Industrial Chic and a Hint of Silly in an Atlanta Family Room
Right-size furniture, a wood ceiling, soft textiles and colorful elephants create a relaxed, happy style
Before. “When my client moved from his much smaller home into this large house, he had little furniture, and what he did have didn’t fit,” Clark says. “In the family room, the sofa, coffee table and chairs were too small and didn’t fit the style of the house.”
The house was built in 2009, and this room had fantastic bones: a 10-foot-high coffered ceiling; a fireplace; and beautiful solid wood doors, left, that opened up to a balcony. But the decor was boring. “He has a lot of well-known clients, like athletes and musicians; he wanted to entertain at home, which meant more formal rooms in the front of the house,” Clark says. “But for the back of the house I insisted he go more casual.” Based on her client’s fashion sense, taste in art and personality, she went for an industrial-chic style.
The client, who bought the house in 2016, was a bachelor with a girlfriend when Clark started decorating the house. The girlfriend is now his wife, and the couple have had a young son. All the more reason to have a soft and comfortable family room.
The house was built in 2009, and this room had fantastic bones: a 10-foot-high coffered ceiling; a fireplace; and beautiful solid wood doors, left, that opened up to a balcony. But the decor was boring. “He has a lot of well-known clients, like athletes and musicians; he wanted to entertain at home, which meant more formal rooms in the front of the house,” Clark says. “But for the back of the house I insisted he go more casual.” Based on her client’s fashion sense, taste in art and personality, she went for an industrial-chic style.
The client, who bought the house in 2016, was a bachelor with a girlfriend when Clark started decorating the house. The girlfriend is now his wife, and the couple have had a young son. All the more reason to have a soft and comfortable family room.
Art Serves as a Starting Point in the Design
The colorful koi paintings seen here in the home’s eat-in kitchen were an early clue to the homeowner’s style. “He likes bold color and can get funky,” Clark says. “But he likes silhouettes that are more traditional.”
Koi paintings: John Hung Ha; shade fabric: Forsyth Fabrics
The colorful koi paintings seen here in the home’s eat-in kitchen were an early clue to the homeowner’s style. “He likes bold color and can get funky,” Clark says. “But he likes silhouettes that are more traditional.”
Koi paintings: John Hung Ha; shade fabric: Forsyth Fabrics
The koi paintings are visible from the family room — there are two large openings between this room and the kitchen. Clark made sure the two rooms flowed together. The light aqua on the kitchen walls coordinates with the elephant painting, and the family room drapes have the same fabric as the kitchen window shades. Clark stuck with a neutral palette on the draperies to highlight the wood on the balcony doors and the views out to the backyard.
The abstract painting on the left is one of the first items Clark found for the family room. “I usually begin with artwork, a rug or fabric for drapes because these are big pieces that you can have fun with, and then everything else falls into place,” she says. Clark’s client likes to support artists by purchasing original pieces, so starting with a painting was a great way to kick off the design. All the artwork in the house is original.
Clark also brought in color via the sofa pillows, which are covered in solids and patterns in a variety of textiles such as linen, velvet and tweed. Because the pillows required so little yardage, she was able to splurge on special fabrics. Note the way the striped fabric on the back of the swivel chair and the throw pillows on the sofa pick up on the bright colors in the artwork.
Browse sectional sofas
Clark also brought in color via the sofa pillows, which are covered in solids and patterns in a variety of textiles such as linen, velvet and tweed. Because the pillows required so little yardage, she was able to splurge on special fabrics. Note the way the striped fabric on the back of the swivel chair and the throw pillows on the sofa pick up on the bright colors in the artwork.
Browse sectional sofas
Furniture That’s Big Enough for the Room
As we saw in the “before” photo, the large room swallowed smaller pieces of furniture. A generous sectional sofa is a much better fit for the room’s size. A rug defines the seating area as distinct from the traffic areas. A substantial barrel chair fills in a corner near the fireplace, and two hefty storage pieces flank the fireplace. The large art fills out the wall expanses as well.
Painting: “Flat Iron Building NYC” by Josef Kote, Vinings Gallery
As we saw in the “before” photo, the large room swallowed smaller pieces of furniture. A generous sectional sofa is a much better fit for the room’s size. A rug defines the seating area as distinct from the traffic areas. A substantial barrel chair fills in a corner near the fireplace, and two hefty storage pieces flank the fireplace. The large art fills out the wall expanses as well.
Painting: “Flat Iron Building NYC” by Josef Kote, Vinings Gallery
Industrial design came in via the reclaimed-wood coffee table with its factory-style wheels and the metal casework on either side of the fireplace. “This table is great,” Clark says. “It’s well-made, it’s stylish, it’s easy to pull over to put your feet up on it, and with the reclaimed wood, if your drink leaves a ring it just adds to the character.”
The cabinets on either side of the fireplace provide plenty of room for storage and display. “He had framed personal photographs scattered throughout the house,” Clark says. “I gathered them up and put them all together on the smaller storage piece. By the time I bought these, I knew the baby was on the way, so I found pieces that had room for toys on the bottom.” You can see how Clark played off the rivets on these pieces with the large nailhead detailing on the sofa and barrel chair upholstery.
Another good decision for a young family was the inexpensive, kid-friendly rug. “I would have gone more all-out on the rug had a child not been on the way, but this was a better choice for a young family,” Clark says.
Coffee table and storage pieces: Four Hands; rug: Surya
The cabinets on either side of the fireplace provide plenty of room for storage and display. “He had framed personal photographs scattered throughout the house,” Clark says. “I gathered them up and put them all together on the smaller storage piece. By the time I bought these, I knew the baby was on the way, so I found pieces that had room for toys on the bottom.” You can see how Clark played off the rivets on these pieces with the large nailhead detailing on the sofa and barrel chair upholstery.
Another good decision for a young family was the inexpensive, kid-friendly rug. “I would have gone more all-out on the rug had a child not been on the way, but this was a better choice for a young family,” Clark says.
Coffee table and storage pieces: Four Hands; rug: Surya
A Distinctive Ceiling and an Added Surprise
Installing the reclaimed-wood look overhead was the biggest design move Clark made. She covered the ceiling with thin planks of Ghost Wood, which is made from dead standing timber that has been treated to look like reclaimed barn wood. Thanks to skilled installers, it looks like the quarter-inch planks run underneath the ceiling’s millwork, but in truth they were carefully trimmed and attached atop the drywall with finish nails and glue. Each plank has a different look, so they were careful to continue each one from coffer to coffer. “This changed the entire feeling and look of the room,” Clark says.
Artwork: “Elephant on a Ball” by Brian Hibbard, Pryor Fine Art
Installing the reclaimed-wood look overhead was the biggest design move Clark made. She covered the ceiling with thin planks of Ghost Wood, which is made from dead standing timber that has been treated to look like reclaimed barn wood. Thanks to skilled installers, it looks like the quarter-inch planks run underneath the ceiling’s millwork, but in truth they were carefully trimmed and attached atop the drywall with finish nails and glue. Each plank has a different look, so they were careful to continue each one from coffer to coffer. “This changed the entire feeling and look of the room,” Clark says.
Artwork: “Elephant on a Ball” by Brian Hibbard, Pryor Fine Art
Can you spot the difference between the previous photo and this one? “The elephant painting was the last piece I chose and I told my client I was going to surprise him with the way I framed it,” Clark says. She had a vision of surrounding the stretched canvas with lights and had a sign company make a lighted metal frame to fit around the canvas. She had her electrician pull wires from an outlet below to hard-wire the frame so that no unsightly wires would show.
While her client originally envisioned entertaining guests in the sophisticated living room and dining room at the front of the house, this painting has become the main attraction. “My client loves to show this to this to his guests and see their reactions!” Clark says.
Takeaways
So Your Style Is: Industrial
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While her client originally envisioned entertaining guests in the sophisticated living room and dining room at the front of the house, this painting has become the main attraction. “My client loves to show this to this to his guests and see their reactions!” Clark says.
Takeaways
- Look to your fashion sense when trying to identify your home decor style. Watch for colors and patterns you like together and opportunities to introduce whimsy.
- If you have a large opening between two rooms, make sure the views will work. Colors, fabrics and furniture that match or complement one another are a good way to do this.
- If you don’t know where to begin a design, start with a painting, rug or fabric you love and pull your colors from there.
- Throw pillows are a place to add luxe touches on a budget. To get the most out of a small amount of expensive fabric, use the fabric on the front of a pillow and something budget-friendly on the back.
- The furniture here is the right scale for the room. A good way to choose furnishings is to tape off the footprint of pieces you’re considering with painter’s tape on the floor.
- If you’re going to install a wood ceiling in between coffers or beams like Clark did here, this is not the place to DIY. Make sure you hire someone highly skilled and meticulous.
So Your Style Is: Industrial
Read more living and family room stories
Find an interior designer or decorator
Family Room at a Glance
Location: Atlanta
Size: 330 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer: Adriana Clark of Construction by Design (interiors)
Interior designer Adriana Clark’s first impression of her buttoned-down lawyer client was that he would like a subdued, conservative design for his new Atlanta house. But then she looked in his closet, something she does to get a sense of a client’s personal style. “My client wears a lot of nice suits, but underneath he’s wearing socks with the Simpsons on them,” she says. “He definitely has a colorful, silly and playful side to his personality.” She also looked at his art collection and discovered that he loved bright color there as well. For example, he owned the yellow elephant painting, above, by one of his favorite artists, John Hung Ha.
Clark redecorated the whole house and had free rein picking out furniture, rugs, paint colors, wallcoverings and artwork. Here in the family room, which is the focus of this story, she also added reclaimed wood to the ceiling and did minor electrical work.