In October 2007, Chris and John Hutcheson were drawn to the quaint downtown area of Smyrna. Having lived in a Vinings townhome for seven years, the couple found the perfect place to call "home."

"We weren't really in the market," John jokingly said. "(Chris) was in the market."

"I wanted something that had some history just because my family didn't have a house with a lot of history," said Chris, who grew up in a military family.

Located within walking distance of the Smyrna Square, the 1,400-square-foot home came with the history Chris longed for. The couple's 85-year-old neighbor grew up in the Hutcheson's home built in 1927 by his parents. When the neighbor married, he moved next door.

"It was kind of neat to move into someone else's history," said Chris, an interior designer.

Like many older neighborhoods, the charming street is full of fascinating people who have lived there most of their lives or have family associated with the street, along with ambitious young families like the Hutchesons tackling the renovations of an old house.

Although previous owners of the Hutcheson's home attempted some restoration on their own, the Hutchesons quickly realized a lot of things needed to be updated. "We thought we would live in the house for a while and not do anything," John said chuckling.

It didn't take long before a significant renovation was under way. The couple lived through fixing the foundation, securing and leveling the floors, adding new flooring, and reconfiguring and remodeling the main living space including the kitchen.

"The worse was not having a kitchen sink. You can't even get a drink of water," John, a self-employed manufacturer's rep of construction equipment products said.

"We did it all backwards," he commented explaining they painted before the floors were put in, then replaced the floors and then decided to renovate the kitchen.

"We learned a lot about each other," Chris added.

For this young couple that enjoys entertaining, they added an updated style to the home with items such as an industrial laundry basket made into chandelier, custom-made bar and floating wooden shelves from a Kentucky barn.

"We were able to do exactly what we wanted to do because the scale is smaller," Chris said.

The couple says they still have a long way to go anticipating a second phase renovation to include the master bedroom and guest bath.

"The way we live, it's the perfect house," Chris said.