Transitional Turn

Developer Stan Benecki talks Atlanta’s residential design evolution—and his part as an agent of change in a historically traditional market

While Atlanta’s residential landscape has long been dominated by classical architecture and traditional design principles, it’s impossible not to notice the slew of white, modern-leaning, and masculine new-builds popping up in prestigious neighborhoods across town. It’s an evolution echoing in major cities throughout the Southeast, and one Atlanta luxury real estate developer, Stan Benecki, has been at the forefront of right here in our backyard. But, it’s what lies beyond the developer’s big, bold exteriors, that has changed the ways Atlantans live today.  

Arched tiled ceilings, glinting floor-to-ceiling Venetian plaster walls, fluted paneling, rounded fireplaces, handcrafted irregular tiles, and Art Deco-inspired iron railings—once considered avant-garde in our fair city as little as five years ago, these details are part and parcel to Benecki’s custom build-outs and are now often emulated in-market.

Benecki brought his development business from Chicago to Atlanta in the late 1990s and quickly started working with some of the South’s top architects, including Keith Summerour, Bobby McAlpine, and more. Now with in-house interior and residential design teams, Benecki Homes has become a household name, creating its own lane in the Southeastern market over the last two decades. And with his wife, interior designer Melanie Turner, the pair are known for their turn-key custom design-build projects in 30A, a phenomenon that is following them to Atlanta as forward-thinking clients from coast to coast move here for business. “We’re one of the most diverse cities in the country and have people moving here from all over,” says Benecki. “Those people bring their styles and that naturally starts to flow over into architecture and design.”

   As he continues to craft homes that are graceful, yet challenge the limits of high-style, traditional design, Benecki’s newer mix of projects include elements that are here to stay: clean and breezy, simple but bold—the new inheritable house. Says Benecki, “We all evolve, but anything Benecki Homes does is never trendy. Our homes will stand the test of time.”