Druid Hills is one of America's great planned suburbs, laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted with curving streets and a canopy of old trees, and filled with early-1900s homes near Emory University and Fernbank. The bathrooms in these houses are often beautiful and completely impractical — clawfoot tubs, tiny original showers, hexagonal floor tile worn smooth by a century of feet, and plumbing installed when the house was new. Updating them takes a contractor who respects what is there.
Tub to Shower Conversions for Historic Druid Hills Homes
The project we do most in Druid Hills is the tub to shower conversion, and it is rarely simple here. A clawfoot tub in a 1915 bathroom is not just a fixture; it is part of the room's character. Our approach is to preserve what deserves preserving and modernize what does not. Sometimes that means keeping the clawfoot as a statement piece in a renovated bath and converting a different tub elsewhere in the house. Sometimes it means carefully removing the tub and building a walk-in shower with period-appropriate materials — white subway tile, a hex or basketweave floor, a rain head with classic-style trim — so the new shower feels like it could have always been there. Either way, the waterproofing is modern and total: bonded membranes, sloped pans, sealed corners. The history is in the look, not in the structure.
A full bathroom remodel in a Druid Hills home is a bigger conversation, and it starts with the house itself. We look at what is original and worth keeping — the floor tile, the millwork, the proportions — and design the remodel around it. Behind the walls, everything gets brought up to modern standards: supply lines, drainage, electrical, ventilation. Old houses hide surprises, and we plan for them instead of being surprised by them. The finishes lean classic because classic is what the house asks for: marble or marble-look porcelain, chrome or unlacquered brass, tile patterns that were good a hundred years ago and are still good now.
Full Bathroom Remodels With Period Sensitivity
Custom tile showers in these homes get the same period-sensitive treatment. We have set a lot of subway tile in Druid Hills, and we have also done quiet modern showers in later additions where the house allows it. The constant is the build: waterproofed from the studs out, detailed like furniture.
Custom Tile Showers in Classic Materials
Small bathrooms and powder rooms in older homes are often the most awkward rooms in the house — a powder room carved out of a closet, a hall bath with a door that hits the vanity. We specialize in making these rooms work without erasing their character.
Powder Rooms and Small Baths in Older Homes
Alpine Development Groups LLC is based in Austell, GA, and we bring our own experienced crew to every Druid Hills project. Historic homes reward patience and punish shortcuts; we bring the patience. Request your free in-home consultation, and we will talk through your home's bathrooms with the care they deserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does bathroom remodels in historic Druid Hills homes?
Alpine Development Groups LLC does. We are based in Austell, GA, and we remodel bathrooms in Druid Hills' early-1900s homes near Emory and Fernbank. We plan around original details worth keeping and rebuild everything else to modern standards.
Can you convert a clawfoot tub to a walk-in shower?
Yes, and we do it carefully. Sometimes the right answer is keeping the clawfoot as a statement piece and converting a different tub in the house. When we do convert, we use period-appropriate materials — subway tile, hex floors, classic trim — so the new shower belongs in the house.
Will a remodel damage my home's historic character?
Not on our watch. We design around the home's era: proportions, tile patterns, and fixtures that suit an Olmsted-era house. The modern part — waterproofing, plumbing, electrical — hides behind the walls where it belongs.
Do you handle the surprises old houses hide?
We plan for them. A century-old home will have outdated plumbing, questionable framing, and at least one thing nobody expected. We build contingency thinking into every estimate and communicate clearly when we find something, so there are no ambushes.