Atlanta designer Kate Hayes brings a touch of modern to the city’s traditional architecture by mixing old and new.
Designer & background: An Atlanta native, Hayes studied art history at the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduation, she worked in the fashion industry in New York for several years. After taking design classes at Parsons and the New School, Hayes switched her focus to interior design.
The company: Kate Hayes Design, founded in 2009 in New York City, is now based in Atlanta. It specializes in new builds, residential renovations and commercial projects.
First design job: A small apartment on New York's Upper West Side.
Where you've seen my work: Atlanta Magazine's HOME; Rue Magazine; Design*Sponge; and StyleBlueprint.
Quick fix for a room: Paint, of course. Biggest impact for your buck.
Most important element in a room: Good light, which can make a room feel calm, inspired or however you like to feel at home.
Design pet peeves: Faux antiques that are clearly not old.
Current design obsession(s): Anything perforated, like metal on lighting which can look elegant and industrial; Maximalist design; and sculptural furniture, like some Memphis-style shapes coming back.
New (or re-emerging) designs I like: Texture and pattern, such as wallpaper, bold prints and velvets. It is an art, though, to know where use it. It can't all shout or the room will overwhelm the senses.
… and designs/looks I am glad to see go: Dark wood furniture from the early 2000s.
Fun spaces (or unusual) I have designed: Loft spaces in Atlanta and Brooklyn. And, most recently, a doggie shower as part of a new build on the west side.
Biggest design mistake I have made: Being too optimistic about time and when things will be done. I have learned my lesson.
… and common mistake homeowners make: Buying the wrong scale furniture.
Favorites
- Blogs or websites: ruemag.com; lonny.com; and designsponge.com. Also stylebyemilyhenderson.com.
- Instagram: workstead; amberinteriors; jhinteriordesign (jessica helgerson); communedesign; and studioashby
- Atlanta area home/design stores: Design Within Reach; Bungalow Classic; Westside Modern Atlanta; City Issue; Decades Antiques & Vintage; and Antiques & Beyond.
- Places unexpected finds: Etsy.com, chairish.com, and 1stdibs.com. Also madeindesign.co.uk.
- Recent project (s): A modernist home near the Tara movie theater; a chic condominium at One Museum Place across from the High Museum of Art; and a new build bungalow on the west side.
- Up next: Upcoming Atlanta Design Festival's Modern Style show house (one of two) in the Old Fourth Ward; an overhaul of a charming tutor house in Morningside; and a small bungalow in Inman Park.
Find Kate Hayes Design at:
• Website: katehayesdesign.com
• Facebook: kate hayes design
• Instagram: @katehayesdesign
