Art of Reduction
By Candace Ord Manroe / Photography by Robert Thien

Excerpt from article --
Warner McConaughey wasn't a shoo-in for landing the disheveled house off the IRS auction block. With one other bidder, the odds were 50-50. But in all Atlanta, only Warner saw its potential: The other bidder lived next door and wanted to tear the place down.

But as owner of HammerSmith, a renovation firm that offers design and architecture expertise along with hands-on construction, Warner had more confidence than most. He appreciated the historic character of the circa-1910 foursquare -- of its shell, at least -- and believed he could gut the interior and redo it with the original character in mind. Even in the devastated kitchen.