French Elegance Meets Southern Hospitality In An Atlanta Home

First-time visitors to one of Atlanta’s most distinguished townhome developments often assume that they have landed in Paris. With their characteristically French mansard roofs and wrought-iron balconies, the houses evoke a classic hôtel particulier, even down to their circular oeil-de-boeuf windows. Known for its cosmopolitan residents, the complex attracted designer Beth Webb’s client, a worldly businessman. Having recently acquired his home, he engaged Webb, along with architect Stan Dixon and project architect Karen Hodgdon, to revamp the space to better suit him. Webb, who had previously designed a neighboring unit, welcomed the opportunity to work once again in the distinctive environment. “I was tickled pink,” she shares. “It’s such a pleasure every time I get to work with Stan and his team.”

Because the residence was already well-endowed, a complete renovation was unnecessary. Instead, Dixon and Hodgdon tweaked the home’s layout to enhance its functionality, such as adding an exercise room, a wine cellar and an extra guest room. They also elected to retain numerous architectural elements that had been installed by previous owners. For example, “We were set up well with an elliptical staircase and skylight,” Dixon acknowledges. “We recognized that it was great, and we didn’t want to alter that at all.” One room that was significantly overhauled, however, was the kitchen. “It had been small, so we expanded into what was a living room to open it up and make it a bigger area,” Hodgdon adds. Now enlarged and connected to a redesigned family room, the shared space basks in the natural light that streams in through classically arched windows and French doors.

The house also benefited from Webb’s elevated interior design, which she skillfully tailored to her client and his needs. “He is quite sophisticated in his tastes, so I wanted the home to reflect that,” Webb says, noting that the owner’s love of entertaining also drove the design. In fact, the dining room, where her client planned to host dinners and holiday parties, received the designer’s first selection for the project: a magnificent hand-painted platinum wallcovering that envelops the space. Webb recalls, “When I first saw the room, I knew it begged for something grand.”

Elegance also prevails in the refashioned living room, where the client’s collection of antique books and furniture are joined by pieces the designer acquired, including a silver-leaf cocktail table and a woven rug meant to temper the formality. At once refined and welcoming (the owner and his guests often play cards there), the space embodies one of Webb’s core design beliefs: “A room can be elegant, and it can feel formal, but it has to be comfortable”—a principle that even influenced the home’s more casual areas. While the family room offers comfort for everyday lounging, it has enough polish to suitably display a series of abstract paintings, part of the owner’s contemporary art collection.

Given how well the client’s refinement harmonizes with the house’s Parisian sensibility, maintaining its French essence was never in doubt. If anything, the design team chose to magnify it by exercising restraint. “We didn’t want this to be a Georgian or American town house. We embraced the French architecture. It’s simple and spare and not overly ornamented,” Dixon explains, calling out the new millwork that was intentionally simplified. Webb was similarly discerning. In lieu of bold color, she gravitated toward quiet hues that speak in sophisticated tones, much like the accompanying fabrics that include a textile she discovered in Paris, naturally.

While the abode’s welcoming nature and convivial spaces are indicative of its Southern locale, Webb feels that its newly fashioned savoir faire draws it even closer to the city that inspired it. “This home has fully become the Parisian pied-à-terre that it was originally designed to be.”