In Good Light

Built in 2019, this end-unit townhouse became my mom’s new home in 2025. The house already had really good bones, nine side windows, tons of natural light, and a large opening onto a screened porch and garden. It didn’t need to be completely reinvented. The goal was to make it feel warmer, softer, and more like her while leaning into everything that was already working.

Living room scene with a beige sofa draped with a knitted throw, a large potted tree near the window, and a fireplace on a textured wall. A table in the foreground holds candles and a remote control.
Dining area with a wooden table, a white vase with greenery, large windows with dark curtains, and a decorative chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
A kitchen countertop with a large vase of greenery, a bowl of peaches, and an open book on a wooden stand, with kitchen appliances and utensils in the background.
Cozy living room with a leather sofa, a beige armchair, a dark wood coffee table with candles and vases, large windows with greenery outside, a potted plant, and a framed landscape painting above a fireplace.
A screened porch with wicker furniture, potted plants, and outdoor plants, overlooking a lush backyard with trees and shrubs.

Working With What Was Already There

With so much glass and so many white window frames, we needed a little weight elsewhere in the room. Because the exterior elements couldn’t be changed within the townhouse community, we brought in larger iron pieces, darker furniture, and layers of warmer materials to balance all of that light. Linen drapery softened the windows and gave her some much-needed privacy, while mirrors were placed throughout to bounce the natural light and reflect the rooms back on themselves. The lighting is intentionally a little more whimsical, adding shape, character, and that slightly imperfect feeling that keeps the house from becoming too polished.

Decorative wooden framed mirror on a wall, above a wooden console table with green hydrangeas in a marble vase, a white ceramic dish, and a textured white table lamp with a umbrella shape shade. A woven basket is beneath the table.
Man standing on a ladder installing a wall frame in a living room with large windows and a potted plant.
Open-concept living and dining room with large windows, neutral-colored furniture, and holiday wreath decorations

The Fireplace That Wasn’t There

Sherwin-Williams City Loft became the thread running through the main living spaces. We even used it to custom mix the stucco for a new floor-to-ceiling fireplace surround, which gave us an architectural focal point without introducing another competing color. An electric fireplace made sense for the way the room is actually used, and rather than letting a television take over the new feature wall, we chose a Canvas TV so it could visually disappear when it wasn’t being watched.

Living room with a large potted plant near a window, beige accent chair, round black coffee table with a tray holding candles and a plant, fireplace, painting of a landscape with birds, and additional plants in white pots.
Two people installing custom stucco fireplace on living room wall, with a ladder, a bucket, and an open window showing trees outside.

Designed for Actual Life

The furniture was selected with real life in mind. There’s a dog in the house, so the sofa needed to be leather, but we balanced it with a very soft chenille accent chair and a dark coffee table that gives the room some visual weight. In the dining room, the table is teak, which means no one needs to panic about a coaster every time they put down a glass. Throughout the house, the mix is meant to feel collected rather than overly coordinated: soft against hard, polished against imperfect, light pieces against darker ones.

Still Growing

The house also isn’t “finished” just because it’s being photographed. We’re still waiting for the right piece of art for the main dining wall rather than filling it with something just to fill it, the screened porch continues to collect more and more plants, and the powder bath is next on the list.

A collage of interior design materials including wood, stone, marble, glass, fabric, and plants, with a window and decorative objects in the background.

  • Alpharetta, GA

  • Phase One | 2026

  • 2200 sq ft

  • Construction // First Flip