In her design work, Atlanta’s Helen Davis likes to create fresh yet timeless spaces that feel collected rather than decorated.
Designer & background: The Rome, Ga., native graduated from Southern Methodist University (Texas) in 2006 with a degree in art history. After graduation she moved to New York City and worked in the fashion industry for four years. In 2010, she moved to Atlanta.
The company: Helen Davis Interior Design started in 2012 in Atlanta.
First design job: Her own apartment. Since Davis never studied interior design and hadn't worked for another designer, she didn't have a portfolio to show potential clients. Davis decided to design her apartment, photograph it and have something to show clients.
Big break: Getting her first out-of-state residential job in Dallas in 2014. "It was mind-blowing to think someone would fly me in to work with them."
Known for: Her use of color. That said, she is also a lover of neutrals and minimalism in the proper setting.
Seen in: Better Homes & Gardens, Glamour, and Atlanta magazines.
Every room needs: Artwork. Nothing starts or finishes a room like a great piece of art.
Design pet peeves: When clients sacrifice the design because they get too concerned with their home being "teflon" or indestructible. Things always get stained or damaged. And anything can be fixed.
Current design obsession: Wallpaper.
New (or re-emerging) designs I like: Mid-century modern.
… and designs/colors I will be glad to see go: All grey everything.
Unusual (& fun) request: Design a client's formal living room around the theme of their wedding invitation, which was in the pink and green colors of Harbour Island in the Bahamas.
Favorite spaces to design: Kids rooms! Love the "go for it" attitude clients have when it comes to their children's spaces.
Biggest designs mistake I have made: Letting a pushy client take control of the job.
… and biggest (or common) mistake homeowners make: Hiring a designer but not trusting them.
Favorites
- Blogs /or websites: 1stdibs and Viyet.
- Magazines: Cabana; Elle Décor; Architectural Digest; Veranda; and House Beautiful.
- Instagram: Ken Fulk (@kenfulk), Kelly Behun (kellybehunstudio), Aerin Lauder (@aerin), Van Vliet & Trap (@vanvlietandtrap)
- Atlanta area home/design stores: Dixon Rye; Bungalow Classic; and B.D. Jeffries. At the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC): Jerry Pair; Lee Jofa; Grizzell & Mann; and Schumacher.
- Places unexpected finds: Forty Five Ten in Dallas (for home and fashion); Oliver Street Designs.com (new lighting line); Voltz Clarke Gallery in New York; and MONC XIII in Sag Harbor, NY.
Recent project (s): A client's home in Southampton, N.Y. Now she is working on her apartment in the city. Also putting finishing touches on a beach house on Kiawah Island, S.C.
Up next: Resorting and renovating an original home from the late 1890s on a hunting property in northwest Georgia. Also a commercial space in Birmingham.
Find Helen Davis Design at:
- Website: helendavisdesign.com
- Facebook: helen davis interior design
- Instagram: @helendavisdesign
About the Author
