Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Ashley Malone, a principal designer for boutique design firm Studio Wellington, was thrilled when her clients wanted to infuse their new custom-built, Craftsman-style home near historic Decatur Square with color. But the husband-and-wife homeowners had one caveat: no warm tones.
“The wife loves color, but we were instructed that all the colors in the house had to be cool,” says Ashley, who founded the firm with Stephanie Abernathy, also a principal designer. “She doesn’t gravitate towards warm tones, so they weren’t allowed.” Instead, the couple wanted blues, purples, greens and even pinks, thanks to a spectacular pink quartzite they saw in a bar when they were traveling. For Ashley, who led the project, the goal was to bring all of those colors together in a strategic and harmonious way. “It had to flow,” she says. “We had to find ways to pull the different colors throughout the space.”
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
She began with the wife’s main request, which was a blue kitchen. A large island featuring marble with blue veining got the design underway, and the color transitioned into accents in the living room and bold paint the adjacent butler’s pantry. That led to a dramatic purple dining room with silk draperies and velvet chairs as week as purple bedding in the nearby “pretty room,” a space for the wife to do anything she wanted. In the latter space, she selected dramatic blue-green paint for the walls, which were then adorned with unique purple plaster flowers from The Collecte, Studio Wellington’s retail shop.
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
In the laundry room, pink quartzite served as the inspiration for a space drenched in the color—from cabinets to tile to wallpaper. And while various hues are found throughout the house—as both foundational colors and purposeful accents—Ashley encouraged the homeowners to allow for breaks, with neutral tones being used alongside the bolder colors in the primary bedroom and bath as well as in connecting spaces like hallways and the foyer.
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Ashley notes that the clients were a dream to work with, in part because she connected with the wife over their shared love of art. In fact, items from the couple’s growing collection are featured prominently throughout the house, which sits in the heart of Decatur, a city renowned for its artistic vibe. Ashley even took the wife on trips to dk Gallery in Marietta—a personal favorite of both—to shop for new pieces. “The aesthetic that she wanted for their house really fit with the art she selected,” she says. “It was the same feel, so it wasn’t hard to place. And everything about the home is her personality. The colors are so vibrant and happy.”
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
Photograph by Lauren Chambers
While the nearly three-year project was completed in 2023, the couple still collaborates with Studio Wellington as their home evolves. Every so often, they ask Ashley and Stephanie to bring something fresh to their interiors, which feature a mix of new furniture and an array of antiques, including a number of beloved antique rugs. “This is their forever home, and they love it,” Ashley says. “They’ve always been willing to open themselves up to the process of design,” Stephanie adds, “and that’s when beautiful things can happen.”
