Seasonal Chic

With an extraordinary eye for detail, designer Beth Webb creates a scrumptiously stylish holiday scheme at her Buckhead home

Text: Heather J. Paper
Photos: Erica George Dines

When the holidays roll around, designer Beth Webb, like most people, wants her home to be “warm, welcoming and wonderful.” But that’s often where the similarities end. Instead of decking her halls with traditional red and green hues, she defies convention and opts, instead, for a more personal palette. “I usually expand on the scheme that’s already in place,” she says. “I just kick it up a notch.”

Webb’s signature neutral hues, for instance, provide the perfect starting point for a textural mix. “I have a lot of things that aren’t necessarily green,” she explains, “like mercury silver balls and pinecones, basics that I tend to change up every few years. I pare down to a simple, elegant directive—stuff you can put up that won’t make a mess, instead of greenery that sheds everywhere.”

That’s not to say that there’s not a hint of green anywhere. It’s just that Webb finds ways to incorporate the expected hue in unexpected ways. This season, for instance, a garland made of olive branches and bay leaves is draped over the fireplace, a refreshing change of pace—just like the design solutions her clients have come to expect. Beth Webb Interiors, (404) 869-6367; bethwebb.com

 

STYLE SECRETS

I'm known for... timeless, sophisticated, elegant designs, whether the project is classic, contemporary or eclectic.  
 
My signature colors are... predominantly neutrals. Right now I love chocolate, winter white and silvery grays.
 
My signature style is... a clean-lined aesthetic; everything has to be comfortable and textural. A variety of textures is particularly important in neutral rooms. And I'm a firm believer that every room should be used.
 
My one steadfast design rule is... KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid. Editing is one of the hardest things that you do as a designer. I try to adhere to the advice of Coco Chanel, who said ‘When accessorizing, always take off the last thing you put on.'
 
My favorite Atlanta shopping spots are... the Westside, the Galleries of Peachtree Hills and ADAC. It's all about one-stop shopping, places where you can have all of your needs met.  
 
My earliest design memory is... knowing that I wanted a design career practically from the time I was in kindergarten. My mother was terrific about letting me do what I wanted to; she let me decorate my bedroom when I was in the third grade, and when I was in the sixth grade, she let me choose the paint color for the kitchen. It was coral—and it was awful—but it was a dark kitchen, so I thought it would help. It was my very first design mistake, but my mother left it that way until she sold the house.
 
What most people don't know about me is... I'm a very spiritual person; I've gotten to a stage in my life where peace and serenity are so important.
 
When decorating for the holidays, I always... panic! I always wait until the last minute and, being a designer, others' expectations [of my decorating] are so high. I feel like I have to reinvent the wheel all the time.
 
My favorite holiday memory is... when my children were little, and they still believed in Santa Claus, I would dip my fingers in the ashes from the fireplace and smudge their cheeks after they'd fallen asleep. The next morning, I'd tell them they'd received kisses from Santa!

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Seasonal Chic

When the holidays roll around, designer Beth Webb, like most people, wants her home to be “warm, welcoming and wonderful.” But that’s often where the similarities end. Instead of decking her halls with traditional red and green hues, she defies convention and opts, instead, for a more personal palette. “I usually expand on the scheme that’s already in place,” she says. “I just kick it up a notch.”

Webb’s signature neutral hues, for instance, provide the perfect starting point for a textural mix. “I have a lot of things that aren’t necessarily green,” she explains, “like mercury silver balls and pinecones, basics that I tend to change up every few years. I pare down to a simple, elegant directive—stuff you can put up that won’t make a mess, instead of greenery that sheds everywhere.”

That’s not to say that there’s not a hint of green anywhere. It’s just that Webb finds ways to incorporate the expected hue in unexpected ways. This season, for instance, a garland made of olive branches and bay leaves is draped over the fireplace, a refreshing change of pace—just like the design solutions her clients have come to expect. Beth Webb Interiors, (404) 869-6367; bethwebb.com

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