ATLANTA HOMES & LIFESTYLES
OCTOBER 2020
ELEGANT EASE
VOLUME 39, NO. 9
elegant EASE
Contents OCTOBER 2020
STYLE 8
Book Look AH&L settles into the season with a few favorite reads
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In Conversation: Lulu Lytle AH&L sits down with Soane Britain’s co-founder to talk all things rattan
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In Conversation: Claud Cecil Gurney The founder of iconic handpainted wallpaper firm, de Gournay, gives AH&L an exclusive peak into his new book
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Going Country Embracing their love of the land, a family flees Atlanta for a refined but pastoral retreat
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Place to Belong Stan Dixon and Betty Burgess craft a mountain retreat with an authentic sense of place
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In-Town Ease
LIFE 16 18 19 20 100 4 99
Property Report Calendar Happenings this month Naomi On technology Dish West Midtown’s MUJŌ End Note Suzanna’s reno diaries Editor’s Letter Ad Index
On the Cover Interior Design LAUREN DAVENPORT IMBER Photography by EMILY FOLLOWILL Styled by ELEANOR ROPER
Shayelyn Woodbery elevates a historic Inman Park Craftsman
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JULIANCHICHESTER.COM NEW YORK | ATLANTA | LONDON
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STYLE NEWS
IN CONVERSATION WITH...
CLAUD CECIL GURNEY
ATLANTA HOMES & LIFESTYLES: From the mythical to the whimsical to the historical and provocative, de Gournay is known to “raise the spirits of its clients and infuse their homes with happiness and ambience.” How have you seen de Gournay taste evolve to suit the tastes of a new generation? CLAUD CECIL GURNEY: Everyone thinks they are a “new generation,” but they all aspire ultimately to a Palladian mansion in Lombardy—and build it in Malibu if they can’t afford to buy the original. I am not sure that good taste can evolve? To the extent that people move into high rises, have larger powder rooms and bathrooms, live in their kitchens, use air-conditioning and stop entertaining on the grand scale, preferring to invite friends to a club or restaurant, this generation is different and we just work 12
our magic on different spaces created for different purposes. I hope all generations, old and new, will appreciate us! AH&L: De Gournay has been applied to everything from the dog kennel to children’s ceilings to the scullery. What are some of the more intriguing—or most unlikely—spaces and locales in which de Gournay has been installed and taken on a life of its own? CCG: We had one client who insisted that his dollhouses were so wonderful that they called for hand-painted wallpapers, and was somewhat vexed that we had to scale the whole thing down and paint it as a custom order with the consequent cost implications, but the result was beautiful and he came back for more. Once we papered a dog-grooming room that doubled as a laundry. I am still uncertain whether the dogs were able to appreciate
DE GOURNAY: HAND-PAINTED INTERIORS BY CLAUD CECIL GURNEY © RIZZOLI NEW YORK, 2020; CLAUD CECIL GURNEY PHOTO BY JOHAN SELLÉN; JARDINIÈRES & CITRUS TREES INTERIOR DESIGN BY CHARLOTTE MOSS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMON UPTON—THE INTERIOR ARCHIVE
Upon the release of his new book, de Gournay: Hand-Painted Interiors, AH&L chats with the founder of the iconic wallpaper, fabric and porcelain firm
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SARUS CRANES INTERIOR DESIGN BY RACHEL VAN DER BRUG OF RHO INTERIORS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELMAR KROP; MAGNOLIA CANOPY, DE GOURNAY SHOWROOM, BEIRUT, PHOTOGRAPHY BY REBECCA REID
the luxurious surroundings, or whether it relaxed them and if they were aware of the huge expense their mistresses were lavishing on them. AH&L: In the book, you write: “The opportunities to do something original are few and far between.” How have recent collaborations with fashion designers like Erdem, or other industry outsiders, resulted in surprising but exciting results? CCG: Many surprises, much excitement, but few original ideas that have not been inspired by or loosely based on some pre-existing design, house or element taken from nature. Erdem’s genius was in being able to choose the designs and the colorways and scales that adapted best to the world of fashion and the dresses he crafted so beautifully. Such attention to detail is rare. Edgardo and Ricardo of Aquazzura somehow chose the perfect shoes to fit to our designs and the perfect designs to fit to their shoes—we still have clients today desperately trying to source more of the same. It’s magical when it all works out, and we adore the crossover between fashion and design.
H a n d - Pa i n t e d Interiors
De Gournay founder Claud Cecil Gurney offers entrée into the exotic world of his hand-painted wallpapers and textiles
above Jardinières & Citrus Trees handpainted wallpaper on custom Blue Green Williamsburg painted silk. right Sarus Cranes handpainted wallpaper on Icefield dyed silk. opposite from top Claud Cecil Gurney in his London home with Olaf the Samoyed and Jiminy Cricket the rough collie. Magnolia Canopy handpainted wallpaper on Rose Water slub silk with hand embroidery.
in de Gournay: Hand-Painted Interiors (Rizzoli, $75). Gurney charmingly guides readers through interiors featuring dramatic and exquisite examples of the renowned papers. rizzoliusa.com
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Going Country EMBRACING THEIR LOVE OF THE LAND, AN ATLANTA FAMILY LEAVES THE CITY AND SETTLES INTO A REFINED YET PASTORAL RETREAT Written by SEJAL BHIMA Photographed by EMILY FOLLOWILL Styled by ELEANOR ROPER
Country Strong Sunny, a miniature horse, makes an entrance in the breakfast room, where an extra long table offers the perfect spot for both meals and game nights. Keeping durability top of mind, designer Lauren Davenport Imber opted for vinyl seat chairs with a Lee Jofa wool fabric on the back, while the host chairs feature a sturdy leather front and linen back.
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Southern Simplicity In the keeping room, Davenport Imber transformed a beloved chair once belonging to the wife’s grandmother with fawn hide and leather. The table and pedestal are from Scott Antique Markets.
W WHEN THE HOMEOWNER of this country estate gets a call from her interior designer, Lauren Davenport Imber, she’s likely knee-deep in a project, and not in the figurative sense. “I’ll give her a ring with a design question,” says Davenport Imber, “And it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for her to say, ‘Well, at the moment I’m pouring sweat, digging holes in the ground for a new fence.’” While it may seem like a chore to most, it’s exactly where this homeowner wants to be; firmly rooted in her family’s 100-acre wooded property in Whitesburg, Georgia, which is a striking contrast to the city life she shared with her husband and two sons just years before. “They describe themselves as fifth-generation Atlantans who decided to run for the forest,” Davenport Imber adds with a laugh. In their search for trading city lights for starry skies, they happened upon a verdant parcel of land that ticked all the boxes. It
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PLACE TO BELONG Seeking an escape from the summer heat, an Alabama couple recruits STAN DIXON and BETTY BURGESS to craft a mountain retreat in Cashiers with authentic sense of place Written by
TATE GUNNERSON Photographed by
JEFF HERR Styled by
ELEANOR ROPER
Mountain Mood Built with native North Carolina ďŹ eldstone, this handsome retreat is a collaboration betweenarchitect D. Stanley Dixon, landscape architect John Howard and Betty Burgess of Betty Burgess Design.
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IN-TOWN
EASE
SHAYELYN WOODBERY INTERIORS elevates a historic Inman Park Craftsman for a young family using just the right mix of antiques and contemporary pieces Written by TATE GUNNERSON Photographed by EMILY FOLLOWILL Styled by ELEANOR ROPER
Elegant Mix An antique camel hair rug from Moattar grounds a custom leather sofa and reproduction coffee table in the formal living room. The draperies are an ivory Schumacher linen with embroidered Samuel & Sons trim through Ainsworth-Noah.
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