Marcia Sherrill
Super CHIC!
Marcia muses on highlights from the 2009 Decorators' Show House & Gardens
BY
Marcia Sherrill
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ritu Bansal

At the recent Decorators’ Show House & Gardens at the St. Regis Atlanta Hotel & Residences, designers eschewed all the tired and OTT (over-the-top) conceits we’ve seen in the past in lieu of the imaginative and the simply gorgeous. Three residences, each with a different theme—traditional, contemporary and transitional—and a posse of designers who complemented and coalesced with one another, resulted in homes that you wanted to live and die in—and, maybe even die for!

ANITA BEST
“It was so imaginative to see [the residences] each in a different style; a true eye-opener to see traditional, transitional and contemporary all fully expressed, reminding us of how we can choose to live in Atlanta. A tour de force!” —Best is the vice president and general manager of the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. ADACAtlanta.com

MELISSA PAYNE BAKER
“Anyone could have found inspiration at the show house this year. I know I did! I viewed the homes three times, and each time I found myself lingering a little longer in Alison and Cheryl Womack’s bright and cheery master bedroom. After prying my fingers from the master bedroom door, I just had to touch the faux wood painting implemented on the walls of the dining room by Smith Grubbs & Associates. And the dark plum color on the walls in Stanley Ellis’ guest bedroom would have calmed and delighted any guest.” —Baker is a local artist whose own work was featured in the transitional residence. MelissaPayneBaker.com

ANN HUFF
“All secrets be told, we kicked off the evening with an elegant coupe of champagne in the St. Regis Wine Bar before our tour. I knew I’d love this show house anyway, but the champagne just made it that much more special and elegant. Sure enough, I thought this was the best show house ever. What a wonderful mix of styles, with varied spaces in such an elegant setting. I fell in love with Cheryl and Alison Womack’s yellow and gray bedroom (and we found ourselves shamefully peeking under the silky soft covers to find a label), and I loved Bob Brown’s masculine living room with his confident and eclectic mix of art. Plus, I loved the modern touches in Bill Peace’s living room and Maria Nutt’s understated and elegantly modern dining room. What a treat!” —Huff is the co-owner of Huff-Harrington Fine Art. HuffHarrington.com

INSIDE STORY
Having actually been a decorator at a past show house myself—and lived through that mayhem and madness (and that was just the selection process!)—I have a deep and abiding respect for the folks who sign on for months of sleepless nights and days of loud desperation to put on a show. Someone doesn’t deliver a promised armoire, carpets don’t get installed, mirrors crack or the chandelier is hung too low. And then the cash-paying public is so often subjected to a house designed by 18.345 different designers that their heads are spinning, leaving them gasping for air (often unscented). Notoriously, show houses the world over have a complete lack of coherence as designers jockey to stand out, often with the most uninhabitable rooms. Spaces floored in sand or grass, bathrooms with lap pools, kitchens for the Jetsons. Thank God we have Atlanta designers and that Atlanta designers have good taste!