Marie-Laure Coste Dujols

Coste Dujols in her organic garden.

Returning from the garden with her two sidekicks and a basket full of organic goodies.

Floral designs by Coste Dujols.

The dining room of Marie-Laure Coste Dujols and Thibaut Devillard is both rustic and chic.

Coste Dujols is the Southâ

She and her husband, Thibaut, cultivate shiitake mushrooms.

The quail eggs are collected from birds kept on the property.

Chickens in their swanky coop.

Coste Dujols likens the Sebright chicken

For Marie-Laure Coste Dujols, flowers are all in a day’s work. One day she can be called upon to conceptualize the design scheme for a wedding while the next has her finalizing details for a rustic kitchen garden or selecting plants for a more formal boxwood parterre. But when she’s not on site with one of her projects, Coste Dujols can be found at her bucolic Riverside compound along the city’s western edge that she shares with her husband, Thibaut Devillard. There, she and Devillard—with whom she also works—raise exotic chickens and quail. And, during summer months, they tend to their organic vegetable gardens, bursting at the seams with more than 30 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

In between working on her own projects around the house as well as those that are work-related (her atelier is located on the property), Coste Dujols is also readying a new retail venture—think Parisian-style floral shop—that’s slated to open later this summer in one of Atlanta’s hottest shopping areas. (Complete details can be found later this month at blog.atlantahomesmag.com).

Meanwhile, Coste Dujols and her team continue to create the striking floral designs—both contemporary and traditional—for which her firm is known, filling some of Buckhead’s most gracious homes and the city’s top businesses (like The Four Seasons Hotel). For Coste Dujols, it’s all in a day’s work.

When I get an unexpected day to myself…if I don’t have enough time to go to the mountains, I hike with the dogs along the river at Cochran’s Mill near Palmetto, where Thibaut and I got married the first time around!
My favorite museums are…the Rodin Museum in Paris, the Dali Museum in Barcelona, the gardens of the Getty in Los Angeles—and many, many gardens.
My home reflects…who I am and the way I live. I’ve brought a bit of the French countryside to a Georgia bungalow!
My favorite place for quiet contemplation is…my chicken coop and my vegetable garden.
The person I look up to most is…my husband, my mother and my good friend Hardy.
My favorite way to entertain at home is…to cook for friends—large pool parties or intimate dinners in our garden.
The one place in Atlanta I always take guests is…for a quick lunch at Star Provisions and casual dinners at JCT Kitchen. If we have time, we head to Serenbe.
My signature color is…white, white, white and blue-gray.
My favorite shopping spots for clothing are…in Parisian boutiques and thrift stores.
What most people don’t know about me is…I hate anything new. I love to knit, I have chickens and quail, and I grow shitake mushrooms.
The car I drive is…a Ford 150 pickup that everyone says is too big for me.
The one beauty product I can’t live without is…my Dr. Hauschka Rose face cream.
My Sunday routine…is to read on the sofa, with the windows open, while my husband makes crêpes for breakfast. Then I go down to the garden to visit my chickens.
I get my best inspiration from…observing nature throughout the seasons and from my travels to beautiful old places.
My proudest professional moment came when…The Four Seasons Hotel asked me for Le Jardin Francais’ services exclusively.
The place I love to travel is… the South of France; I have to go, religiously, once a year to resource myself. And 10 years ago we discovered the unspoiled beauty of North Captiva Island, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. There is something magical about this place—no cars, no restaurants, no shopping, just beautiful private homes on an almost-deserted island, where nature is still very untouched and wild.
The first thing I see when I wake up…are my dogs and cats who sneaked on the bed during the night, then my husband—if he’s not already gone—and then the birds and trees that surround our bedroom windows.

 MY FAVORITES 
Favorite table linens: Linen and burlap
Favorite fashion designers: Chanel and Dior, because some of my chickens wear Chanel’s suits and Dior’s coiffe!
Favorite dinnerware: Anything very old and simple
Favorite flower: Hellebores
Favorite music: Right now I’m going through an MIG phase. I listen to a lot more French artists since I moved to Atlanta; I guess it’s nostalgia—and my husband is not happy about it!
Favorite wine: I really love red Burgundies for their finesse, enjoy the South African Sauvignon Blancs and I buy a lot of organic wines.
Favorite artisanal food: Saucisson—it’s like a country-style dry sausage—as well as sheep’s and goat cheeses
Favorite artist: I’m drawn to artwork from many different periods. I love nudes, too many to list—from Ingres and Rodin to Man Ray—but I also like the work of several small unknown artists. Locally, I think Todd Murphy’s work is brilliant.
Favorite furniture style: Country French antiques