Going Coastal

San Diego designer Amy Meier masterfully mixes California cool with Southern soul to craft a serene Suwanee homestead boasting a coastal-inspired color palette.

After more than a decade of traveling the country with the NFL, professional athlete Chris Crocker and wife Karrie made a game plan to permanently plant their boots on the ground. But where? Though the couple originally dreamed of a forever home in California, the East Coast turned out to be a more appealing scene since family lived in Georgia.

As the couple began their plans to build in Suwanee, Karrie knew that her West Coast–meets–East Coast style would best be achieved with the guiding hand of interior designer Amy Meier. So, with the acclaimed San Diego–based decorator on board, the Crockers set out to design a soothing, clean and beautiful house from the ground up.

Designed by architect Mike Swilley and built by Robert Wilkins Homes Inc., the 9,000-square-foot home is steeped in both Southern tradition and subtle West Coast influences. “We blended the formality and sophistication that is the hallmark of traditional Southern homes with the fresh, clean look of coastal California,” Meier says. “These two competing ethoses happily play with each other throughout the house.”

The main dictate for the home’s design was that it needed to match Karrie’s West-meets-East vision while remaining kid-friendly, as the young couple has two darling daughters under the age of 3. Meier’s challenge: to combine comfort with function; she began the project by selecting an on-point palette of clean, fresh colors rooted in the celadon and gray families that pair well with the formal architecture.

“The soft color play creates a soothing yet sturdy environment that’s consistent and flows through the house while also allowing each room to speak for itself and have its own identity,” Meier says. “It is about texture and subtle color variations, with occasional drama.”

While traditional furnishings mix with contemporary touches throughout, Karrie was initially reluctant to include antiques. But after one visit to Ainsworth-Noah at ADAC, she was sold on their beauty and endurance. “I reasoned that if the pieces have lasted this long and stood the test of time, then they surely can withstand two little girls,” Meier jokes. Karrie soon welcomed the idea of incorporating antique lighting as well, a pivotal move that Meier suggested would add soul to the new construction.

The designer spent more than a year sourcing pieces from coast to coast to fit the Crockers’ aesthetic. From fine antiques stores in Spanish moss–dripping Savannah to funky flea markets in sunny San Diego, Meier curated a vast assortment of pieces that effortlessly fuse the two inspirational coastlines into one forever home.

INTERIOR DESIGN Amy Meier, Amy Meier Design. (858) 848-4151; amymeierdesign.com. Architect Mike Swilley, Michael Swilley Residential Design. (678) 380-3804; mswilleydesign.com. BUILDER Robert Wilkins Homes Inc. (770) 521-1968; robertwilkinshomes.com.