Classically Chic, Family Friendly D E S I G N B Y J E S S I E L A FA L C E , N A N D I N A AT L A N TA P H OTO G R A P H Y BY
S H E L LY M A R S H A L L S C H M I D T
When two young busy professionals with two boys under the age of 6 acquired their home in historic Brookhaven, they were certain this would be their “forever home”. They wanted to design the interiors for real family life but with classic elegance. The home is a traditional brick colonial complete with Palladian windows, dormers, a central foyer and large-scale symmetrically placed rooms. They had no interest in opening walls as so many young couples do today. Instead, they wanted to maintain the classic traditional layout, knowing the architectural design is timeless and would sustain their family for many years to come. Their first order of business was to redecorate the home’s three “formal” rooms, all positioned around a large central foyer. All fabrics needed to be durable enough to stand up to their playful boys and their friends but elegant enough for more formal entertaining. Because their preference is for traditional design, the approach from the beginning was to work with simple classic lines for the furniture and layout. That said, they certainly didn’t want anything in their home to look stuffy, boring or “cookie-cutter.” They were open to playing with pattern, texture, color and scale in order to insert a “wow” factor. Immediately a sense of trust and collaboration developed with this couple. They saw us as design consultants and were open to uniquely creative elements inserted into the design. Not many clients embrace covering an entire room in a deep plum wood veneer wallpaper, but it proved to be one of their favorite design elements in the entire project. From the beginning the intent for this room was to make it more of an “adults only” space. Located right off the entry, it was probably originally used as a library or formal office. This family has no use for
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