Looking at Suzanne Kasler’s gracious Atlanta home with its elegant period features, it’s hard to believe that it is the same house she initially discounted in her search because of its “unassuming red brick structure”. Even more challenging was the fact that the house had been “stripped of much of its period character during a previous renovation”. But the leafy location won over the acclaimed designer and, undeterred, she set to work with architect William T. Baker to bring back the charm of this 1930s Federal-style house.
As a designer who is known for her attention to the interior architecture of a space, it’s no surprise that this was her starting point with her own home. As she says: “Once you get the architectural envelope right, then you can start adding the layers that make it more personal.”
And it’s these layers that set her designs apart and have won her so many accolades for her work. I’ve written before about designers with talents for mixing disparate elements but this is something that Suzanne Kasler takes to new levels.
If you look closely at the images of her work you will see a myriad of different styles of furniture from Gustavian to French Moderne; a mix of materials from wood and lucite to leather and gilt; and exquisite antiques blended with flea market finds.
She has talked about the importance of editing and of spending time to rearrange and refine the objects in a room until she gets the mix just right—”old and new, dark and light, smooth and rough, straight and curved”. And she also gathers similar objects together for a streamlined visual effect, like the collection of rock crystal spheres on an ornate gilt table. Or the table where she displays her miniature ‘Tour Eiffel’s’ or the collection of world globes set in front of a gallery wall.
Despite the obvious elegance of the spaces which she creates, she eschews an overly formal look and places emphasis on the importance of designing welcoming and comfortable spaces, both inside and out. You can also clearly discern her strong affinity for European style and her particular love of France through her designs.
The restful watery grey-blue which she has used in her master bedroom (below), for example, was inspired by the Braque poster which is framed above the bed—a treasure which she discovered in an antiques shop on one of her many trips to France.
For someone who espouses the importance of comfort and who believes that homes that should be easy to live in and welcoming, it comes as no surprise that Suzanne Kasler loves to entertain. Although there are several living spaces in which to congregate, she finds that guests very often gravitate towards the serene white kitchen with its large marble island.
Also in this space is a very generous antique Swedish dining table which seats 10. Offsetting its patinated, chalky surface, Suzanne has placed two oversized dark metal pendants above the table and it is positioned beside floor to ceiling steel windows which add a sleek modern touch. That incredible blend of modern and antique again . . .
Talking of entertaining, something tells me that Suzanne Kasler’s soirées are every bit as welcoming and exquisitely stylish as her home . . . —Louise
Images via One Kings Lane
