Designer Melissa Welker gives the home a cooly collected refresh with smart layout tweaks and thoughtful layers.

As almost lifelong Atlanta dwellers, Susannah and Alex Bartko didn’t hesitate when they found this quirky 1960s ranch in their preferred school district. It wasn’t the home itself that grabbed the couple’s attention but rather the property—with its flat, walk-out backyard (a rare find in the hilly city) and its coveted location on a quaint cul-de-sac, making it the ideal spot to raise their 7- and 9-year-old daughters.

The house had good bones, but the outdated layout needed a little rejiggering. As avid entertainers, the Bartkos felt it was important that the home flowed well from room to room. To tackle the renovation, the couple enlisted the help of local designer Melissa Welker of Melissa Lacy Design. The goal: Create a less choppy floor plan to help the place live larger and function better for their family. "It needed some basic upgrades but also more depth and character," says Melissa, who integrated inherited and one-of-a-kind pieces throughout for a collected-over-time look. "Adding soul to a home is so important, and having that element of patina was just as necessary as a more functional floor plan."

The team pored over design books, discovering a mutual love for English styles, which steered the overall direction of the decorating.

While only slightly expanding its original footprint, the team got creative with the square footage—moving the kitchen to the front of the house, adding a mudroom off the garage entry, transforming a linen closet into a powder bath, vaulting the family room ceiling, and dividing the oversize one-room basement into multiple spaces for more livability. Although the focus was on practicality, Melissa made sure to incorporate details like trim and casings to foster a depth that was absent before.

""You never want to have a dead-end room that people never go in during a party. It’s important to always have a flow throughout the common areas." — Melissa Welker"

There was a lot of intentionality to ensure that it didn't look like a stark renovation—even down to the high-gloss black double doors with hefty unlacquered brass hardware, which give elegance to the pass-through spaces and help create privacy for the bedrooms. Melissa also anchored the entry with a center table to evoke the feel of a traditional foyer. "It adds an interesting element to the home right when you walk in the door because it’s a bit unexpected," she says. "It's flexible and can live there with an arrangement or be moved around easily as needed."

Adam Kane Macchia; Styling: Thea Beasley To set the tone, Melissa dressed up the small but mighty entry with a movable center table and a large-scale painting to pack a punch as soon as you come in the home.

Typical of a traditional ranch, the front two rooms were rarely used formal living and dining spaces and the kitchen was in the back. To take full advantage of the area, which is sun drenched thanks to a pair of large bay windows, Melissa turned it into the kitchen and a welcoming sitting room. This also serves as the family’s day-to-day eating spot. "We really started by chasing the light, which informed moving the kitchen to the front of the house," says the designer. "Especially with a ranch-style home, it’s essential to think about natural light throughout."

To maximize seating and take up less space, Melissa positioned a banquette and antique breakfast table flush against the island (which is coated in Benjamin Moore’s Lush, AF-475). "I think it’s important to incorporate warmth in a kitchen as much as possible, and this upholstered piece really achieves that," says the designer, who also hung Blue Willow china from Susannah’s parents on the wall in lieu of artwork. As their primary living and entertaining area, the kitchen and sitting room see plenty of action—including the girls’ gymnastics and dance routines. "We spend a lot of time here as a family, with us cooking and the kids playing, so it’s nice to have that connected space," says Susannah.

While the home's backdrop is primarily neutral tones, Melissa kept things lively by incorporating collections, mix-and-match throw pillows, art, and fabrics throughout. In the kitchen, she used Lisa Fine Textiles' Calico Floral Stripe on the banquette.

At the back of the house, Melissa took what she calls the "scary, eighties-tiled breakfast room" and transformed it into a light-filled dining space. To maintain some formality while still keeping it approachable, she replaced the existing flooring with Belgian bluestone, splashed the walls with Farrow & Ball's Oval Room Blue (No. 85), and anchored it with a light fixture from The Urban Electric Company and a round table that can fit up to eight people. "It almost feels like a second sunroom with the great big windows," says the designer, who used custom fixed-glass doors on the exterior and interior walls to allow light into the deeper parts of the house, including the adjacent family room, where a brick fireplace is the defining feature.

To help the cozy spot feel less dim, they vaulted the ceiling, which they then painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove (OC-17), covered the walls in Dove Wing (960), and hung unique pieces, such as a print of Strawberry Hill Library by photographer Dale Goffigon above the couch. "The books and architecture in the photo really spoke to them," explains Melissa. "It adds warmth but also a fresh edge to juxtapose with the oil paintings."

Melissa accented a passed-down maple chair with a slipcover and velvet cushion to make it plush enough for the family room.

For symmetry, she centered a locally made sofa from Travis and Company across from the fireplace and used a second, longer one to divide the space from a walkway that leads to the dining area. Instead of a coffee table, she chose an ottoman. "We wanted to make it as comfortable as possible and prevent the kids’ heads from bumping on the edge of a table," she says. "It adds texture and is a great way to weave pattern into a space without committing to an entire sofa."

While there is no lack of gathering spots, the bright sunroom is a favorite. Melissa splashed it with Benjamin Moore’s Dove Wing paint on the walls and Brandon Beige, 977, on the floor and pulled in color with playful textiles. The abundant existing windows, a skylight, a rattan sofa from Susannah’s grandparents (updated with paint and a new cushion), and a garden stool bridge the indoors and out.

Downstairs, she made the awkward basement more livable by dividing it into a playroom with ample storage, a gym, and a movie nook with a sectional. "It gave us a secondary entertaining space because when we have people over, it’s often the whole family, so the kids can go down there and play," says Susannah. "It’s really colorful, fun, and speaks to the girls' personalities."

For the younger daughter's bedroom, Melissa leaned into her youth with a moment of whimsy. "Often in small spots, twin beds get put in the corner and can feel a bit dinky," says the designer, who created a custom headboard to soften and elevate a nook in the bedroom. "It's fun and makes it feel like a little cocoon."