Text by Bethany Adams
When Laura and Todd Jefferies moved into their Atlanta, Georgia, home, they needed someone who could incorporate a handful of their cherished heirloom pieces into a fresh, contemporary design. The couple turned to Atlanta-based designer Clary Bosbyshell. Throughout the Buckhead home, Clary found a balance between antique character and the lighter elements of modern design, offering the best of both worlds when it comes to cottage style.
Drenched in natural light from the wall of windows, the living room is awash with neutral tones, providing a brilliant scene for a vibrant work of art. Creamy hues are punctuated with lively blues and greens. The velvet sofa not only provides a place to browse the literature on the glass coffee table but also adds a rich layer of warmth for a cozy evening in. Clary’s blending of styles, pieces, and periods seems effortless as the geometric rug’s modern lines contrast with the room’s more classic furnishings like the wingback chairs.
In the family room, Clary incorporated a number of pieces that the couple already owned, including the coffee table ottoman and Oriental rug. She layered the rug over a larger sisal piece and complemented Laura and Todd’s striped chairs with a pair of comfortable leather club chairs. A custom-made bookshelf was built to house the TV and display various knickknacks, and the fiddle-leaf fig was included, according to Clary, to “bring a little bit of the outdoors inside since that room has so much great natural light.”
Laura’s main priority for her kitchen’s design was functionality for herself and her two children, which is reflected in the powder-blue faux leather used on the bar chairs. “That’s been really functional for her and her family with it still looking pretty but also being indestructible,” Clary says. They refreshed the original cabinets with white paint and updated the rest of the kitchen with new appliances and fixtures, including a farm sink with a Rohl faucet and Carrara marble countertops. In the breakfast nook, a custom-made pedestal table sits snugly in a bay window, which welcomes in sunlight and creates the perfect spot for Sunday brunch.
Clary designed the dining room to be a “transitionary space,” updating antique chairs from Dearing Antiques in Atlanta with a chevron pattern. The vibrant landscape painting, flanked by antique creamware plates, connects the space visually to the living room. The Circa Lighting chandelier and Oushak rug belonged to the couple prior to the move, and the wooden china cabinet is a family heirloom passed down from Laura’s parents.
The design of the master bedroom was jump-started by the Schumacher fabric used in the roman shades and pillows, which Clary says Laura “fell in love with.” She complemented the pattern with monogrammed bedding by Leontine Linens and custom-made night tables with a distressed finish.
In every room of the home, Clary added interest to the serene neutral tones with bold splashes of color inspired by the outdoors and the promise of spring’s arrival. Incorporating modern lines and classic designs, this Atlanta home is a prime example of the perfect marriage between old and new.
