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Tips if taking the tour... Sign In/Join 
posted
I was able to go down to the Green Home this past weekend and take the tour. Thought I'd offer some comments and tips if you're planning on doing the same:

1) Serenbe is not as close to Atlanta as you might think based on the brief comments on the special. It's pretty "out there" in terms of being in a rural setting. In all honestly it's in SouthWest metro Atlanta which isn't exactly the best part of metro Atlanta, so if you're going outside of the community, you're going to have to drive up into the City itself (or beyond) for other things. Once you're there, it's pretty self-contained though in terms of having the farm, the small downtownish area, shops, a couple of restaurants, etc. Very nice earthy homes of several styles, nice people, etc. I was there during their "May Day" arts festival so I wasn't able to get into some of the shops due to crowds, but what I saw did impress me.

2) If you are not going to pre-purchase tickets and buy at the door and go on the weekend, go on a Sunday, and show up early! My instinct told me to go "pre church crowd", and it worked. It opens at 11am and we got there just before they opened. The first tour (30 minutes, 20 people max) was booked. We were the last to be accepted for the 2nd tour 30 minutes later. By the time we left, people were being told it would be 3-4+ hours minimum before they could get in. So weekenders - Sunday around 10:30am might assure you a spot in.

** Side note ** You have to wear slip-on surgical style booties over your shoes to protect the floors. They only have a VERY small size there - most of the men in my group couldn't even get these things over their shoes at all, so we had to take our shoes off and put them on our socks and walk around that way. So if you've got el-stinky feet or holes in your socks, make note of this.

3) The house was nice - just as seen on TV only "real". Rooms really are smaller than you might think, though. They've decorated it perfectly so it doesn't feel cluttered or junk-filled, but there's NO room for more. My guess is the Master Bedroom might be 14x15 max, the guest room 12x12 maybe, etc. There are three living rooms however, so plenty of room to socialize. Bathrooms are smaller but all have a wow factor in terms of the quality of fixtures, tiles, etc.

4) Landscaping is perfect. Sloped back yard though, really does make it impractical for kids or pets (no fencing, etc) as the only flat area is a small patio area. People commented on how once the crowds are gone there will probably be snakes all over the place as there's tons of pine straw, woods, and flat stone with little gaps in it all over (snake don't freak me out, but just be warned). As a side note to this - don't allow your kids to freak out and just run all over the property unattended for this reason. You ARE in snake country here.

Overall I was very impressed with the Green Home and Serenbe, other than it's location. It's well worth spending a day there and trying to take the tour if you can.
 
Posts: 190 | Location: Atlanta, GA. USA | Registered: Mar 02, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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