Elle Decor | Laura W. Jenkins
This Contemporary Atlanta Home Is Filled with Vintage Treasures
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.
The living room is decorated with scalloped Venus chairs by Soane. The Nickey Kehoe sofa wears a Tree of Life fabric by Claremont. The daybed is from Lulu & Georgia, and the pendant from Jiun Ho. The Raven painting above the fireplace is by local artist Heather Lancaster.
“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 secretary 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.”
