The 11-foot custom velvet sofa has crisscrossed America more times than even the most inveterate of travelers. So have many of the other furnishings in this Atlanta townhouse, from tables and chairs to paintings and sculpture. And that ornate mantel in the posh television lounge? Its journey was even longer - more than 4,000 miles, from its original home in Paris to its genteel new setting in Georgia.
White walls and marble floors create a spare, gallery-like backdrop. Antique French settee in a Great Plains fabric; antique Swedish armchair in a Dedar fabric; bench, Formations; antique French mantel and chandelier; 18th-century carved Italian mirror; antique Italian scones, Travis and Company.
Together, these items represent the cherished belongings of the home's owners, a couple who collected them over time as their lives took them from house to house and state to state. When they moved into this home, they entrusted John Oetgen, the renowned Atlanta interior designer, to stir everything together into an artful mix.
19th-century Italian farm table, Bobo Intriguing Objects; custom banquette in a Brentano fabric; antique armchair and side chair, Dearing Antiques; 18th-century Italian chandelier; walls in Black, Benjamin Moore.
Oetgen has concocted many residences for this family over the years, including houses for their now-grown son and daughter. But for the owners, this design went in a different direction - highly personal and more streamlined than anything they had lived in before. When they purchased the townhouse, it wasn't much more than a four- story shell. "It was a big, cavernous space with nothing there," the husband says.
Antique English chair; sculpture, Jane Burton.
But to Oetgen, the house's blank canvas was appealing, and he knew just what to do with it. When he first met the wife, over 20 years ago, she'd shown him photos of artist Cy Twombly's 17th-century Roman palazzo. It had whitewashed walls, marble moldings, and patterned-stone oors.
Twombly had furnished the palazzo with statuary and sculptural antiques that played against his own large and theatrical modern canvases. Oetgen was equally smitten with the artist's home. "I loved the drama of it," he says. For the townhouse, he proposed his own take on the artist's iconic decor: "a much more minimal approach," he says, "but with the same feeling."
Contemporary art contrasts with antique furniture. 18th-century Italian console; flatware,Tiffany & Co.
Oetgen set the stage with fresh white walls, marble door casings, and marble floors - some quietly pale and others strikingly dark. He added an elegant iron railing to the four flights of poured-concrete stairs. When the transformation was complete, the home had a stripped-down sense of grandeur, especially on the main floor, with its generous 11-foot ceilings.
And, while newly built, the rooms convey a sense of history. "When I walk through here, in one spot I feel like I'm in a Venetian palazzo," the husband says. "Then I'll go into another room and it seems like I'm in a French townhouse."
A collection of blue-and-white pottery provides a hint of color to the monochromatic decor. Custom sofa and Louis XVI-style armchairs in Dedar fabrics; Dutch chest, Marsden Antiques and Interiors; acrylic side table, Travis & Company; French stone mantel; antique rug, Moattar, Ltd.; marble flooring, Materials Marketing.
Within this jewel box, Oetgen arranged the gems: a curated collection of the couple's favorite things, from an antique French settee to a 19th-century Baccarat chandelier to a mismatched set of antique Italian and Swedish velvet dining-room chairs.
Custom table; antique Italian caned chairs from Carol Klotz Antiques and Swedish Directoire chairs, both with cushions in an Old World Weavers silk velvet; antique chandelier, Baccarat; marble door casing, Marmi Natural Stone.
Like Twombly, Oetgen daringly paired opposites, pulling curvy antiques right up to contemporary art. Precious little in the home is brand-new, and that is just the with the homeowners: They much prefer to live with objects that have deep meaning and remind them of a lifetime of memories and emotions. "There is a feeling to this house," says the wife. "It's filled with pieces that make us remember specific moments and good times. We can chart our lives by it."
19th-century Louis XVI-style console; custom curtains in a Dedar fabric; painting over bed, Robert Jessup; artwork above console, Kirsten Stolle.
Bench in a Jerry Pair leather; antique French mirror and sconces; sink fittings, Rohl; walls in Portoro Extra marble, Marmi Natural Stone; floors in black marble, Materials Marketing.
This story originally appeared in the January-February 2017 issue of VERANDA.
