BY ANISSA COLEMAN | PHOTOS BY STEVE SCHROEDER
Victorian Charm Suits the Sarah Gerwig-Moore Family
The 1890 Victorian home of Sarah Gerwig-Moore exudes comfort and relaxation—the ambiance she always wants to have for her two boys.
“I want the boys to feel comfortable, not nervous and worried about breaking something of mommy’s all the time,” she said.
Moore, along with Dean, age seven, and Eliot, age six, moved to their historic College Hill home in 2006. Fortunately for Gerwig-Moore, the home was in move-in condition, leaving her without the stress of restoring and decorating. Historic Macon restored the home in the late 1990s, after it had been used for a rooming house for years, according to Moore. She and her family are the third owners since the restoration.
“When we moved (here), it wasn’t yet called the College Hill area. I searched primarily in the InTown Macon area because I love Macon’s older homes,” she said.
A professor at Mercer Law School and a board member of Macon Planning and Zoning, Gerwig-Moore moved to Macon from Virginia with her parents in 1986. She said she was drawn to her home and the College Hill area because it’s close to the law school and the boys’ school, Alexander II. She can walk the boys to school and to Tattnall Park.
Gerwig-Moore’s home—painted several colors, including shades of green, cream and cranberry—was decorated for one of the previous owners by Terry Holland of C. Terry Holland Interiors in Macon.
“I want our home to feel comfortable and wel-coming, but because the rooms are large, and the ceilings are so high, we needed big pieces of furniture,” she said.
Some of the larger pieces include a French chest by Drexel, located in the dining room; a custom-built farmer’s hutch in the kitchen, and a custom-built tree-house bed for the boys’ room designed and built by John Wilson. Describing the boys’ bed, Gerwig-Moore said, “I wanted it to be sort of Swiss Family Robinson meets ‘Where the Wild Things Are.’ It’s an amazing bed and play space.” Most of the rooms feature art or maps that Moore collected while traveling; and, of course, there are lots of family photos everywhere.
“I wouldn’t call the house particularly casual, but I don’t like over-decorating, and I don’t like knick-knacks. That just creates more work when I have to clean up,” she said.
Moore said her family enjoys their 2,900-square-foot home with their dogs, O. Scout and Sloopy Lou; a cat, Mini Moo; and a “whole family of pet fancy mice—Commander Cody, Silky, Softie, Hedwig, Feisty, Little Feisty, Half Feisty.
“We love our neighbors, but I love how cozy our house is. It’s wonderful for entertaining, but our living space just makes sense for us,” she stated. #