Art-filled and adventurous, 1980s Ansley Park pad is rather awesome at $1.25M

A melange of modern, postmodern, and even midcentury modern elements, this angular showpiece in Ansley Park is holding up better than many of its 1980s counterparts around Atlanta.

Since 1986, in fact, this jazzy, stucco-clad domicile of a noted architecture prof and pizza restauranteur has stood a block from Ansley Golf Club, and before too long, it should count backdoor access to the Beltline’s Northeast Trail.

It retains the essence of its mid-’80s origins without being repulsively dated—the kind of place where quirky, checkerboard bathroom wall tile and a rainbow of chairs as decorations seems logical.

The decor also includes cozy mountains of books and more nudes than North Baker Beach.

For a change, the floor of each lush patio, all punctuated by fairly exotic-looking flaura, is metal in the style of catwalks. A playground-worthy swing under one porch is an adventurous and somehow fitting surprise.

The listing’s “serene private oasis” and “sun-drenched” descriptions seem accurate, especially when taking into account the vast expanses of windows in places like the top-floor loft, which is basically a solarium.

Floating stairs, eye-pleasing hardwoods, and a sauna qualify as perks. The kitchen, meanwhile, might rub more conservative homebuyers as being too clinical. Then again, they probably would have never walked in the door in the first place.

The numbers: $1.25 million buys three bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and 2,574 square feet—a somewhat modest size by million-dollar Ansley standards, breaking down to $485 per square foot. It listed 11 days ago.

From most angles, the facade might not be much to write home about, but with a house so tucked away and elevated from the street, the question becomes: Does it matter?

• 280 Beverly Road NE [Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International]