A Chartreuse Kitchen and Flamboyant Wallpaper Enliven This Atlanta Apartment

MARC MAULDIN PHOTOGRAPHY INC

Sandwiched between shiny mirrored high-rises in midtown Atlanta, a 1920s industrial building still stands. The 100-year-old former factory was converted into apartments in the ’90s and now counts interior designer and AD PRO Directory member Leah Alexander among its residents. The Beauty Is Abundant founder purchased her ground floor unit for its historical character that can’t be found in new construction. “We’re going to hold out no matter what comes and no matter how much Atlanta’s changing,” she says.

Leah peeled back layers of drywall to expose the structural concrete columns, which match the gritty feel of the original brick walls. She then juxtaposed these rough, aged elements with a vibrant palette, sleek shapes, and an impressive collection of contemporary art and furniture. “I believe that it’s art-forward without overdoing it, without being a gallery,” she considers. “It’s only the essentials so that we can celebrate and see each one and have some breathing room to move about.”

In the entryway, Leah paired a multicolored handwoven Shore bench with a white neon sign she originally designed for the bathroom in her 2022 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas exhibit. “We’re just hypercritical of ourselves, so instead of a mirror, I’m going to tell you that ‘your beauty is abundant,’” she explains. “I brought it home and was able to install it there to greet you and to serve as another lighting source.”

The adjacent dining area features an oversized fashion editorial photograph by Michelle Monique, vintage Bertoia side chairs with new ivory bouclé cushions, and a Lulu & Georgia Maroko round dining table. “The chairs are just simple and slim, so they play so fun with the chunkiness of the base of the black wood table that sits under a Design Within Reach pendant,” Leah says.

A structured-yet-comfortable olive green sofa from Moe’s Home Collection marks the beginning of the lounge zone, which is outfitted with a lustrous blush-toned CB2 rug, a sculptural Two Tree Studios side table, and a hand-cast, hemispherical concrete coffee table by Bridge + Fog. “I am obsessed with it,” Leah admits. “They made it just for me. It’s got this crater effect. It’s this beautiful satin pink concrete. It’s just so special.”

The most striking section of the open living space is the chartreuse kitchen, a risky design move that definitely paid off. “The color is invigorating,” Leah describes. “It’s like a pucker, honestly, so I didn’t need to go totally crazy with the stone. It’s a quartzite that has some veining—some warm, some cool to just be fresh with the white walls, but also to speak indirectly to the wood floors and to the cabinets.”

The limoncello cupboards are accompanied by glossy white appliances, cream Andersson & Voll for Magis Tibu stools, and a transportive Fares Micue photograph that Leah hung to replicate the experience of gazing out a window, since the kitchen doesn’t have one. “It does feel like we are looking where she’s looking, into this vast expanse,” she says. “It’s giving Sedona limitlessness. And that makes me super happy. It is so unusual.”

Leah filled the hallway with artwork by and of women of color, like a limited edition Lauren Pearce print of her Jamaican family and a huge Bethann Hardison collage that Marryam Moma adorned with actual jewelry. Among all the treasures is the door to the guest bathroom, which is covered in a flamboyant robin’s-egg blue and metallic copper wallpaper with a crane and palm tree motif. A dusty rose vanity and a pearly gray zellige tile shower complete the playful look.

The primary bedroom, with its vintage Moroccan rug and cozy upholstered Moe’s Home Collection bed, is anchored by an ombré canvas piece by Andrea Benítez. It changes from deep purple to magenta to goldenrod as it moves from top to bottom. “I’ve never seen anything like it, the saturation of it,” muses Leah. “It feels like a root chakra energy in your belly rising up into the rest of your body. It’s just incredible to wake up to every day. The size of it works really nicely with that case opening into the closet too.”

Leah increased the drama in her en suite, where a raspberry-hued vanity brings out the bright, realistic flowers on the black Botanic Bloom wallpaper from Drop It Modern. Though the space is much darker than the rest of the home, the bold colors create a sense of cohesion. “I knew it was going to be good, so I’m happy I stuck with my guns on that,” she says—and for good reason.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

More Great Stories From Clever

• Sign up for our daily newsletter to get the best of design in your inbox

• A 538-Square-Foot Loft in the Heart of Paris Offers a Lesson in Efficiency

• Michael Graves Design Brings Accessible Bedroom Sets to Pottery Barn—In the Brand’s Most Popular Styles

• Bikini Bottomcore Is the Funky Aesthetic for the SpongeBob SquarePants Generation

• 16 Best Bed Frames of 2024, Tested and Reviewed

• In Coastal Maine, a Writer-Carpenter’s Restored Home Is a Vision in Yellow

• 28 Best Wedding Gifts (From Hyper Lux to Super Functional) That You Probably Haven’t Thought of Yet

• Not a subscriber? Join AD for print and digital access now.