At an auction in the early 1990s, Lyman Smith’s brother bought a Morris chair with wide arms, rich oak wood and horizontal slat design. Smith was hooked on mission-style furniture.
“I realized that was the kind of furniture that I had always wanted,” he said. “It’s different from what you’ve grown up with here in the South.”
Smith began researching arts-and-crafts style design in books and publications and attending arts shows and antique markets to find mission-style furniture, plein air paintings and Navajo rugs. The interior design also inspired his interest in the Pacific Northwest’s evergreen landscapes, which he brought into his Roswell yard by planting conifers among traditional Southern flowers.
“The colors are just incredible,” Becky said. “They also mimic the colors of the pottery and the colors used in the plein air paintings in our home.”
Snapshot
Residents: Lyman and Becky Smith. Lyman is retired from the telecommunications industry; Becky is retired from AT&T.
Location: Roswell
Size: Approximately 2,200 square feet, four bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths
Year built: 1982-83
Year bought: 1988
Builder: John Wieland
Architectural style: Colonial outside, with Craftsman elements inside
Favorite architectural elements: Windows, doors and molding made of hardwood and stained
Interior design style: Arts and crafts
Favorite interior design elements: Mission-style chairs, arts and crafts-style pottery and metalware from early 20th century potteries and makers, and Navajo rugs.
Favorite piece of furniture: An iconic L&JG Stickley #471 Morris chair
Favorite artwork: Plein air western landscapes, and numbered and signed woodblock prints.
Favorite outdoor features: Conifers of various origins, including Japanese black, white and red pines, Scots pine, Korean fir, Spanish fir, Serbian spruce, Oriental spruce and Norway spruce.
Resources: Antique furniture and lighting from Scott Antique Market, National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, N.C., and various auctions. New, reissued arts-and-crafts furniture manufactured by the Stickley Audi Co. and purchased from Patterson Furniture Co. of Atlanta. Paint colors from Sherwin-Williams America's Heritage Palette series. Garden sandstone statuary from Nichols Bros.
Decor tip: Use furniture, accessories and colors that mean something to you rather than the current fad. The more you know about your architecture, furnishings and landscaping, the more it is a part of you, Becky said. "If you see something you really like in a magazine, someone else's home or in a store, study it. Really research it," she said. "That's part of the fun, and you learn about the history of the item."
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