Coastal Chic

Organic textures and sinuous furniture define the living room. Designer Melanie Turner added rope to the chandeliers for a nautical touch and created the custom patchwork rug using three different colors of the same sisal material.

The monumental photographs are by artist Christy Bush through Jackson Fine Art.

The staircase is finished in Venetian plaster to evoke the sense of being inside of a seashell.

In the scullery, yellow zellige tile from Source, handmade in Morocco, provides a vibrant backdrop for artwork by Susan Dory.

Diaphanous curtain panels envelop the living room.

In the kitchen, custom counter stools are adorned with a yellow piping detail and upholstered in vinyl to stand up to the rigors of damp bathing suits. The countertops are honed Calacatta Vagli Oro marble, fabricated by A Touch of Stone, Inc.

The dining room’s luminous yellow plaster walls are tinted in Sherwin-Williams’ Quilt Gold and feature a coastal-themed woven art piece. The wood flooring is by The European Company.

Hidden speakers throughout the home by GHT Group and windows in the dining room that open to the outdoor pool terrace allow for seamless entertaining. Generous under-counter storage ensures the house is always party-ready.

In the TV lounge, Turner framed two tropical-inspired wallpaper panels by Brunschwig & Fils to create a dramatic backdrop. The drapery fabric is by Schumacher.

With the rise of remote working—even at the beach—Turner is often designing office spaces such as this primary study.

Blush plaster walls evoke the color of a conch shell. To create a sense of height in the room, Turner mounted the bed canopy to the ceiling.

In the junior suite, Turner incorporated an abstract grasscloth wallcovering from Romo for texture and visual interest.

In one of the bathrooms, decorative flourishes were handpainted on the walls, ceiling and around the mirror.

The floor and shower tile is by Source and the countertops were fabricated by A Touch of Stone, Inc.

A wallcovering by Winfield Thybony Design provides a quiet backdrop in the primary sitting room. The painting is by America Martin through Tew Galleries.

With its abstract art, vintage nightstands and palm-leaf fabrics, one of the guest bedrooms exudes a 1970s Florida vibe.

A whimsical beachside photo from the “Barbie and Ken Photos” collection by David Parise and the hanging rattan chair evoke a vintage, nostalgic space.

The adjacent bathroom is painted in Sherwin-Williams’ Respite.

A Schumacher wallpaper adds a cheerful note to one of the bedrooms. The chandelier is by Made Goods.

A bathroom is painted in Sherwin-Williams’ Cool Avocado with custom yellow encaustic floor tile from Source.

Another sleeping space is painted in Sherwin-Williams’ Pinky Beige.

he citrus motif continues in the bunk room.

In a fourth-floor golf-inspired space dubbed “The Nest,” chairs are upholstered in turf by The European Company and the ceiling features a fun miniature-golf club installation.

A powder room on the main floor features lively wallcoverings by Pierre Frey.

A pair of Bernhardt chaises overlook the second-floor pool, which is surrounded by sleek Hartstone pavers.

he house features an edited, clean-lined facade thanks to the all-star design-build team of developer Stan Benecki, builder Chase Green and residential designer Lew Oliver.

Adjacent to the golf-inspired space indoors is an outdoor putting green by The European Company and a firepit.

Turner poses in front of ocean vistas from the fourth-floor lookout.

Atlanta interior designer Melanie Turner is no stranger to decorator showhouses. In fact, she thinks she has participated in no less than 12 over the years. The experience is often a win-win for the participating designers, who get to flex their design chops, as well the visitors who come to be inspired and the local charities that benefit from a portion of the proceeds.

Along with developer Stan Benecki, builder Chase Green and residential designer Lew Oliver, Turner was the design visionary behind Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles’ latest concept—the 30A Showhouse—in Florida’s Panhandle region. As a longtime gathering spot for Atlantans to retreat to second homes along the Gulf Coast, “30A,” of course, is a reference to the storied highway that links a number of coastal communities in the area, including Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Watercolor and Inlet Beach, home to this year’s showhouse.

For Turner, the project presented an opportunity to call upon some familiar decorating ideas, yet give them a twist. As with many homes near the beach, blue-and-white schemes are commonplace—and why not? After all, with the emerald-and-cerulean sea and ebullient sky surrounding you, the colors seem to be a natural fit to bring indoors. Turner, however, wanted to use blue to connect all of the inside spaces, but didn’t want the scheme to be just another expected pairing of the two colors.

“Even though the house started out with blue as the primary color, it became a happy house with the incorporation of the yellow,” says Turner of the dynamic hue she added to the mix. “It has a big impact.” Although the yellow is formidable, it never overpowers or dominates; Turner knows when to dial it up (in more intimate spaces), and when to dial it down (in larger, open spaces where it could overwhelm).

Also important to the designer was bringing in organic forms and natural materials—such as plaster walls—to ground the rooms and give them a contemporary verve. They work in tandem with the exterior facade that subtly incorporates Art Deco influences, similar to the clean-lined structures found in Miami’s South Beach.

“We took a lot of inspiration from Old Florida motifs,” says Turner, “such as lemons, flamingos and palms.” But in her hands, the forms become of-the-moment, such as wallpaper patterns with an exaggerated scale, or colorful fabrics with unexpected applications—no coastal clichés here.

Beyond the home’s design inspiration, practical considerations were at the forefront of Turner’s plan. For decades, homes in the Panhandle area near the Gulf have been popular spots for large family gatherings, particularly at the peak of summer.

“When you have multigenerational families come and stay,” says Turner, “or multiple families come and stay, people all want to gather in one room at some point. Whereas some are just thinking about how many people the beds can sleep, I’m very conscious of how many people you can sit for dinner and how many people can sit in the living room at once.”

Hence, Turner devised flexible seating areas in the living and dining areas—including a serpentine sofa and curvaceous dining banquette—that work well for large groups, yet also retain a scale of intimacy if there’s only one or two people at home.

Indoors or out, the ethos of the showhouse project was to design something that would respect and reflect the special place where the house resides, as well as be representative of the family who might call it home.

“They can come down here and enjoy this vision of beauty,” says Turner. “The water and the sand are like no place else on Earth.”

INTERIOR DESIGN Melanie Turner, Melanie Turner Interiors, (404) 250-0134; melanieturnerinteriors.com DEVELOPER Stan Benecki, Benecki Homes, (850) 630-4482; beneckihomes.com RESIDENTIAL DESIGNER Lew Oliver, Lew Oliver, Inc., (706) 754-7667; lewoliverinc.com BUILDER Chase Green, Chase Green Construction, LLC, (850) 428-7889; chasegreenbuilt.com INTERIOR SPECIFICATIONS Source, (404) 390-4055; sourceatl.com