Designing a family home that does it all

When she found herself hosting staff meetings in her living room, interior designer Jessica Davis knew something had to change. Her husband had taken over her office, and she needed an in-home design studio where she could meet with her staff and clients. And yet, she didn’t want to leave her home. The mid-century modern built in 1960 was the “modern, bright, and airy [home] really connected to the outdoors” that Davis had been dreaming of. And its location, on a heavily wooded lot 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta, was ideal. “One of the reasons why we wanted to add on is just because we love this neighborhood,” she said.

So, she and her husband seized the opportunity to make their home all it could be with space for working, entertaining, relaxing, and meeting all of their family’s daily living needs. Davis created a design that fit the scale and aesthetic of the original home while also adding in guest quarters, a pool-adjacent kitchenette, a cozy “snug” for watching TV, and most crucially for her, a light-flooded studio in the treetops. “It’s a great place to look at materials in different times of day and in different types of light, and it’s just a great serene place to work,” she said.

And while all of this is an achievement in itself, her design does more. She created a home that’s truly unique to her family by incorporating elements that “speak to everyone in the household” — from the crazy, colorful wallpaper her kids love to the art they made together to the objects found on family adventures. “The layering of our belongings is what makes this feel like a home,” Davis said.