When dear clients reached out to Huff Harrington Design to help bring an already elegant townhome soar to newer and higher heights, Huff Harrington Design jumped at the opportunity.
"We had already worked with these clients on a project in Highlands, North Carolina and we knew this new residence not only had incredible potential - but that the project would be so fun. We love these clients!" says Trudy Stump, lead designer for Huff Harrington Design. "They are empty nesters and our primary task was to help them downsize from their family home - and most important, to create a warm and welcoming new home that would work perfectly for entertaining family, friends and clients. Also, a high priority was to help assimilate many of their beloved pieces into the new design."
The townhome, nestled in a very small, upscale community in Buckhead, had plenty of square footage and fabulous bones to work with.
The HHD team was tasked with breathing new life into the living room/dining room, the charming outdoor space and the grandchildren's room as well as tweaking several smaller spaces, like powder baths and the upstairs laundry room.
"We started with the big things: new floors, new paint everywhere, wool carpet in the bedrooms and on the stairs and new window treatments - and then we began zeroing in on the soft furnishings," says Trudy. A wash of Benjamin Moore Simply White brightened the rooms and the newly refinished dark floors provided a soothing base for the pieces to come.
HHD began by placing two large, clean-lined creamy white sofas and a soft Oushak rug in front of the living room's striking fireplace and mantel. Paired with a visually transparent glass and metal coffee table and end tables topped with chunky lucite, the sitting area is light and airy. Trudy accessorized the space with a dramatic Louis Philippe mirror sourced in Paris by Huff Harrington and a thoughtfully placed, edgy portrait by Huff Harrington Fine Art artist, Anne Darby Parker. The homeowners' beloved figurative sculpture fills a corner.
In the adjacent dining area, a complementary Oushak grounds the homeowners' existing antique dining table. Paired with newly upholstered chairs and a pair of oversized mouton host and hostess chairs, sourced in France, there's plenty of seating for big holiday meals. A dramatic landscape in oil and gold leaf by Huff Harrington Fine Art artist, Jim Seitz, sits over a Louis XVI painted enfilade, also sourced in France by Trudy. "It happened that, just as the project took off, I was with Ann Huff in France and we were buying for Huff Harrington Home. It was perfect timing to keep my eyes peeled for special and unique pieces that would work in this project," says Trudy.
The kitchen got new paint, cabinet hardware and barstools reupholstered in a lively Lee Jofa print. The island is now a dreamy shade of soft blue (Benjamin Moore Palace Pearl). 
Right off the living room, the bricked terrace also got a facelift with a new seating area and dining area, complete with an enormous, chic umbrella to shade diners from Atlanta's hot summer sun.
The homeowners' love of antiques shines on the outdoor seating area where several of their collected antiques create a beautiful vignette when paired with a new cross-legged bench in a snazzy blue stripe.
The elevator also received a new coat of Benjamin Moore's Old Navy paint along with an edgy, mid-century portrait sourced by Huff Harrington Fine Art. "Never overlook utility spaces," jokes Trudy. "Who wouldn't want to use this elevator 24/7?"
The clients hosted their first big family gathering at the newly imagined townhouse last Thanksgiving - and came back to Trudy with rave reviews.
The townhouse, now alive with art, antiques, wallpaper and curated furnishings, has become what is was always meant to be: a hub of life, laughter and love for this large and extended family.
Isn't that what every home should be?
Photography: Kathryn Wray Rogers
