Above & Beyond

Designer Keith Arnold in his living room. Robin“s egg blue mats provide a quiet counterbalance to the room“s rusty neutrals for a crisp finish.

The bookcase-cum-console was a former store display. The blue-and-tan print atop it is by Atlanta artist Carolyn Carr, while a pair of framed vintage photographs of jet engines from Delta planes (Ferguson“s employer) hang above the chair.

A collection of vases by Jonathan Adler, as well as from The Conran Shop, atop an antique red cabinet, add dimension and height to the room.

Mies Van der Rohe“s classic Barcelona chair is juxtaposed with a lamp from Restoration Hardware.

In the dining room, an Italian chest and French armchair add European style to the home“s collected look. In addition to moonlighting as a bar, the chest also provides silver and linen storage. The large pastel drawing is by Arnold and Ferguson“s artist friend, Frank Oldfield.

The dining room“s tapestry was a gift from Arnold“s former employer, famed designer Charles Pollack. Table and chairs, Nancy Corzine. Chandelier, Circa Lighting.

Amid soft grays and browns, pops of color come from bold orange Herm�?¨s boxes. An antelope-patterned rug grounds the space. The side tables are from Williams-Sonoma Home. Lamps, West Elm.

Invigorating and welcoming at once, unexpected touches of red add brilliant color to the guest bedroom. Beds, Bungalow Classic. Custom side table is from Martynus-Tripp, Los Angeles. The nail polish drip painting is by Atlanta artist Scott Ingram. Similar works are available through Solomon Projects.

Interior designer Keith Arnold doesn’t discriminate when it comes to shopping. The pieces in his home, which he shares with Marc Ferguson, come from here, there and everywhere—from trade-only design showrooms to flea markets and even parking lot liquidation sales. No shop is too fancy, nor any sale too lowbrow. And it’s Arnold’s keen eye for good design that propels their high-rise residence to new design heights.

Ensconced in their new home for just over a year, the couple’s choice to leave their Virginia-Highland cottage for a high-rise condominium wasn’t a hard-wrought, hand-wringing decision. “We both travel a lot for our work, and the house and yard was a lot of upkeep. It was just too much,” says Keith. “Now, being in a high-rise, 14 stories up, I love seeing all the green space around me, but not having to take care of it!”

With a freshly painted, neutral backdrop as their starting point, Arnold and Ferguson brought in their riotous mix of furnishings—from Asian-inspired items to important mid-century pieces—that celebrate the best of high and low design. A table from West Elm is as at home here as a 19th-century fine antique. Punches of color find their way into the mix through art and accessories, including handmade Christopher Spitzmiller lamps and colored mats that surround framed scenes of Pompeii.

With stints at some of the country’s most notable design houses—including Charles Pollack, Nancy Corzine and Martynus-Tripp in Los Angeles, plus Ainsworth-Noah & Associates, and now, Suzanne Kasler Interiors in Atlanta—Arnold also drew upon the knowledge he gained from those top talents. “Every single person I worked for, I learned something from,” says Arnold, who also has an architecture degree from Auburn. “Each one had such a different aesthetic, which opened me up to new ideas and possibilities. You can’t put your finger on it, but I see a little bit of each of them in everything here.”

When Arnold and Ferguson decided to move from Virginia-Highland to Buckhead, neither of them wanted to live anywhere else but Plaza Towers, Atlanta’s landmark condominium building that is well known for its brutalist architecture, as well as for being the city’s first high-rise residence. “Because it has such good architecture, the building lends itself to any sort of style,” says Arnold. “It was a blank canvas for us.” A canvas that no doubt has been filled as artfully as any painting.

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Inspiring ideas and details for your own home

CARPET
An animal-print carpet from Helios anchors the bedroom. Without taking away from the space’s serene palette, it provides the room’s only real pattern.

LIGHTING
The sculptural quality and masculine feeling of the dining room chandelier from Circa Lighting echoes the angularity found in the table’s base.

FABRICS
With floor-to-ceiling windows that surround the condominium’s spaces, curtains help to soften the cold glass walls. A subtle Greek key trim around the curtain’s edges softly frames the high-rise views.

COLLECTIONS
Atop an antique chest, a well-edited collection of vases in various sizes seemingly adds height to the room. Limited to neutral hues, the pieces add interest without distracting the eye.