Design Advice

With chairs, decorations, accessories, and rugs, combine warm and cool metals to give your home a savvy balance.

This 1918 Mediterranean-style Druid Hills house came with a beautiful backyard, so homeowner Steve Colby decided to blur the boundaries between inside and out with a moss accent wall. “I love plants and playing with textures,” he says.

Who wouldn’t be more productive in an office this striking? At this Columbus house, interior designer Chenault James created a multipurpose room to accommodate a mother and her two tween daughters, providing a spot for paying bills and doing homework.

While budget, time, and ability are legitimate constraints on home improvement projects, often it’s a lack of creativity that limits the possibilities. Homeowners’ most common mistake is launching a project without having a full plan in place.

As the nerve center for entertaining, a versatile butler’s pantry is invaluable—whether or not you have a butler. Interior designer Virginia Cheek planned this Candler Park house’s butler’s pantry to excel in both looks and function.

Jennifer Boles, native Atlantan and founder of online journal The Peak of Chic, is a welcome antidote to bloggers chasing the latest fads. Her posts take inspiration from old movies, vintage magazines, and classic design books. So when we decided to publish a list of must-reads, we knew Boles was the resident expert.

From his days as an art student, when actress Joan Crawford presented him with a National Watercolor Show award, to his time spent working for New York design legend Billy Baldwin, who once entrusted his young protégé with hanging a client’s priceless Francisco Goya, Atlanta decorator Stan Topol has spent his life steeped in art.

As a veteran of home shows such as HGTV’s Elbow Room and Wise Buys, interior designer Kristen Fountain Davis excels at creating spaces that pop. For this kitchen she layered the sultry black cabinets with a custom hood, a white quartz–topped island, and large-scale brass lanterns, plus some striking upper shelves.

With Serenbe’s strong focus on sustainability and organic farming, Claudia and Rod Hoxsey wanted their new cottage there to be a modern version of a classic farmhouse.

The national media star shares his genius for creating richly appointed interiors with flea market finds.