When a home office is visible from the front door, it gets special treatment, says interior designer Michelle Doughtie of Schilling & Co.

Flower power
A focal point for the room, the clover-shaped ottoman from Norwalk is covered in Lee Jofa fabric with a botanical vibe.

Rhapsody in blue
Window treatments made with Fabricut silk echo blue walls in the adjacent dining room.

Lit up
A gold-toned light fixture from Progressive Lighting is just the right balance of traditional and modern. It’s a good fit for the homeowner, Darlene Lee, who has family ties to the local lighting company.

Write on it
“We chose this desk because it has the look of a lady’s writing desk, but there’s plenty of storage, and it has a slight modern feel to it,” says Doughtie. The desk is by Lexington.

Floor facts
A lightly patterned wool rug from Stanton is classic for any room.

Design Tip: Be creative with art displays. The designer hung a Thomasa Seymour painting from Gregg Irby Gallery using a chandelier chain in the room’s bay window, making it appear to float.

This article appears in our April 2024 issue.

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Cleverly straddling the line between trendy and lasting design, Tami Ramsay of Cloth & Kind, based in Athens, created this teenager’s bedroom to look good today and years from now.

Dynamic duo
The happy combo of green and blue (“Napa Vineyards” and “Poolside” from Benjamin Moore) for the bookcase were on the Pinterest board of the room’s resident, Isla Jane Eady.

Material girl
Eye-catching canopy fabric from Clare Louise Frost (available through the designer’s showroom) is another star in the room, cheerfully coexisting with a whimsical animal pillow.

Wicker moments
A swivel wicker chair from Perigold can be moved around the room.

Understated
The designer selected a custom wool rug for the floor in a subtle pattern that grounds the room.

Round we go
“We loved doing something playful with the bookcase, and that scalloped edge added a degree of special,” says Ramsay, who notes that the same motif appears in the scalloped sconce shade (painted a custom color) from Stray Dog Designs.

Design Tip: Include something old and artisanal. On the bed, a vintage Kantha quilt from Aloka Home adds character.

This article appears in our March 2024 issue.

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“Low seating feels more relaxed than traditional seating,” says Palmer Schallon, who built the furniture in this dining room. He and his wife, Melissa—both set decorators in the film industry—recently moved to this West End home from Los Angeles.

Window DIY
Showing off his artisan skills, Schallon also created the bamboo-like oak accents on the windows, framed by woven shades.

Natural elements
To reflect the home’s Craftsman bungalow architecture, the couple painted the dining room walls “Calke Green” by Farrow & Ball, with an off-white trim. The accent wallpaper—which creates a “storybook-like environment,” explains Schallon—is from a company called Mind the Gap.

Table trends
The low-rise table was scaled to fit the room, says Schallon, who chose a walnut frame with a cork base. For the tabletop, he cut different shades of cork into diamond shapes to give it a pattern, with a custom wood-and-cork lazy Susan on top.

Getting the lowdown
“I built the chairs with an extrawide seat to allow for sitting cross-legged or with your legs curled up beneath you,” says the homeowner and woodworker.

Design Tip: Custom is often the way to go, says Schallon, who is starting an interior design business with Melissa. He consulted Etsy to find fellow artisans for the rug and light fixtures.

This article appears in our February 2023 issue.

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This multipurpose kids’ room in a Virginia-Highland addition has good ideas for all ages, thanks to the creativity of designers at Copper Sky Design + Remodel.

Starting point
A playful wall covering (look closely and you’ll see monkeys) from Cole & Son accentuates the vaulted ceiling, capped off by a stained beam.

Light touch
Small but striking sconces from Shades of Light add task lighting to the desk.

Hidden storage
Two closets with doors help keep clutter under control.

Gator colors
The University of Florida family requested blue and orange as a theme, resulting in bookcases and trim painted in Sherwin-Williams “Favorite Jeans.”

Write on it
A desktop made of red oak (same as the floors) appears to be floating, but is secured by hidden steel brackets, says Micaela Quinton, director of design for Copper Sky.

Design Tip: Splurge and save. Jaime Dupes, who was in charge of the project, spent some money on the eye-catching wallpaper but procured the faux-fur rug from Costco and the beanbag online.

This article appears in our January 2024 issue.

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Keeping it simple but elegant, interior designer Shawn Amtower relied on two winning surfaces for this soft and serene office: white oak and gold/brass tone. This project is a gold winner in our 2023 Georgia Design Awards.

Get to work
The oak and brass desk by Julian Chichester started it all. “It was modern and feminine at the same time,” says Amtower. “I found the desk first and then matched the finish for the cabinetry.”

Store it
Kingdom Woodworks designed the custom cabinetry to match the white oak on the desk. They made sure it has storage for a printer, files, and a charging station.

Sit in style
White chairs with gold frames, from RH, are symmetrical anchors to the room.

See-through shape
Amtower went understated with the RH light fixtures, saying, “The glass layered perfectly in front of the cabinetry and didn’t distract from the details there.”

Design Tip: Throw in a wild card. As a contrast to the soft-spoken decor, the designer chose a blackened-steel accent table from R Hughes, which functions almost like a piece of artwork.

This article appears in our December 2023 issue.

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Blonde bombshell
“We focused the design of this living room around a special commission of Marilyn Monroe by Atlanta artist Steve Penley,” says interior designer Gabriela Eisenhart. Homeowner Jessica Alexander loves the way Penley painted the movie star, as it reminds her of her mom, whom she lost as a child.

Window wall
Alexander’s design goal was a New York look, so Eisenhart outfitted the windows overlooking Peachtree Road with understated white drapery panels to let the view stand out.

Geometric goals
A U-shaped lamp by Regina Andrew and the black-and-white checked rug from Lulu and Georgia mix complementary shapes. The round table from Four Hands repeats circular themes.

Sexy seats
Velvet chairs from Nuevo are supporting players in the room. Penley incorporated the chairs’ color into the portrait, per Eisenhart’s request.

Design Tip: Metals make it edgy. The designer added slim iron legs to the custom sofa, picking up a motif already seen in the chairs and floor lamp.

This article appears in our November 2023 issue.

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For this Decatur house, interior designer Laura Jenkins cleverly blended midcentury style with cottage elements.

Perfectly pink
Her clients, Laura and Sam Dengler, like lots of color, so Jenkins chose midcentury-influenced Fireclay tile, aptly named “Desert Bloom.”

Vintage vibe
With her love of history, Jenkins was inspired by the kitchen in Atlanta’s Swan House, known for its understated green cabinetry. Here, Farrow & Ball “Teresa’s Green” covers custom cabinetry by Eiland Woodworks.

Shade shift
“We wanted the darker-blue cabinetry to look more like a piece of furniture,” Jenkins says. “This also acts as the room divider, creating two different spaces. We added furniture details that are appropriate for a cottage but are also a bit whimsical.” The walnut countertop also has a furniture-like feel.

Shine on
Brass hardware from Schoolhouse feels both traditional and modern.

Design Tip
Clever storage ideas in this kitchen include open shelving for sheet pans and cutting boards, and open spaces in the cabinet for cookbooks and tea.

This article appears in our September 2023 issue.

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Photograph by Lajoy Lewis Photography

When interior designer Amber Guyton first visited Shanelle Walker’s Grove Park home, she noticed lots of art propped up against the walls—but that didn’t surprise her. “My client, Shanelle, is a woman of many talents,” says Guyton. Walker is a freelancer in Atlanta’s booming TV/movie industry and owner of the local apparel line Freedom Company, a brand “rooted in Black Empowerment and Love.” She’s also a writer, an activist, and a podcaster. Guyton says, “Her home is the core of all this creativity. She wanted it to be a place where ‘Dreams Don’t Sleep.’”

The designer planned the interiors around Walker’s collection, using rich colors on the walls to make everything stand out visually. The goal was to inspire her client’s day-to-day life. “Shanelle’s specific ask was for her home to be sophisticated and cozy, and to look like a Black writer for TV and film lives here and writes million-dollar movies,” she says. “I immediately thought of Issa Rae and Lena Waithe, and I was up for the challenge!”

Prominent in Walker’s collection are paintings by California artist B. Moore, whose series Imagine a World, Brown like Me includes people of color in classic cartoons like Peanuts and the Jetsons. As a background for these works, Guyton chose moody colors and jewel tones. She used an existing rust-colored sofa—from Albany Park, a minority-owned furniture company in Texas—to anchor the sitting area and inspire the color scheme. Walls were painted a deep navy, with accent pillows bringing in more texture and saturated hues.

Frames in atypical colors provide a subtle design statement as well. “I usually like to frame photos or art with brass, gold, or black, but since Walker had already framed a few pieces in colors pulled out of the art itself, we did the same—and they came out looking beautiful and unique,” says Guyton.

Once the art was framed, Guyton began planning how to arrange the gallery wall above the sofa. “I laid them out with the largest piece first—the James Baldwin art—and positioned it at the center,” says the designer. “I then added the smaller pieces on each side, about four to six inches apart, making sure there was distance between pieces so the arrangement felt diverse and balanced.”

Elsewhere in the living/kitchen area, a wall of black-and-white photography displays portraits of Walker’s favorite figures from Black history: Martin Luther King Jr., Nina Simone, Malcolm X, Shirley Chisholm, and others. The photos are arranged on a board-and-batten wall painted black, with nameplates beneath each image.

A collection of original art isn’t necessary to compose a compelling gallery wall, Guyton notes. “You can arrange art prints and photography straight from your iPhone, and it can still be impactful. Gallery walls are the perfect way to add personal interest to a space.”

This article appears in our September 2023 issue.

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To distinguish this builder-grade dining room in Decatur, interior designer Vinanti Chauhan used a few creative tricks for her friends and clients, Monika and Kunj Pathak.

Vivid palette
Owners Monika and Kunj Pathak both formerly lived in India, which influenced their vibrant color choices. Yellow velvet chairs from West Elm complement the marble-topped table from CB2.

Mirror, mirror
What looks like a foyer beyond this room is a bit of a visual stunt. “A large inset mirror on the back wall reflects the arches of the dining room and the stairwell, which creates an intriguing sense of continuous spaces,” says Chauhan.

Bright or sultry
Roman shades that can be raised to the ceiling control ambient light and set the mood.

Shelf life
The cabinetry flanking the mirror is made of Ikea cabinet boxes, combined with doors and two walnut niches from the online source Semihandmade, which specializes in custom-looking additions to Ikea products. The blue cabinetry (painted in Semihandmade “Night Sky”) helps define the faux entryway, explains Chauhan.

Floor facts
“The splurge was the rug,” says Chauhan, referring to this hand-knotted, 100 percent wool rug from Rejuvenation. “It has a folk-inspired, traditional tree of life motif that we really liked.”

Design Tip: Pick a recurring motif for a room, says designer Vinanti Chauhan, whose firm, Hues & Scapes, is in Michigan. Here, the round chandelier and table reinforce a circular theme. Wine glasses in the bar niches also add a swirly touch.

This article appears in our August 2023 issue.

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When it’s 90 degrees in Atlanta, IT professional and writer Blake Donley can escape to his basement listening room with a cool beverage and 3,000—give or take—of his favorite LPs.

Built-ins for Bruce (and others)
The basement has custom shelves for Donley’s 30-years-in-the-making collection of Bruce Springsteen, Dwight Yoakam, Eurythmics, and more—arranged alphabetically.

Retro reminders
Donley inherited his father’s vintage Pioneer receiver, and has continued to collect ’70s- and ’80s-era hi-fi gear from online sources and auctions. “Today, I have more than 50 pieces of gear—all Pioneer—with 18 of them in the basement,” he says.

Sitting in style
The laid-back chairs are perfect for listening to Donley’s “stacks of wax” (his lingo), while the cowhide rug from Scott Antique Markets adds texture and pattern on top of light-wood floors.

Singing the blues
Co-homeowner Lauren Rubinstein, a professional photographer, kept the look blue-on-blue, with Benjamin Moore “Hale Navy” in a semigloss for the built-in cubbies. The wood shelves for stereo components have hidden casters.

Design Tip: Lighting can make a room. “I wanted a statement, something sleek, without taking away from the rest of the room,” says Rubinstein. The sculptural Talon Chandelier by Regina Andrew hits all the right notes.

This article appears in our July 2023 issue.

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