It took more than finding the right house in the optimal location for Rhonda McMichael to move her family from one neighborhood to the next one over. Before uprooting her household of four kids, all the buying factors had to align.
“We’d been looking for several years, just waiting for the right thing,” she said. “When Ruth’s Farm came up adjacent to our neighborhood, we knew it was where we wanted to be.”
Ruth’s Farm, a community of 49 upscale homes, offered the combination of everything the family wanted in a 3,900-square-foot plan and a location they already enjoyed. The homes are in the same school district the family already attended, so no one was going to be the new kid in the class.
“We love the community feel on this side of Alpharetta and wanted to stay in the same high school and elementary district,” said McMichael, whose children range from age 5 to 14. “In fact, the schools are a stone’s throw from the house. The builders have even cut a path in the back of the neighborhood so the kids can walk to them.”
A major requirement was having enough elbow room for everyone to spread out. The 3,900-square-foot plan the family selected features a master on the main level and four bedrooms upstairs. There was also a nook on the second floor that easily converted to a media center, so the youngsters have their own entertainment area. The floor plan also features a mud room – another high-priority, said McMichael.
“We needed that place for backpacks and shoes, and it’s right off the kitchen,” she said. “Now we have that area organized and everyone upstairs in their own space.”
The main level is configured with an open design that works for a large family, McMichael added. “Having that open living and kitchen area was exactly what we were looking for.”
Since they were among the first to move into the community, McMichael said they were pleasantly surprised to find added details that they didn’t know they were looking for.
“We came here when everything was in the framing stage, and we had no idea what we were walking into, although we knew the quality of Providence homes,” she said. “So we were very surprised to find little features we weren’t expecting – like the stamped pavers at the end of the driveway or the sprinkler system.”
Such attention to detail is evident throughout Ruth’s Farm plans. All feature three-car garages and a range of options, depending on the floor plan. Buyers will find a selection of third-floor retreats, media rooms, bonus rooms, sunrooms, butler’s pantries, libraries, vaulted and two-story family rooms, masters on the main and basements. Prices range from the $600,000s to the mid-$700,000s for designs with 3,410 to 5,292 square feet.
McMichael also liked the history attached to the property. The community sits on land once owned by Ruth Wills, a family with deep roots in the area. The McMichaels were already living on land owned by Wills’s brother.
“So we jumped from Bascombe Farm, which was her brother’s, to her land, where her farmhouse still sits on the edge of the neighborhood,” said McMichael. “I really liked having that history connection.”
Ruth’s Farm
Price range: $600,000s – mid-$700,000s
Number of homes when completed: 49
Styles: Upscale traditional
Square footage: 3,410 to 5,292
Schools: Crabapple Crossing Elementary, Northwestern Middle, Milton High
Getting there: From downtown Atlanta, travel north on I-85 to Ga. 400 north to exit 9. Turn left on Haynes Bridge Road; left on Old Milton Parkway; right on Wills Road; left on MidBroadwell Road; right on Bethany Road. Ruth’s Farm is on the left.