It starts with a new mansion on Tuxedo Road, one of the ritziest addresses in Buckhead. From there, it blossoms into a showcase decked out by 18 designers. The result: The 2008 Decorators' Showhouse that benefits the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Challenges abound throughout this 20,000-square-foot mansion. How does one outfit a ballroom with 24-foot ceilings? What makes a massive master bedroom with a double barrel-vaulted ceiling a cozy retreat? And who's going to work wonders in the three kitchens?

Louie Favorite / AJC (ENLARGE)

The guest suite designed by Elizabeth Brennan.

Louie Favorite / AJC (ENLARGE)

A cowhide rug, painted with a brown zebra pattern holds its own in the guest suite.

RELATED LINKS: • Photos: See more of the showhouse • See more home stories • More home and garden tours

On April 19, the public will get to see the results of the brainstorming that is putting the finishing touches on the house.

But to get a sense of how designers even start to tackle such a project, Elizabeth Brennan offered some insight into how she transformed one corner of the palatial home.

Brennan, who owns Elizabeth Brennan Antiques and Interiors in Buckhead, was one of the area designers tapped to transform a guest suite in the home. It was a job she lobbied for with enthusiasm.

"And I really wanted to do this bedroom," Brennan said. "It's a separate suite in a corner of the house with great light and curves."

The only thing the bedroom had in it when Brennan first arrived was a chandelier, dark hardwood floors and Scalamandre wallpaper — a grass cloth with thin, horizontal stripes of blue and sable.

"I didn't have a lot of time, but I knew I had these stripes on the walls," said Brennan, who instantly took her cues from those colors. "From there, I went to a neutral rug with an overall design that isn't hidden by the bed."

Next, Brennan designed a king-size headboard covered in a soft ivory fabric.

For the two night stands, she used a striped ivory and gold design reproduced from an 1810 pattern. The same stripes are in the formal, fringed drapery over the triple window.

The bed itself was dressed in handmade Portuguese linens with a pattern of birds and vines.

At the foot of the bed, Brennan took an antique love seat and gave it a hip update with a metallic gold cushion edged in pale blue piping. She drew out the blues in the wallpaper with peacock-colored velvet throw pillows and bedside lamps with watery blue bases.

Beneath the window is a tufted sofa, from the latest Scalamandre collection, dotted with oversized pillows in subdued metallic golds. A stackable Oriental table flanks one side; a modern acrylic table is at the other. Both hold Chinese urn lamps with shades of blues and beiges. A deep armchair sports pale blue velvet cushions. An acrylic coffee table doesn't distract from the cowhide rug, painted with a brown zebra pattern.

The sloping lines of the ceiling presented a bit of a challenge. In one low-slung corner, Brennan arranged a bureau with a top drawer that pulls out into a desk, with a leather writing surface and cubbyholes.

In the opposite corner, the eye is drawn away from the slanting ceiling by a collection of upright, twisting vines, dried to the color of driftwood, with the tallest pieces in front to minimize the impact of the roof.

"I loved these old vines because they looked like pieces of sculpture," she said. "And the various heights worked well to fill up the space."

The guest room also has a dormer window overlooking the backyard. In this nook, Brennan added a Regency table with a black lamp and framed prints to create a charming retreat for writing or daydreaming.

A large contemporary work by local artist Jamali fills a large wall beside the bed. It's part of the mix of modern and traditional that includes two chinoiserie mirrors and antique prints.

The suite also features a luxurious bathroom with a floor of tiny crisscrossed black and white tiles. The Scalamandre wallpaper is a reverse of the bedroom, with the blues taking the lead over the browns and golds. A deep soaking tub sits below the triple window, flanked by two urns of over-sized jade plants. Mirrors over the dual vanities are lined with rounded pieces of wood that look like wine corks.

The bath and bedroom proved to be a hard space to figure out, Brennan admitted.

"Most people thought I should have gone with twin beds to open it up," she said. "There are a lot of angles, and it was a bit dark. But it was fun to do something creative in the space."

Brennan also had fun putting a musical touch to her work.

"The people who come to the symphony showhouse always look for little musical elements in each room," she said. "So our nod was to have bathrobes with little bagpipe emblems on them."

IF YOU GO:

The 2008 Decorators' Showhouse runs from April 19 through May 11, with an opening night preview party on April 18.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Tickets: $20 before April 18; $25 after. They may be purchased at the door; at the Woodruff Arts Center box office; by phone, 404-733-5000; or online at www.decoratorsshowhouse.org.