Ann Huff tells clients at her Buckhead contemporary art gallery, Huff Harrington Fine Art, that when they buy what they love it works in any type of residence.
That’s the case with her much-desired French antiques and paintings that decorate her family’s new high-rise condo in Buckhead’s Terminus building.
Huff and her husband Bill moved into the three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath, Peachtree Road condo in January in an effort to downsize from their Chastain Park home, which they sold about a year ago.
“We had this tug at us that we wanted to be urban and we wanted to be in the thick of things. We wanted to walk anywhere,” she said. “When this unit came up at Terminus, we just grabbed it.”
Huff describes the architecture in the building’s common spaces as Frank Lloyd Wright meets modern pop, but in her unit, she was able to bring in favorite furnishings and contemporary artwork from her previous home and the gallery.
“What this has done for us is it’s made us realize that our furnishings work anywhere," she said. "Whether it’s an ultra-modern condo or an older house, it’s still our furniture and it still works.”
Huff, a Francophile, finds enjoyment in how her antique furniture juxtaposes with the unit’s modern look. She has a 19th-century French Provencal walnut secretary she inherited from her parents in her bedroom. In the living room, two fanciful sconces are on either side of a framed black and white abstract painting by Judy Cox with a little touch of yellow, all above a Lucite table.
“The artwork that I decided to hang in this condo is fairly monochromatic,” she said. “To me the art of this condo is almost the windows and the view. You get so much sun and you get incredible sunsets that I thought having too much color in the condo would be too much of a contrast.”
The 14th-floor unit gives the Huffs the sky-level view they desired, from large windows in the living room, bedrooms and other spaces. Sunsets naturally fill the condo with hues of pink, red and orange.
“Sort of from my eye level up, it’s all sky," she said. "That’s beautiful. I love that."
The number of windows caused some challenges, in terms of limiting the wall space for art and in the placement of furniture. Huff said she was concerned about the layout and created several floor plans trying to position artwork and furniture. She’s pleased with the result.
“I kept thinking this isn’t going to work,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe how well it worked.”
In the living room, for example, she found a spot for two faded 18th-century paintings by two different French artists, surrounded by modern elements, including a flat-screen TV.
“At this point, the paint has chipped off, the colors have worn down; both have big sky,” she said. "They both reflect what we see here out the window. Only we see a modern landscape.”
Living-room sofas, slip covered in white, blend into the unit, and the dining-room chairs also are slip covered in linen.
“I like everything to sort of disappear and for the artwork and windows to do the talking,” she said.
The study was a bonus, and it has been decorated with a bookcase and media system from Restoration Hardware that fits the space as though it were custom built, Huff said. Downsizing meant they had to get rid of their collection of books, but the study provided space for them to store favorites.
The kitchen is outfitted with high-end Wolf, Bosch and Sub-Zero appliances and space to fill with art, including a modern black and white piece by Erin Ruetsch and two drawings of women by Bonnie Beauchamp Cooke. A mirror reflects two oil still-life pieces by Nancy Franke, allowing Huff to see them when she’s cooking.
She built the color palette in the master bedroom around a “traditional and exquisite” seascape by Christian Nepo, who lives in the South of France and was influenced by the impressionist French artist Eugene Boudin. Sand was added to the watercolor to create a grainy texture. Muted gold and olive make the hints of pale blue stand out in the room.
An aqua blue bedspread brings similar hues into 18-year-old Christie’s bedroom, but Huff said her daughter’s well-organized closet with built-in shelving is the room’s most amazing feature. Her bedroom shares a private terrace with her sister, Alexandra, 20. Another balcony is off the living room and dining room.
Huff said the family’s decision to move to Terminus has made their lives easy, particularly since it is within walking distance to restaurants, shopping, movie theaters and church, as well as MARTA.
“We love being up high,” she said. "We love being in a condo.”
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