By Ashlee Duren | Photos by Amy J. Owen
When you step inside the home of Anna and Nick Dickinson, you would never know the couple has two teenage sons.
“That’s because I kicked the boys out when they were 14 and 9,” Anna says with a laugh. Not to worry – she did not really kick them out, but instead converted their two-car detached garage into a space for the boys. “I wanted a space that could be all theirs and I didn’t have to worry about.”
The Dickinsons’ home, located on the Hill, was built in 1948. Anna and Nick, who bought the property in 2007, are only the third owners of the home. “We basically gutted the place,” Anna says. However, the couple was devoted to maintaining the integrity of the structure. Nick, an architect, was dedicated to preserving as much of the original residence as he could. “It has definitely been an ongoing project,” she says.
Upon entering the front door, guests are greeted by neutral tones of flax and white, accented by colorful lamps, paintings and a turquoise chest with accents of gold. A deep door casing leads into the family’s main indoor-outdoor living space. This space is where they spend most of their time hanging out as a family.
The walls of this space were once covered with dark wood paneling. Now the room is light and airy, with pops of shades of blue. The room spills into the outdoor space, which is complete with a fireplace and TV and overlooks the pool.
Anna, an art lover, has carefully chosen the artwork that adorns the walls throughout the home. In an effort to accommodate her love of color, she decided to paint the walls in Benjamin Moore’s Gray Mist. The neutral color provides a consistent look throughout that seems to appear slightly different in each room and is the perfect complement to the art.
“I love art and enjoy picking out different pieces,” Anna explains. But the most valuable of all her pieces are the ones by her children. “Lots of the art that hangs on my walls are works by my children that I have framed over the years.”
In fact, the Dickinsons have worked to fill their home with items of meaning. In addition to the children’s artwork, gifts from family and friends, as well as each other, can be found in every room of their house.
“We live in every single inch of this house,” Anna said. “It’s a great house. I don’t think we’ll ever move.”
—
Home: Anna and Nick Dickinson
Year built: 1948
Square feet: 3,284
Number of bedrooms: 4
Number of bathrooms: 3
Appears in the May/June 2020 issue of Augusta Magazine.
