A moss wall adds a touch of nature to this Druid Hills home

Homeowner Steve Colby blurs the boundaries between inside and out

1650
Room envy accent wall

Photograph by Christina Wedge

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.

Custom curves
Colby built this sunny garden room off the kitchen a couple years ago, adding custom metal doors that lead to the backyard. They were designed with an arch to mimic the original architecture.

Garden games
The picturesque backyard just beyond the doors includes stone retaining walls, a badminton court, and a goat house. (Trivia: It was once home to Moose, the goat who rose to fame in Colby’s memorable 2013 Doritos TV commercial.)

Ceiling savvy
Tongue-and-groove pine and cypress beams bring woodsy warmth to the ceiling.

Green light
The advertising director and cinematographer had experimented with a live-moss structure in his office once before but found it difficult because of watering and problems with allergens. This moss wall 2.0 uses preserved moss.

Charming chairs
Seating in the garden room includes these patterned chairs with intentionally mismatched fabric.

Designer tip: Colby says his DIY moss wall was “embarrassingly easy” to make: He used a heavy-duty staple gun to attach the various mosses straight into the sheetrock. “It was a quick way to achieve the effect, and the moss naturally hides the staples,” he says.

This article appears in our May 2020 issue.

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