Macon Magazine

August/September 2026 | maconmagazine.com 105 ABOVE LEFT The property has undergone extensive renovation over the past few years. ABOVE RIGHT Stapleton has an eye for antiques. patience for finding the right craftsmen, navigating an unpredictable timeline, and listening as a house gradually reveals itself. Max's advice is simple: "Listen to the property itself." He treated the property's "mid-century envelope as the constant around which everything else was decided." Just past the front entrance threshold, a long, linear hallway serves as the home's organizing spine, stretching from the bedroom wing through the central living space and galley kitchen to a garage- turned-media room at the opposite end. Just a few steps inside, the floor steps down into a sunken living room, a curious architectural feature found in many mid-century homes. In the kitchen, Max honored the original galley footprint layout and invested in materials that complemented the architecture's proportions. The space is anchored by a 36-inch Wolf gas range and hood along with period-appropriate VCT flooring. At the end of the passage is a windowless media room with low ceilings… a cozy, cave-like space where time runs together. On the opposite end of the house is a master suite, a later addition also designed by John Dennis. Max worked with carpenters to preserve and extend the original wood paneling as invisible doors for the master bath and walk-in closet, creating a seamless plane of organic materiality. The best mid-century modern design is a Architecture lovers should become a member of Historic Macon Foundation. Join today at historicmacon.org multi-sensory experience. It prioritizes function and comfort as much as form and aesthetic. A beautiful expression of this is the cork flooring that covers the master wing – it is cooling and supportive beneath bare feet. Jim is a "great fan of cork," noting that while growing up, his parents floored the upstairs of their home in this non-toxic material. It's a fabulous renewable material that moderates temperature and dampens noise. It "went down like a dream," Max said. "I think that Max is very modest." Jim believes. "He had the vision. He could come in and not see the way it was but see the way it would be… which is a great achievement." Pinecrest may never be truly finished. From keeping an antique booth with a friend at the Ingleside Village Antique Center to maintaining a work-in-progress approach to his home, objects flow in and out; art moves between walls; seating arrangements shift with the seasons. "I will live in a space, and in a moment of clarity realize something doesn't work," Max states with self-awareness. In the quiet rhythm between expression and restraint, the house has a way of revealing new ideas — usually with a strong cup of coffee nearby.

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