Happy New Year, BLB friends! This time last year, I was reunited with a former coworker and new BLB client as she sought my help in making her new condo in the heart of Atlanta a more colorful and culture-filled home.

Stephanie recently moved back to Atlanta from Seattle into a 680-square foot condo in the highly coveted neighborhood of Inman Park. A single professional working from home in tech, it was important for her to have a true delineation between her work and personal life, while creating a beautiful, inviting space for her to host family and entertain friends.

I was so excited to work with Stephanie because we shared a love for mid-century modern design, vibrant colors and patterns, gallery walls, and clean maximalism. A lot of times people equate maximalism to junkiness and clutter, but this space would be anything but. Because the home was small, we’d have to be strategic and intentional with the size of every piece of furniture purchased, organization, and color and pattern selections.

Here’s a look at where it all began…

BEFORE:

When you first walk into Stephanie’s home, you enter the living room and see the kitchen space straight ahead. On the right side of the home, you find a laundry space, the condo’s sole bathroom, and two bedrooms across the hall from one another. Not wanting to invest in major renovations right away or commit to new paint colors, we’d update the home’s lighting (ensuring all of it would be Alexa-friendly and smart devices, including USB end tables and nightstands), and add peel-and-stick wallpaper should she change her mind about the pattern play sooner than later.

For the living room, Stephanie was adamant about adding a reclining sofa, potentially a sectional to seat more guests, but with the limited square footage, we’d result to an alternative leather sofa with a chaise that would allow her to lounge and relax daily. We updated her media console, coffee table, and end tables to give her more hidden storage in the space, and added a brass and glass bookcase on one of the smaller walls to give Stephanie some book storage outside of her home office. Lastly, we’d add loads of color and pattern with the new area rug, sheer curtains, and her existing artwork with a galery wall around her Samsung Frame TV.

Although there wasn’t a true dining space, but we’d do our best to create one with the existing bar top or bring in a new bistro table. There were three pendant lights we’d replace with something brass and more modern, as well as a flush mount light in the kitchen. We’d also update the honey oak cabinets’ hardware with marble and brass pulls and add color and pattern with new wallpaper, curtains, and an area rug to give the space some personality.

Because there was only one bathroom in the condo, it was important to go big or go home. We’d cover all the walls with a bold, botanical wallpaper, replace the outdated fixtures, and add a new vanity mirror and shelving to maximize storage for Stephanie without any compromise.

For her primary bedroom, the walls were already painted a light mauve, but we’d add a large scale wall mural behind a new blush velvet storage bed to give the space a wow factor. We’d update the nightstands on each side with a patterned rug underneath, add a new dresser and bench for additional storage, and dress the window with wine color drapery to add some contrast and romance.

Lastly, the second bedroom needed to be transformed from former guest room for her younger sister to a home office that kept Stephanie focused and inspired during the workday. Initially, we thought to add a built-in Murphy bed, cabinets and shelving on one side of the room, and put a stand-up desk on the other. However, in case she changed her mind about the hefty investment, we decided to bring in a comfortable sleeper sofa to accommodate occasional guests instead and concentrated on creating a beautiful workspace. This space was the lowest lift, as after we added a new rug and drapery, the room came together beautifully.

There were a few common threads in this home - (1) smart, small space storage, (2) brass finishes and jewel tone colors, and (3) artwork artwork artwork! Stephanie had so much artwork she’d collected over the years from her travels and BIPOC and women artists. I was thrilled to get them all displayed in multiple gallery walls throughout her home, while also bringing in new items that shared the amount of vibrance and color displayed. We both wanted her home to feel like an adult Crayola box that was functional and livable, but fabulous, while honoring her feminism and heritage.

I think we really knocked this project out the park, what do you think!?

AFTER:

Regardless of my following and the interest people have in BLB, it’s rare to come across a client that is so aligned with my design style and trust me when it comes to telling someone’s story throughout their home so colorfully. Thank you, Stephanie for giving me the opportunity to bring your new home to life in a way that exudes joy and positivity. I hope you continue to fall in love with it for years to come!

For more photos of the transformation, check out my Portfolio and #ProjectCasitadeColores on Instagram.

Be Blessed,

ACG

Design Deets:

Lighting - West Elm, Visual Comfort Co.

Area Rugs – Anthropologie, Lulu and Georgia, Anthropologie, Anthropologie

Sectional Sofa – West Elm

Media Cabinet – West Elm

Coffee Table – West Elm

End Table – Anthropologie

Floor Lamp – West Elm

Sleeper Sofa – Apt 2B