Name: Caryn Grossman
Location: Poncey-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia
Size: 2,300 square feet
Years lived in: 4
Caryn is back to share more photos of her romantic loft, as requested by you! Her fabulously over-the-top space is in a loft of an old telephone factory warehouse, built in 1936 and listed on the National Historic Register.
An interior designer by trade, Caryn uses her personal space as a place to experiment and work out new ideas. "I rely on visual composition in all of my designs, often as the most important factor," she says. "For example, planning in a space what the eye will see, then what will be seen next, and then next, creating a story as you move through. I guess my place is a constant experiment, a place where my mind, and my hands, just wander free &mdash and I love it that way."
The space serves as a home and design studio and has also been used as a film set, photography studio and art gallery. Caryn lives downstairs, while her photographer friend uses the upstairs for a studio.
We love the total anti-minimalist feel to her space — it inspires us to rethink decorative clutter! How wonderful is it that a space can have so many different styles of items and artwork, from Anichini linens to graffiti, and yet it all blends together in a flurry of romanticized wonder.
Caryn is about to open her own store in Atlanta, called Objet, fashioned after an old Paris apartment filled with fabulous things. She can be reached at cgcreative@mac.com.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My/Our style: Urban opulence
Inspiration: Paris apartments
Favorite Element: The huge industrial surround, with high ceilings, old mushroom columns and concrete floors
Biggest Challenge: With 28-foot ceilings and no walls, the volume can be overwhelming. The pieces had to scale accordingly.
What Friends Say: It's over the top.
Biggest Embarrassment: It's often a mess. And it's over the top.
Proudest DIY: The collection of seemingly disparate objects, ranging from mid-century modern to 18th-century antiques that make the space a home. Somehow it all works.
Biggest Indulgence: The six-foot Venini chandelier that hangs in my bedroom.
Best advice: Experiment! There are no rules!
Dream source: Love Train Antiques, an importer of French and Belgian antiques and salvage. Also, Frock of Ages and Stefan's, Inc. &mdash both vintage clothing stores.
Resources of Note (furnishings, hardware, appliances & materials):
Paint & Colors: I used a milk-based paint in Duchess Blue. It doesn't look old, or new &mdash just perfect. There are also two walls sprayed with graffiti. The one in the entry is my favorite.
Furniture: A mix of sample sale pieces, antiques from France and Belgium, some Kartell, mid-century modern, and a healthy dose of salvage. Most of the pieces came from Love Train Antiques, some from Space in Atlanta.
Accessories: Mostly salvage finds, such as old marquee letters, boxes, crates, vintage clothing and jewelry. Nothing really has a "home." If it's pretty, it's out, and that applies to shoes, clothes, jewelry, hats, etc. My favorite sources for household accessories are Love Train Antiques, plus two vintage clothing stores: Stefan's and Frock of Ages.
Lighting: I have an amazing Venini chandelier in my bedroom &mdash the ultimate indulgence! In the living room, there's a Flos Cicatrices de Luxe, designed by Philippe Starck, and a huge heart, called, "Wish," by a lighting sculptor, Christopher Moulder, here in town.
Flooring: The floors are original concrete floors, mostly in original condition, pocked and blackened over time.
Rugs and Carpets: The rugs are by Nani Marquina, a Spanish designer who does wonderful, whimsical work.
Window Treatments: For the windows, as a contrast to the old factory windows and concrete floors, I had custom made 18-foot long silk taffeta curtains from Silk Trading Company. They're amazing &mdash there are two blanket layers within, and extra yardage to pool on the floor in total luxury.
Bed: The bed linens are a mix of Anichini, whose colors are magnificent, and an assortment of pillows from everywhere you can think of.
Artwork: Most of the artwork is by friends. I often use the space as an art gallery, so I've been tremendously luck with what's been left behind! The piece in the bedroom photo is a huge passion flower, created by Michael Chad Barrett. The entry features two graffiti artists, picked up in Atlanta's Krog Street Tunnel. Other pieces throughout the house are from artists Helen Durant, Tracey Lane and Alex Leopold.
Thanks, Caryn!
(Images: Submitted by Caryn Grossman)
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© 2009 Apartment Therapy
Can AT instate a minimum number of "full room photos" for these house tours? More and more I'm seeing close ups of items that, while pretty, don't give the reader a cohesive feel for the apartment.
So...
For this home, there are some nice components....but I don't have a very good idea of how it all flows together
view abc123's profile
very pretty - it seems to look more like a set design or a parisian boutique.
view mellow yellow design's profile
Total eye candy, thanks for sharing more pictures of your home.
Caryn so glad you are opening a store because you really need to and because it probably would be a dream source for many.
Love your dog and I think I have a girl crush only because I love your style.
view LoriSF's profile
I agree with abc123. Very beautiful photos, but too many close ups.
view StudioStarter's profile
I'd love to see more photos (entire rooms?). I agree that the details here are really, really cool and this is definitely a unique space. And opening a store? Mais oui!
view tara1979's profile
abc123 i am with you on needing to see more room shots. close ups of tea cups are lovely. but i would love to see more of how the whole room fits together, and then how the different rooms make up the entire home.
that said, i do love the curtains and the usage of clothing as part of the decor! the curtains give the effect of ballgowns for your windows! very nice.
view erinalter's profile
Your place is so dreamy and beautiful! Where did you get that round wood chair in the first photo? Beautiful cat and dog too =)
view ryumama's profile
Wow, she lives a quarter-mile from me, I can't wait for her new store!
view Liddy's profile
Also, she lives in Old Fourth Ward, not Poncey-Highland. Different neighborhoods.
view Liddy's profile
Lots of pretty objects and unique items. Pictures were lovely, but just wish I could see more of the full room to get a better idea of the layout. By the way, your doggie is adorable!
view suzy8track's profile
marie antoinette's loft
view ec05's profile
I love your floors (what we can see of them)! Makes me want concrete floors.... and never underestimate the luxuriousness of looooooooong pooling curtains! Beautiful.
http://www.tangiedecor.blogspot.com
view LTangie's profile
Nice-looking whippet!!
view susiekn's profile
I'm following the rest in saying lets see the room not stuff. If you take a pic of the room I'm bound to see your stuff but I'm more interested in how you layed out the furniture and you4 color combos.
view Joan52's profile
Oh and howdy Caryn I live in Midtown ATL as well.
view Joan52's profile
GORGEOUS
view zachary's profile
Has anyone seen any other lucite tables like the one in picture #4?
I agree with everyone else about the closeups. Personally, I'd like to see a layout of home tours as well.
view Heather C's profile
http://gallery.apartmenttherapy.com/photo/dc-caryns-loft-3/item/70105
How is it that the cat doesn't knock that over? My cat would find that far too tempting.
What did others thing re: the graffiti? It was hard for me to get a sense of how it fit in given the numerous close-up pics, but I found it a bit too jarring in contrast.
Overall, a gorgeous home!
view jennaudrey's profile
now that i have seen more, it looks more like a museum than a place to live.
view Drops of Jupiter's profile
and whats the point of showing a closeup of her manolo blahniks!!!
view Drops of Jupiter's profile
hehe i wonder how long before someone knocks over those vases arranged on the staircase.. i wish people wouldn't stage shots like that.
view Drops of Jupiter's profile
Pretty items but I agree with others that it looks like a retail space.
view leadingedge's profile
I wish I could visit Atlanta just to go to your store.
view Cassis's profile
Drops of Jupiter--exactly my point.
view abc123's profile
I'd love to see more room pics too. But it's so beautiful. It's a fantasy land.
view imcaffeine's profile
I was so excited to see that Caryn had submitted a full house tour--and then so disappointed with these shots. They are beautiful, don't get me wrong--but I have no more idea of what her space looks like than I did from the sneak peak she posted earlier.
view sally305's profile
So disappointed after being teased by the house call.
view Design Me's profile
Yes, I caught that the vases of flowers on the stairs were probably staged.
Yes, she's a shoe lady.
Yes, she likes opulence, but so do a lot of people who are neat freaks and comformists who spend a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY on architects and designers to get things just so ... by the standards of that particular time.
She has some lovely, romantic ideas and I appreciate the charm she brings to her home. Graffiti and pre-War France? If she likes it, I don't care. It's an idea that she puts out there ...
view AustinSarah's profile
Pretty pictures but I agree with the frist comment from ABC123...
view Jesse Lu's profile
I absolutely love everything about this apartment. It's so chic! If I didn't know any better I would have said it was an apartment in Paris. It's so feminine and girly. I also love the fact that it is anti-minimilist, sometimes minimilist apartments look so bare. This actually looks like a home, I think almost every girl would want to live in an apartment like this!
Have you read my blog Every Girls Dream? I would really love to see what you think of it?
http://www.homes-suite-homes.com/2009/08/10/every-girls-dream/
view Homes-Suite-Homes's profile
i wanted to see the light in the bed room mentioned twice in post but instead i got close ups of teacups and shoes and a dog....
view Enamorada's profile
I love everything about this apartment.
I would also like to see pictures of the whole room.
view rhianna's profile
Nay. Too much stuff. While I may like almost everything in there, if they were to take a full room shot, it might look like an antique store. Very pretty photography and things laying around though. Not the greatest tour though...
view dunklekatze's profile
Very nice...reminds me a lot of ABC Carpets in NY....
http://www.cieladesign.com
http://cieladesign.blogspot.com
view cieladesign's profile
Love it!! so much fun! what a lovely space.
It's not my style, but i'm so smitten by how well this look actually works and looks modern and yet very nostalgic.
view AMBERYVETTE's profile
I'm with abc! More and more often we're seeing close up of tiny vignettes that could be in any home, or just staged in a studio. I want to see how the house flows, and what entire rooms look like.
view thatmeggirl's profile
Who did the passion flower painting by the bed ?
view JessicaO's profile
JessicaO -- Michael Chad Barrett. He doesn't seem to have a Web site, but you can google. Good luck!
view lindseyroberts's profile
Very Parisian apartment! For more gorgeous Lucite pieces see the boutique at theparisapartment.com.
view Papillon Linens's profile
Hi. Where do you find a wood sphere like the one in the first photo?
view CCNinNYC's profile
Cutesy, Old World, no humor, everything carefully cluttered!
Miss Haversham's home before the fire!
view ShirleyZB's profile
The living room (bedroom?) looks lovely, very Parisian.
omordah.etsy
view omordah's profile
1) I agree with the comments started by abc123 about needing to have fewer tight shots and that the photos should give an actual tour of the house and how views and rooms fit together.
2) I may be mistaken, but didn't AT send out an email requesting that we refrain from self promotion in the comments section? Maybe its time for a reminder! (And yes, comments hyping your own blog ARE self-promotion.)
view kushkush's profile
There weren't enough photos that were conducive to viewing the layout. Although there were captions for the photos, I really couldn't tell what was what.
view Jixolet's profile
Finally. Such a relief to see an individualistic, artistic space. Not a cliche to be found; no white trophy heads, no trendy globe collection, ESPECIALLY no mid-century boredom. So refreshing to see a space that clearly reflects the person who lives there. A very talented individual.
view centrd's profile
i'm digging it, don't get me wrong, but why is it I can't get over the obvious pain of dusting in there?
view CKBH's profile
this house plays into all of my klepto tendencies AND I LOVE IT
view rmhct's profile
Love the floor. Is that painted or stained concrete?
Kelly
http://tearinguphouses.blogspot.com
view k51279's profile
The splash of colours is wonderful, especially in the bedroom!!! Wow!
Ditto abc123. The amount of things made me cringe, because I felt like I was walking around in a very small space filled with glass items. Based on the first photo this home is expected to be somewhat bigger though...
@CKBH: She probably has a cleaning lady, if her budget can squeeze in Manolo's.
view luftskibet's profile
I agree with abc123. I looked at every picture available and have NO idea what this place looks like.
view Shannon Ashley's profile