To some, Glee Lamb's move last fall from a four-bedroom home in Dunwoody to her two-bedroom, two-story Midtown condo might seem like scaling down. But for Lamb, it's really been an expansion, a chance to live life on a much larger scale.

"I love the energy and excitement here in Midtown," says Lamb. "I love looking outside my windows and seeing the whole world out there. Moving to town, I didn't lose a single neighborhood convenience. All my favorite stores are here. When I want to go to Publix, I just walk a few blocks down Peachtree Street. When I need a bouquet of spring flowers, I pick them at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods instead of from my own yard. And I adore walking every day in Piedmont Park. My world got larger, not smaller."

Sara Hopkins / Special (ENLARGE)

Lamb who walks around Piedmont Park every day, likes the pace of the city.

RELATED LINKS: • More pictures of Lamb's Midtown condo • Retirees don't give up much to downsize | Photos • Intown properties hot despite housing slump • See more Home stories

Moving to Midtown required some planning. "I hired interior designer John Morrison, who had worked with the condo's previous owner. I really loved what he had done. He opened up the stairway with a Chinese Chippendale railing and mirroring the stairway wall to reflect the view outside. The plantation shutters he designed soften the city view," says Lamb. "He came to my home in Dunwoody to help me decide what to bring with me, and then he was here on moving day to help place the furniture."

Deciding what to bring with her was the only real dilemma Lamb faced in her move. "An only child, I have antique furniture from three generations back, five sets of fine china and at least 50 crystal relish dishes. Between us, John and I were able to make a place for most of my favorite pieces."

Two large family pieces flank the two-story tall windows of the living room. On the left, there's a 7-foot-tall pier mirror and on the right, an 18th-century oak secretary. "Big Mama," an Empire sofa upholstered in a Brunschwig & Fils toile, anchors the living space. A glass-topped, gilded, wrought-iron table from the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center and a pair of sparkling glass lamps provide a contemporary punch.

"I think the background of the cityscape makes my antiques more interesting and brings out the warmth and charm of these old pieces," says Lamb. "The pier mirror is so perfectly placed. It reflects the sunset each evening, and in the spring and summer it glows green, reflecting the trees that line Peachtree Street."

The walls provide a home for Lamb's collection of art, including many pieces by her daughter and son-in-law, Sarah Lamb and David Larned. The dining room walls hold one of Sarah's paintings, a watercolor of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, and a pair of coats of arms. "Those coats of arms hung in my mother's dining room, and when I moved, John suggested I have them reframed in a smaller silver and gold frame so they wouldn't overwhelm the space."

Bits of Lamb's heritage are incorporated everywhere. The powder room's smart black-and-white Glen plaid wallpaper is reflected in another family piece, an antique gold-leaf mirror mounted on top of the existing wall-to-wall mirror. The dining room holds a Victorian petticoat table, and a Chinese silver chest commissioned in Hong Kong sits in Lamb's upstairs study.

"The pieces that I kept and love not only complement my new surroundings, but they bring back three generations' worth of happy memories," she says with a smile.

No pied–à–terre, this space is definitely home. Lamb reflects, "I just came back from my little house in France. After five weeks away, I wasn't sure how I would feel when I returned. But when I walked into the lobby at midnight and the concierge said, 'Welcome home, Ms. Lamb,' that's just what it felt like. Coming home."