Decorating with mercury glass is a popular holiday choice, but Kelsey Wiley finds year-round satisfaction with the silvery finish.

Her dining room makeover features a designer buffet with a mercury glass top and gold twig details, which showcases her new appreciation for transitional style.

Wiley pieced together furniture in her former 1,200-square-foot condo, but she and her husband decided to invest in a more cohesive style when they married and bought a two-story home with a basement in Marietta.

The house already boasted interesting details, including vaulted, beamed and coffered ceilings, and a copper range hood in the kitchen. When their interior designer enhanced the architectural elements by painting some ceilings and used a palette of green and blue for furnishings, fabrics, art and accessories, it was a design lesson — and a relief — for Kelsey, a chemist.

“I really appreciate good design, but I don’t think I would have been able to create it at all,” she said.

Snapshot

Residents: Schenck and Kelsey Wiley and their cat, Scooter. Schenck is an engineer and Kelsey is a chemist.

Location: Marietta

Size: 7,500 square feet, six bedrooms, six baths

Year built/bought: 2006/2015

Architectural style: Traditional

Favorite architectural elements: Built-in wood bookcases from floor to ceiling in the office, and vaulted, coffered and tray ceilings

Project consultant: Interior designer Linda Castle of Kennesaw-based Decorated Designs; painter Doug Bailey

Interior design style: Updated transitional

Favorite interior design elements: Pieces with staying power, such as the mahogany English-style buffet by John-Richard with gold twig details, and a custom mural above the fireplace.

Favorite outdoor elements: Deck overlooking the fenced backyard

Resources: Pieces from Hooker Furniture, Stanley Furniture and Highland House Furniture. Lighting, mirrors and accessories from Uttermost and Progressive Lighting. Rugs from Roswell Rug Co.

Decor tip: Adding color to tray or coffered ceilings, like the Sherwin-Williams Halcyon Green in Kelsey's dining room ceiling, can make the room seem young and fresh, she says.