Our Team

The passion and synergy of HammerSmith's designers and artisans produce the best design and execution of any architectural firm available. We create a single source for exceptional residential design: from initial ideas and understanding the way you live; through a lively, interactive and collaborative design process; to meticulous construction, styling and lifetime maintenance.

Our boutique approach from start to finish means your design will be created by the design principal, Eric Rothman, an owner of HammerSmith, and will never be farmed out to an intern. Nor will you have to hire a separate architect, kitchen designer, landscaper, interior designer, builder, (marriage counselor?) and project facilitator – and hope they share a common vision amongst all the handoffs, egos and finger pointing.

HammerSmith has a unique, holistic approach to design. We will draw the 20’ x 20’addition you request, but we will also ask about the three rooms of your house you never use. Bigger is not always better. We specialize in how rooms—and ultimately its occupants—interrelate, creating visually vibrant spaces that lift spirits, have timeless appeal and are exciting places to live. Our goal is for you to touch every room of your home every day.

HammerSmith provides a project manager who leads the renovation from start to finish. Our project managers have been certified by NARI's rigorous CLC certification program. These hands-on managers are on-site to address your concerns, expedite your project, and assure a clean and safe work environment.

Our Owners

Warner McConaughey, owner and founder, started HammerSmith in 1991 to bring integrity and professionalism to an otherwise notorious industry. He wanted to re-foster the centuries-old tradition of design and construction as one art, as opposed to the modern day division between architect and contractor.

Warner grew up in Atlanta, attending Fernbank, Paideia and Druid Hills High School. Since graduating from Stanford University, he has acquired a broad range of technical knowledge working on unique restorations and additions in Atlanta, Palo Alto, Vancouver, Martha’s Vineyard and France. In his thirty-plus years of design and construction experience, he has become a leader in the industry, winning more awards for design excellence than any other contractor. He is past president of NARI Atlanta and is a founding member of the South Fork Conservancy. He lives in Druid Hills with his wife Allison, and their three children Zadie, Wilson, and Lucy. His hobbies include cooking, wine tasting, gardening, running and all things green.





Eric Rothman, co-owner and architectural director, is also a native of Atlanta. He studied architecture at Georgia Tech, and later attended Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He joined HammerSmith in 1993 and has become one of the most respected residential designers of our time.

His work has been featured in Elle Décor, Better Homes and Gardens, Fine HomeBuilding, Trends, Forbes, Renovation Style, Southern Living, Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles and the Wall Street Journal, as well as the CMT Network’s Ultimate Home, PBS’s The Inspired House, and This Old House. Eric is married to interior designer Jenny Rothman, and they have four children, Anabel, Rachel, Quinn and Charlie P. He is an avid biker, and lives and breathes all things architectural.

Our Mission

HammerSmith's mission is to be Atlanta's most respected residential design-build firm, combining the brightest design talent with the most capable craftspeople to achieve outstanding client satisfaction.

Clients will choose HammerSmith for our unique design solutions, attention to detail, and reputation for service. We will serve as the expert in the client/contractor relationship and will guide and nurture our clients from the early planning stages, through the renovation process, and beyond.

HammerSmith will offer its employees a dynamic and stimulating work environment with a focus on safety, hard work, personal growth, and education. HammerSmith will be a strong industry leader, with active community involvement.

Design-Build

Successful projects are a melding of exceptional design, quality construction, and meticulous project management. Rather than separate these into opposing entities, HammerSmith works to bring both design and construction together under one roof, thus creating a single responsibility center for these sometimes conflicting points of view.

At HammerSmith, in-house designers work closely with the estimator, the project manager and various licensed tradesmen, who all serve as consultants throughout the design process. When the project is underway, the project manager has direct access to designer--whether for clarification or additional work--and the field proceeds in a timely manner to remain on time and on budget.

In addition to being the most cost-effective building method, Design-Build streamlines the construction process and creates a "turnkey" remodel. Communication lapses are bypassed, accountability is created, and clients find that they can shave months off the design-to-construction timeline by locking into a construction start date early in the design process.