Vivian Bencich is the co-owner of Square Feet Studio, the award-winning firm known for designing smart and stylish homes, businesses and some of Atlanta’s top restaurants.
Background: Grew up in Winston Salem, North Carolina, and went to Vanderbilt University, where she was an art history and French major. In her senior year, she took a modern architecture class that she loved. She came to Georgia Tech for grad school in architecture.
First design job: Worked as an intern at Nix Mann & Associates (now Perkins+Will), where she saw a well-run office with a great studio culture and client base. In 2001, she and her husband John started Square Feet Studio in Atlanta.
Where you have seen the firm's work: A variety of unique projects in and around Atlanta, including projects (West Egg Café, Preserving Place, Room & Board and Sid Mashburn) within White Provision on the Westside; Karoo Optical Boutique; The Mercury; H&F Burger; Hop's Chicken at Ponce City Market; and Kimball House in Decatur.
Claim to fame: Received awards from the Atlanta Urban Design Commission; the Georgia chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); the Georgia chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA); and the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC).
Design pet peeves: Designers pontificating too much about design.
Current design obsessions: Materials with a history that just get better over time.
Biggest design mistake I've made: Not realizing that a side yard setback on a residential project was 15 feet per the county code instead of the 25 feet as listed in the neighborhood covenant. The county code is the one to follow. "It was a problem because we had designed an addition to the home that then required a variance since we didn't have that extra 10 feet like I'd thought. I was a young intern at a small office, and I will never forget it. "
… and mistakes homeowners make: Not being forthcoming with their designer about their budget from the beginning. It only prolongs the process.
Favorite:
- Atlanta designs/buildings: The Eastside BeltLine trail (her office is located next to the trail); the Trolley Barn in Inman Park. Also the MailChimp offices at Ponce City Market; the courtyard at Studioplex; and the Glenn Memorial sanctuary and little chapel by Philip Shutze on the Emory campus.
- Atlanta-area shops/showrooms: Bungalow Classic. Also Paul Plus, Schumacher, Janus et Cie and Ann Sacks showrooms at the ADAC.
- Atlanta shops for unexpected finds: Dixon Rye.
- Blogs/Websites: Bitter Southerner; Dezeen; Remodelista; and Southern Souffle.
- Instagram: nickolsenstyle; oldfourthward; heathceramics; and tinydoorsatl.
- Magazines: Cherry Bombe; Hospitality Design; World of Interiors; and Garden & Gun.
- Movie/TV interiors: Any Wes Anderson movie, especially "Moonrise Kingdom."
About Vivian
Her personal style: Eclectic, thoughtful, and a little slow moving when it comes to working on her own home.
Favorite pieces/spaces in her home: Her daughter's little clay sculptures that are displayed on a long shelf in the den. Also, the paisley Schumacher wallcovering on the ceiling of the dining room.
Can't stop buying: Art, books and wallpaper.
Recent projects: In Atlanta, a new Delta Sky 360 Lounge at the Woodruff Arts Center; Staplehouse restaurant on Edgewood Avenue; Bread & Butterfly café in Inman Park; and in Houston, State of Grace, Ford Fry's first restaurant outside of Atlanta.
What's new — or next: A series of projects at Pepper Place in downtown Birmingham as well as some larger hospitality and corporate projects in Atlanta. Plus, she and her husband just started designing a new ground-up home in Morningside that they are excited about too.
Find Vivian Bencich at:
- Website: www.squarefeetstudio.com
- Instagram: @squarefeetstudio
- Twitter: @sqftstudio
- Room & Board, 1170 Howell Mill Road, on June 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Bencich will be on a panel discussing "Restaurant Design and the Aesthetics of Interiors." The event is part of the upcoming MA! (Modern Atlanta) International Design Expo and MA Architecture Tours May 31-June 12 (MA-designishuman.com).
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