story about the bat and snake light). laurie
Oh Susan, I love the tour, thanks for sharing. I just love old historic homes and would love to see in each and everyone of those.
I can see why that last one is your fav, Gorgeous! Bet it is amazing inside!
Linda Q
My son lived in this area for a while. Actually, right next door to the green and red house (with coordinating bird house). We would turn into that gravel drive just right of the house to get to his place. I contacted the owners to let them know their house is here. Thanks for the tour. It was nice to go back there again.