Art, light fill midcentury home

Creative touches make this kid-friendly space feel a little magical.

When interior designer Jessica Davis first got the call from her husband Scott in late 2018, she was living in a big Victorian house in South Orange, N.J., with their two young kids. Scott had been commuting between New Jersey and Atlanta for work and had just stumbled upon a home in Buckhead that he wanted her to expedite a flight out to see.

Though Jessica says the couple was only casually researching neighborhoods in Atlanta at that point, the ’60s-era post-and-beam house — one of Atlanta architect Jerry Cooper’s first projects out of Georgia Tech — had exactly the kind of modern design she was looking for.

“The indoor/outdoor connection is amazing. It’s on two acres of land in the middle of the woods, but in Buckhead close to tons of stuff. So we just felt that we had to jump on the opportunity,” she said.

The couple quickly made a deal, closed on the home in November 2018 for $950,000, and started renovations in January the following year. One of the biggest transformations in this 3,000-square-foot space involved knocking down some walls to open up the kitchen so there was ample light filtering through the house from the entry to the back. A hallway leading to the children’s quarters, along with her daughter Lucy’s bedroom, was created out of what was once a carport.

Embracing the core architectural elements of the home — from the magnolia wood paneling in the den to the tongueand-groove ceilings — Jessica sought out fresh color treatments (like the black forest green color on the exterior walls and interior ceilings) that would enhance the midcentury bones of the house, while keeping everything fresh and modern. She also minimized costs by rounding out the rooms with thoughtful budget pieces from places like Ikea, Amazon, Etsy, Target and World Market.

Jessica’s own personal touches include her original artwork and custom designs featured throughout the house, plus modern hardware on the cabinets through her company, Nest Studio. An impressive collection of her art amassed over the past decade from estate sales, local artists and online also pepper the walls.

Other creative surprises up her sleeve — to the delight of her two children Lucy, 7, and Bryan, 10 — include a secret passageway leading to Lucy’s bedroom, plus some custom beds and forts that Jessica built for their bedrooms.

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The kitchen was completely transformed by knocking down some walls to open up the space and adding some dark Dekton countertops, AJ Madison appliances and the cherry red Smeg range for a bright pop of color. “We installed skylights up above that make the room really bright, so I knew that I could ground the cabinets with a dark color,” Jessica Davis said.

Below: The guest bathroom was once a bigger space that was split in two to create a laundry room and reconfigured to maximize space. Jessica Davis said she wanted it to feel “serene and spa-like” with the green Fireclay tiles. The lights and mirror are from Build.com, while the hardware on the cabinets is from Davis’ own Nest Studio line.

Jessica Davis turned to Ikea for midcentury modular shelving and desks on a budget in her home office, rounding out the space with some charming blue Eames-style chairs. The sustainable cork flooring, which carries on into the kids’ bedrooms, adds some softness underfoot.

TEXT BY LORI KEONG/PHOTOS BY EMILY FOLLOWILL Above: The furnishings in the living room include a vintage coffee table, custom Nest Studio credenza and chaise from Innovation Living. The gallery wall comprises a decade’s worth of art pieces collected over the years.