Bold Colors Add Character to an Atlanta Designer’s Historic Druid Hills Condo

An antique William IV dining table takes center stage in the spacious dining room. The chairs are Artistic Frame through Grizzel & Mann, covered in Pindler and Schumacher fabrics.

A Baker sideboard serves as a bar area in the dining room. The artwork is by Dawn Davis

To differentiate the seating area from the main dining table, designer Doug Weiss customized an existing table from Holland MacRae to reach counter height and surrounded it with barstools upholstered in a Manuel Canovas through Cowtan & Tout fabric.

Weiss added a mirror to the left of the original fireplace to balance the window on its other side. A pair of Ferrell Mittman armchairs—sourced through Ainsworth-Noah and upholstered in GP&J Baker fabric— provide additional symmetry.

An antique table and chairs create a dining area in the middle of the living room

An intentionally off-balance gallery wall adds interest to the living room. The sofa is Ferrell Mittman through Ainsworth-Noah and upholstered in a Coraggio fabric from Paul +. The coffee table is Julia Gray.

Jim Thompson’s Central Park fabric, which Weiss used as drapery fabric, served as the jumping-off point for the sunroom’s design scheme.

A Ferrell Mittman chair—sourced through from Ainsworth-Noah and upholstered in a Colefax and Fowler leopard-print fabric—makes a statement in the sunroom. The walls are painted Teresa’s Green by Farrow & Ball.

Verdant green cabinetry, painted Farrow & Ball’s Bancha, adds a visual punch in the kitchen. Taj Mahal Quartzite countertops through Ciot provide contrast, as does Matthew Quinn Collection hardware, Visual Comfort & Co. pendant lights, and an antique runner. 

A Phillip Jeffries wallcovering makes a bold statement in the powder room. The sconces are Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort & Co. The faucet is O’Neil Ruppel through Renaissance Tile & Bath.

An L-shaped butler’s pantry accommodates the couple’s love for entertaining. Weiss shortened the rear countertops to counter height to open up the space and match the rest of the cabinetry.

A green velvet wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries creates a cozy feel in the hallway. The bench is Century Furniture, upholstered in a Lee Jofa fabric. The floral artwork is Isabelle Menin through Pryor Fine Art.

The guest bedroom is cocooned in a warm green (Benjamin Moore’s Dried Parsley) that’s complemented by a custom bed frame upholstered in a Travers fabric through Ainsworth-Noah. The quilt is Brunschwig & Fils and the pillows are Manuel Canovas through Cowtan & Tout and Coraggio through Paul +.

An antique dresser and antique print add vintage charm to the bedroom, as does an antique rug.

In the primary bedroom, an armchair and ottoman are covered in an apricot Lee Jofa fabric. The armoire is antique.

Weiss decided to remove an original bathtub from the primary bath to open up the space. The wallcovering is Phillip Jeffries and the hardware is Matthew Quinn Collection.

Weiss opted for an apricot and robin’s-egg blue color palette for the primary bedroom, which is brought to life by Jim Thompson drapery fabric and an antique rug from Moattar.

After purchasing a second home in Highlands, North Carolina, interior designer Doug Weiss and his husband felt it was time to simplify their life in Atlanta and trade in their Inman Park house for a lower-maintenance condominium.

 “Everything we looked at was the same look; even if it was in an old building, everything was white and gray and any character had been erased,” Weiss shares. Eventually, they found their perfect match in a circa-1910 Druid Hills condo, one of five units housed in what was originally a sprawling estate.

“We bought it right on the spot. It was really kismet,” says Weiss. “I love working on old homes. It’s so incredibly important to listen to the architecture because it will give you all the information you need.”

Though the couple was in love with the unit’s historic charm, bringing their new home into the 21st century—and making it feel personal—required significant renovations and thoughtful updates.

In addition to gutting the kitchen and bathrooms, Weiss also added touches of symmetry throughout. In the living room, for instance, he added a new bookcase to match the room’s existing shelving and create a frame around the mahogany pocket doors. He also added a second doorway from the dining room into the kitchen to create symmetry with the double doors leading from the sunroom into the living room. “That opened up the home and still makes it feel very classical and proper for a home of this era,” the designer says.

Weiss also balanced old and new by layering the home with a mix of antiques, modern artwork, and rich, bold colors—particularly teal, terracotta, and green. “I like to pick up a color from one room and take it to the next,” explains Weiss, who used the sunroom’s drapery fabric—Jim Thompson’s Central Park—as his inspiration for the home’s color scheme.

Weiss enveloped the kitchen in his favorite color, green, by painting the cabinetry Farrow & Ball’s Bancha, a deep mossy hue. “Moving from the blues in the sunroom to the terracotta dining room to the green in the kitchens continues the evolution of color in the home,” Weiss explains.

While strategically placed seating and dining areas lend themselves to the couple’s love of entertaining, Weiss paid equal attention to the home’s more personal spaces. The bedrooms and connecting hallway are swathed in moodier hues and textures, including a green velvet wallpaper by Phillip Jeffries in the hall.

“I’ve come to a place where I really know what I like, and I’m not afraid. This home evolved very organically,” says Weiss. “It really represents what I love in design.”

INTERIOR DESIGN Doug Weiss, Douglas Weiss Interiors, (404) 408-8718; douglasweiss.com