The High Life

Her clients may live all over the world, but interior designer Lauren DeLoach makes sure they always touch down in a home that reflects both its Southern setting and sky-high style.

Living in a luxury hotel might seem like a dream come true, but doing away with the genuine comforts of home—things like cherished antiques, favorite works of art and inherited accessories—would prove challenging for even the most seasoned world traveler.

Enter Atlanta interior designer Lauren DeLoach, whose task was to transform a raw residence near the top of the Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, into a place her well-heeled clients could call home—even for short periods of time.
Although Atlanta is just one stop in her clients’ worldwide lifestyle, DeLoach wanted to make sure that when in residence, they could relax and entertain in gracious comfort befitting the home’s Southern location.

“It was important for the rooms to feel collected and inviting, especially considering the large scale, extremely high ceilings and oversized windows,” says DeLoach. “The building itself is so contemporary that I needed to counter it with layers and doses of Southern flair.” To keep the sleek hotel feel at bay, DeLoach worked with architect Robert Tretsch of Harrison Design to add some classic architectural details, such as crown molding and pediments. Then she sprinkled antiques with wood finishes, textured fabrics, Southern art, warm rugs and softening window treatments throughout. “I had to include a lot of new furniture as well for the grander scale that you can’t always find in antiques,” she adds.

DeLoach certainly took one aspect of high-rise living to heart. “I was absolutely inspired by the blue and gray shades of the Atlanta skyline seen throughout the rooms,” says DeLoach. “I took those soft colors and washed the rooms with them, adding in green tones to ground the spaces as well.” The rooms now feel like extensions of the views—nothing in the decor takes away from those “wow” moments.

Working with clients on the other side of the world who were not available for frequent trips to ADAC and meetings to review every detail could have proved challenging. But DeLoach, who presented her primary design plan by Skype, says the couple put enormous trust in her and were extraordinarily easy to work with. “In the end, they saw my vision come together, but I really listened to and respected their desire for modern, not fussy rooms that combined feminine with more masculine elements,” says the designer.

The result is a real home, one that the owners recognize as theirs alone, in lieu of a luxury hotel suite that could be anywhere in the world. When they wake up with jet lag, they’re surrounded by the comforts of home, with the hotel lifestyle still at the ready. Now that’s a dream come true.

INTERIOR DESIGN Lauren DeLoach, Lauren DeLoach Interiors; laurendeloachinteriors.com