High above the fray, Jan Rattia strolls onto his terrace and checks the Ga. 400 traffic. He takes a glimpse of the Connector. Then he pauses to take in the skyline.

Afterward he can fix coffee in the morning kitchen and commute downstairs to the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel for a business meeting.

Sean Drakes / Special (ENLARGE)

Jan Rattia in the living room of his Midtown condo.

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Such is life in Rattia's two-story condo above the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown where he has lived for several years. He and his partner, who did not want to participate in the story, also have a house in Blue Mountain, Fla., on the Gulf Coast and are building a home at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee.

People often ask Rattia if he enjoys living in a hotel. Indeed, he does, he says, because of the "Twenty-four hour room service." The hotel takes up 19 floors. Offices start on the 25th floor and condos occupy the 26th to the 52nd floor. Rattia, a consultant in training and development, splits his time between Atlanta and Florida.

But he loves high-rise living.

"The views are amazing," he says. "It's great to see if traffic is on its way. On a clear day I can see Ansley Park and Stone Mountain."

The condo takes up the top two stories of the northeast corner of the tower. And the only neighbors between Rattia and the sky live in the Penthouse.

"Just living in Midtown is wonderful. You can walk anywhere," says Rattia. "And there's a wonderful (Four Seasons) spa down there. Sometimes you run into celebrities in the lobby."

In condo-mad Midtown, Rattia's 3,800-square-foot abode originally had three bedrooms. He converted it to a one-bedroom with a sitting room and an office. William Stewart served as the designer. The colors of the walls and elegant furnishings are muted and neutral serving as a backdrop for the vibrantly colorful art.

"This is a place to enjoy. People should come up here and feel comfortable," he says. But, Rattia cautions, guests are only allowed one alcoholic drink if they want to step out to any of the six terraces. The terraces are small, but awe-inspiring. Guests can get woozy just from gazing skyward to the top of the tower.

The renovated kitchen, a favorite room of Rattia who loves to cook, features a double oven and two dishwashers. But he also enjoys the hotel's cuisine.

"Sometimes if we have parties, we can have the executive chef from the Four Seasons come up," he says.

Michael Dylan created the two-story iron chandelier and organic railings which were featured on HGTV's Modern Masters' show.

"On a windy day you can see the chandelier moving," Ratti says laughing. The movement is due to the tower swaying.

In addition to stunning vistas and early French/art deco influenced furnishings such as the hand-crafted buffet in the dining room, substantial art dominates the home.

Rattia and his partner are avid art collectors. They installed a wall in the living room to accommodate a Robert Jessup painting. A Pablo Picasso etching and Chagall grace a wall in the living room. And a beautiful Robert Mapplethorpe color photograph of an orchid brightens the sitting room. Two paitnings by the late folk artist Mose Tolliver add cheer to the closet in the master bedroom.

"We had a showing with the High (Museum of Art) art partners. It was a lot of fun to meet other people who have an appreciation of art," he says.

While Rattia is passionate about his art, not everything comes home.

"There are things we absolutely love, but can't live with it," he notes. "The only way you can express yourself is the interior space ...the art you choose to live with."