In the summer of 2022, Atlanta-based designer Laura W. Jenkins received an inquiry from a married couple with two young children. The couple, who found Jenkins and her namesake firm on Instagram, were seeking to inject life and personality into their new home, a 7,000-square-foot contemporary in northern Atlanta built in 2010.
Modern spec houses can sometimes be tricky for designers—they aren’t grounded in the same way as historic homes. “You have to create a narrative without a lot to go on,” says Jenkins, who previously worked in hospitality design at Georgia firms MT Studio and Square Feet Studio.
“It’s challenging as a designer, because we work contextually,” Jenkins explains. “This project forced us to delve into who the clients are and what they like.”
Luckily, the wife already had one item that ended up setting the tone for the rest of the five-bedroom residence: a cream-hued sideboard painted with lacy red and blue neoclassical details. “That was the only piece she wanted to use—it was in her bedroom when she was younger,” says Jenkins. “We used it as a jumping off point for the color palette.”
This painted sideboard, which the wife had in her childhood bedroom, provided color cues for the rest of the house. It now stands between the entry, living room, and dining room.
Throughout the home, Jenkins used a foundation of neutral hues that allowed for bold color moments. Case in point is the dining room, which she bathed entirely in a striking crimson hue, Rectory Red by Farrow & Ball. “I love a red room and have been looking for a client who [wants to] do one,” she says.
For furnishings, she incorporated a suite of vintage chairs—reupholstered in Edelman leather and a Zak+Fox fabric—with an English-inspired table by Holland MacRae and a sideboard by midcentury Milanese icon Paolo Buffa. All are set atop a custom Christopher Farr rug featuring a 1930s geometric design by Marian Pepler. “I really wanted showstopper rug,” says Jenkins. “And even though the design is from the 1930s, it still feels modern today.”
The finished space embodies Jenkins’ design ethos, combining vintage and modern. “I love style tension and mixing different time periods,” says Jenkins.
In the dining room, a work by Tennessee-based artist Addie Chapin surmounts an antique sideboard by Milanese midcentury master Paolo Buffa. “One of my favorite pieces is that sideboard,” says Jenkins. “The details and hardware are all original, and I love the color of the wood. That piece, to me, is the house.”
The keeping room—a seating area off the kitchen—also includes audacious color choices; the family-friendly space is sheathed in a deep shade of inky blue. The light-filled kitchen, meanwhile, adheres to a sage-and-cream color scheme, with its original cabinetry and island now painted in a cheerful green hue.
“I didn’t want to rip out cabinets just because,” explains Jenkins, who instead opted to repaint them in Farrow & Ball’s Breakfast Room Green. Hanging from the ceiling are pendants by The Urban Electric Co., and the zellige backsplash is from Zia Tile. The Aga range is paired with a custom hood inspired by the enamel pendant over breakfast table.
There are more muted rooms upstairs, including the primary suite where neutrals dominate. Here, Jenkins continued her signature mixing of periods. She paired antique and vintage-inspired furnishings with an ethereal ceiling fixture by Italy-based designer Mirei Monticelli, which adds a sense of modernity and movement to the space.
Even the children’s rooms have an air of sophistication, melding bespoke pieces (such as the daughter’s tented bed) with vintage treasures. “The client wanted the house to feel grown up,” says Jenkins, a little over a year since finishing the project.
“But she also wanted it to be a place that her kids enjoy being and are inspired by.”
Rounded, soft shapes dominate in the upstairs playroom, which sits in between the kids’ bedrooms. This includes a Noguchi lantern overhead, red Roly Poly chairs by Faye Toogood, and a plush RH sectional. The area rug, meanwhile, is Missoni for Stark. “They’re super durable, which is important when you have kids and animals,” says Jenkins.
Go Inside an Atlanta Home by Laura Jenkins
Geoffrey Montes is an associate editor at ELLE Decor with a serious love for all things real estate and design. Before that, he worked at Architectural Digest, Galerie, and Preservation magazines, covering everything from jaw-dropping listings to world-famous architects and design events like Salone del Mobile and Homo Faber.
