The first time Simeon Niolon stepped onto the front porch of 156 Boulevard, the house reminded him of home.
Niolon grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia, where his grandfather and his grandfather’s siblings were born in a house similar to the one on Boulevard. Inside, the tall ceilings, heart-pine floors and familiar layout strengthened the connection.
“I stepped up on the porch, I was like, ‘I feel like I’m home,’” Niolon said.
Niolon and his wife, Rachel Kachur, bought the historic Athens home in March 2025 after looking for a place to move from Atlanta. They have since worked to make the more than century-old house their own while preserving pieces of the generations that came before them. Their home will host a band on Oct. 18 during Historic Athens Porchfest.
Making it their Own
The Queen Anne-style home was meant to house a single family when its construction was completed in 1902, but it was later converted into a symmetrical duplex.
Niolon and Kachur began renovations to create a more open floor plan soon after buying the home. The left side of the house is largely untouched, with closed rooms and small doorways that the couple use as a study and bedrooms.
The couple widened the doorways and removed portions of walls on the right side of the home, which includes the kitchen and living room spaces.
“When all these (walls) were closed up, you really could get lost in here,” Niolon said. “Having that whole side open now is kind of like … ‘Okay, I can kind of see it.’”
Construction hasn’t always been easy, but Niolon and Kachur were ready for the challenge.
“Anybody who buys an old house, though, knows the minute you turn around, something else needs fixing,” Kachur said.
Decorating the house is still an ongoing process as the couple works to transition to Athens from their home in Atlanta. They said they plan to lean into the traditional Southern charm of the house and add some art deco elements without making it feel too modern.
“I don’t want a bunch of TVs in every room,” Niolon said.
They have already added oriental rugs over the heart-pine floors in most rooms of the house. Kachur said they took inspiration from Niolon’s mother and sister to create spaces that are cohesive but not identical.
The couple has also incorporated pieces of their family into the home. Their daughter, Grace Niolon, used paper to create artwork depicting the house, which now hangs inside.
Preserving the Past
Many of the home’s striking details from the early 20th century remain, despite renovations over the years.
Visitors to the home are greeted by the porch’s haint blue ceiling, a Southern tradition meant to keep evil spirits away. Niolon said he thinks it has worked.
“The thing that surprised me is that there are no negative spirits,” he said.
Many of the original light fixtures still hang from the sweeping 14-foot ceilings. They were converted from gas to electric in the 1920s and have been fully operational ever since.
Six fireplaces stand throughout the home, each surrounded by original tilework. Kachur said they don’t meet current standards for use, but they add to the character of each room they appear in.
Kachur and Niolon are also taking care to honor the story of the home over the last century. Jeffery and Sheryl Weinberg, who owned the house for more than 25 years, renovated parts of the kitchen, adding cabinetry made from wood salvaged from an old tobacco factory in Cumming, Georgia, and black granite countertops sourced from Africa.
Making Music Together
For Kachur and Niolon, preserving 156 Boulevard does not mean keeping it frozen in the past. One of the home’s most distinctive rooms is enveloped in Sherwin-Williams’ Naval, a deep blue that covers both the walls and the ceiling. The couple planned to leave the ceiling white, but a misunderstanding led painters to cover it in blue along with the walls.
“It was a fortuitous mistake for sure,” Kachur said.
The room now serves as Kachur’s office and a place where the couple listens to records. Before furniture filled the house, friends brought guitars into the nearly empty rooms and played.
“The house is really musical,” Niolon said. “The sound in this house is just unreal.”
Music has been part of the couple’s story long before 156 Boulevard. Kachur and Niolon, who have been married for 26 years, met while going to see a band at The Masquerade in Atlanta. Now, Polar Waves, a rock band, will bring music to their home during Porchfest at 3 p.m.
Niolon’s favorite space is the same place where he first felt at home: the front porch.
“If you’re on the front porch, it’s social hour, and everybody’s walking up and down the street,” Niolon said.
