White Now

When I heard that Shereen Fuqua was revamping her Virginia-Highland abode, my interest was piqued, but I wasn’t surprised. The three years since she and her husband Jeff renovated their home had brought dramatic change to their lives—a baby girl. So it made perfect sense that Shereen, a self-confessed change-o-phile (“I move my furniture around constantly,” she admits), would want a new look for her new life. With the help of Bob Brown of Robert Brown Interior Design, who’s been her go-to designer for makeovers of the family’s Virginia-Highland home as well as their Alpharetta horse farm, Shereen saw her vision come to fruition. After spending countless hours in the nursery after the birth of her daughter, Kat, the new mom was ready to forgo the taupey interior of her home for a fresher aesthetic. “Bob thought I was crazy for re-doing our entire home in white, when I was going to have a toddler running around,” says Shereen. “But any color stains easily, and white is both energizing and calming.”

 

Before

After

DEN

Because the Fuquas spend a considerable amount of time in the den, often eating casual dinners on the coffee table, a more toddler-friendly version of the stone-and-iron piece was needed. “I mentioned the TV trays we used as kids, so Bob had custom, white leather rectangular boxes made to [support] wooden breakfast trays by Christian Liaigre,” Shereen explains. In front of the sofa, Brown positioned a drum table and threw in a zebra-skin rug as an unexpected touch. But for the window treatments, the designer looked to outdoor inspiration; the shiny Italian fabric he chose—”Diva” from Nobilis—matches the Golden Creeping Charlie ground cover just beyond the French doors.

NURSERY

“I had a vision of a very sophisticated nursery in all white,” says Shereen. The clean lines of a Duc Duc crib from B. Braithwaite sets the stage beautifully, complemented by a painting by local artist Dusty Griffith that hangs just above. For window treatments, Shereen and her designer went through a slew of white fabrics until they found one that struck the perfect gossamer chord—a sheer, embroidered eyelet floral cotton from Travis & Company.
 

Before

After

DINING ROOM

In the dining room, Brown took the unexpected approach of placing the table parallel to the fireplace, freeing up space for a white velvet daybed and a side table from Holly Hunt. And by propping the Spanish painting “Paysaje,” by Lita Cabellut, against the edge of the fireplace, the room appears elongated as your eye is led from the den through the dining room and into the living room.

 

After

LIVING ROOM

In the living room, Brown convinced his client to slipcover the sofa with white Italian cotton. The Donghia Klismos Chair, its seat freshly re-covered in white patent leather, adds just the right touch of glamour while a mink throw and two velvet-wrapped club chairs offer luxurious texture. Artwork throughout speaks to the Fuqua’s personal tastes, perhaps none more so than the marble sculpture of a woman’s torso by Mark Williamson, which Shereen purchased when she found out she was pregnant. “It helped me hold back on the Krispy Kreme doughnut cravings,” she says with a laugh.

DESIGN DETAILS

INTERIOR DESIGN
Bob Brown
Robert Brown Interior Design
349 Peachtree Hills Ave., Suite A5B
Atlanta 30305
(404) 917-1333
robertbrowninteriordesign.com

ALL UPHOLSTERY FABRICATION
O’Kelley’s Upholstery & Design
781 Miami Cir. NE, Atlanta 30324
(404) 231-5737