Design Advice

“When partygoers make it into a kitchen, they tend to never leave,” says interior designer Courtney Giles Decker. To route guests elsewhere in her own home, she turned a hallway into a bar, drawing people into a space fully stocked for cocktail hour.

“The dark color really envelops you and feels cozy,” says interior designer Nina Nash. When she and her Mathews Furniture partner Don Easterling created this sultry and sophisticated study in Ansley Park, they installed classic built-ins, then furnished the room in rich tones from both ends of the color spectrum

Depending on how it’s used, green can be either soothing or energizing, according to Stephanie Andrews, founder of Balance Design Atlanta.

Gone are the dark and dreary basements of 1970s sitcoms. Today’s terrace levels are no longer afterthoughts full of used furniture.

Light and understated was never the personality of this loft—or its owner—says interior designer Gina Sims, who amped up this plain kitchen with layers of bold features. Homeowner Cati Teague specified “awesome and green,” which sent Sims on a hunt for the perfect backsplash tile.

Your door is your house's first impression. Make it a good one by drawing inspiration from these entrances, including the former house of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conductor Robert Shaw, lifestyle blogger Lesley Graham's Marietta home, and Hedgewood Homes builder Pam Sessions's house.

Ditch the lucite, curate your kids' spaces (but don't leave their voices out!), and don't feel like you have to spend a fortune, says designer and TV personality Jeremiah Brent.

Ten years ago, no one would have expected a fusion of modern and industrial looks to thrive in a traditional house in Buckhead—particularly with the color black as a dominant theme. But the house that Anna Wooten Loggins (formerly with Amy Morris Interiors) designed for the Harrison family does just that.

If you fancy becoming one of those hammer-swinging, do-it-yourself home renovators on television, you’re in luck. The metro Atlanta area is coveted by producers for its rich variety of housing styles and neighborhoods.

Karla Aberdavis and her family pine for the ’50s and ’60s, when they believe good design was at its peak. Their style, a retro mashup that’s part practicality and part kitschy glam, touches every aspect of their lives, from furniture and clothes to music and kitchenware in their 1964 Stone Mountain ranch. For more of their throwback lifestyle, visit Karla’s Instagram, @mintkarla, where she has more than 200,000 followers.