Photos Kelly Moore
The home sitting at the curve of 2 Palmer Drive in Rome, Georgia, seems to open its arms to you before you even step inside. It’s a big home — five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, and 6,420 square feet — but what’s most striking is how it feels: spacious without being showy, generous without trying too hard. It’s just welcoming.
Kristen and Mark, the current owners, weren’t even planning to look at this home when they were planning their move to Rome. “We really didn’t think we needed that much space as a new family,” Kristen said. “But then we looked at it and just fell in love.”
It was one of those things that seems to unfold the way it’s meant to. The couple had both gone to Berry College in the early 2000s, and after years of school and training across the southeast, a job offer at Harbin Clinic brought them back to Rome. When a cousin encouraged them to at least give this house a look, they did — and that’s when the picture began to form.
“It’s a big house in terms of square footage, but it’s not like they packed a bunch of tiny rooms in. Each one is just comfortable and spacious in a way that makes sense,” said Kristen. That sense of ease flows through the entire home — especially the open-concept kitchen and living area that Kristen and Mark renovated just a few years ago. “The original kitchen was pretty small, considering the size of the house,” she said. “Apparently the couple who built it weren’t big cooks. So, we opened it up and added more cabinets, made it into a space that made more sense for how we live.”
The updates are thoughtful and beautiful — marble countertops, custom cabinetry, and a view straight into a cozy den area — a space made for morning coffee and quiet togetherness. The same group that transformed the kitchen also helped redo the primary bathroom, adding heated floors, a soaking tub, and fresh tile to make it feel more like a retreat than a routine.
As most people know, the real stories live in the everyday spaces. There’s the bonus room above the garage — a space the current owners didn’t expect to need, but quickly grew into. “I was going to be a stay-at-home mom for the first time, which was a little scary,” Kristen says. “That big room became the playroom. We had baseball games with foam balls, bats, and bases in there, toys spread out everywhere. We made a lot of memories in that space.” Alongside the memories, what helps tie all of these spaces together is the Sonos sound system that runs through the house.
But if the heart of the home lives inside, its soul stretches out into the backyard. The outdoor space has something for every season — a spacious pool for summer, a hot tub for chilly nights, a fire pit and gazebo with a mounted screen that’s perfect for fall football. “It’s probably one of the best features of the house,” Kristen says. “We’ve always loved being out there. It’s a space where you can relax or host a full-on pool party — and we’ve done a lot of both.”
That’s the kind of place 2 Palmer Drive has been — not just a house, but a home meant for gathering. For welcoming. For being the kind of place where people bring their friends, and stay just a little longer than they meant to.
Now, as Kristen and her family head toward a new adventure in Florida, the door is open for someone else to make it theirs. If you’re interested in welcoming your own friends and family into this kind of home, you can contact Michele Rikard at: michelerikard@hardyrealty.com for more information.
You can also visit:
HardyRealty.com to view the listing.
Segrest also describes the touching solidarity of the city. “At 7 pm everyone leans out of their windows and cheers, banging pots and pans. They are cheering for the healthcare workers. They are cheering for each other. Then an hour later the city stops. There is a silence for all those we lost.”
With so much still uncertain in both New York City and Rome Georgia one thing is for certain- Rebecca Segrest is undoubtedly a hero.
To be continued…..
