Design Advice

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.

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.

“The Circle,” as it’s known to insiders, is actually a rather industrial-looking street with one small roundabout at the end. Over the past 25 years or so, it has become home to more than 60 showrooms and stores, nearly all of them catering to both retail and trade customers.

Look around: Many of today’s stylish kitchens have swapped out upper cabinets for open shelving. But is it for you? We asked designer Lori May of Lori May Interiors, who’s created an open shelf or two herself, for the pros and cons of the trend.

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.

“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

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

This lively breakfast room addition by Atlanta architect Norman Askins and interior designer/author James Farmer fits nicely in a 19th-century house.

Blue cabinetry’s a “thing?” We’re seeing the sultry hue in kitchens everywhere, from the palest turquoise to deep indigo. In Kathryn and Matt Purselle’s remodeled Decatur kitchen, Terracotta Design Build’s Nicole Jui picked classic elements like Shaker-style cabinetry and marble countertops to fit the 1930s house—but added a jolt of blue for fun.

Beth Kooby gets excited just talking about tile. With style that ranges from bold and geometric to soft and organic, Kooby is an expert at mixing and matching the colors, textures, and patterns that tile injects into a room. She gave us a tour of her favorite showrooms for chic surfaces in Atlanta.