ASO Show House
Through May 12. $25. 10 a.m.-3:30pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays; 10 a.m. - 7:30 p.m Thursdays; 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m Fridays and Saturdays; noon-4:30pm Sundays; Closed Mondays. 3495 Old Plantation Road N.E. There is shuttle service to and from the home. 404-733-4935 or www.decoratorshowhouse.org.
The Buckhead residence that houses the Atlanta Symphony Show House and Gardens – a grand 18,000 square-foot estate reminiscent of French chateaus — is a trove of ideas and a showcase for Atlanta’s interior design community.
Dubbed Tuffeau, the 2013 Show House is a fundraiser for the Symphony’s education programming and will be open through May 12. Throughout the run, volunteers will be on hand to explain the 35 spaces that include bedrooms, baths, alcoves, closets and hallways.
Visitors are welcomed in to a spacious living room with 24-foot windows created by Patricia McClean, which are warmed by elegant drapery, Turkish drawings and French sensibility.
Among the other showhouse highlights is bonus room created by IKEA, an accessible and affordable counterpoint to some of the pricey fabrics and furnishings throughout the estate; a wine room that emerged from a relatively small alcove, and a soothing blue and white guest room by Jillian Pritchard Cooke inspired by a Parisian flat and a vintage kimono that boasts sustainable materials.
In many of the spaces, visitors will find collections: from a sea of bird prints in an office to coffee beans in the espresso room, toys, books and china, proving how any passion can become a room’s focal point. The designers also show how to rethink small and odd spaces, such as an angled reading room room behind the second-floor laundry room.
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