Leanne Ford’s Teen Suite at Our 2022 Whole Home Is the Ultimate Comfy Hang-Out Space
A place for expression—that’s what Leanne Ford had in mind when scheming this flexible bedroom and connected chill-out space for a very lucky teenager in our 2022 Whole Home in Atlanta. The warm palette of tonal neutrals, including layered furnishings and accessories from her line at Crate & Barrel, makes vaulted rooms feel limitless. Ford called on her friend Carolyn Kelly, a mural artist, to create a playful ribbonlike trim along the ceiling. This is to be enjoyed by anyone lounging on the slipcovered daybeds that float in the middle of the room (easily laundered after sleepovers and messy art projects alike).
“For me, the challenge was: How do I infuse soul into a new space?” says Ford, who typically renovates old homes but pivoted to warm up this extension to the house. A fan of the imperfect, she pinned pages torn from magazines on the walls and layered comfy bedding and pillows throughout, as if granting the future inhabitant permission to mess up things a bit. And why not, the designer says? “The parents don’t live here.”
—Leanne Ford
LOUNGE
Click the + below to learn more
BEDROOM
With its 15-foot-tall ceilings and beautiful light, the room called for serene furnishings. As with the daybeds in the adjoining room, Ford floated the bed from the wall to impart an undeniable openness. “It’s weird, but it works,” she says. “The space feels like you have room to breathe.”
CLOFFICE + HALLWAY
“I always find little nooks for reading or creating,” Ford says. An unused closet situated just off the bedroom is now a makeshift homework station and creativity zone, thanks to a textured memory board and a comfy desk chair.
SEE THE ENTIRE SPACE
Shop the Room
LAUNDRY ROOM
This second-floor laundry room got a new look with garden-inspired wallpaper from Sanderson and an LG Studio Styler that’s guaranteed to minimize runs to the dry cleaner. On the opposite wall two LG Studio washtowers–single units with a washer and dryer–give the nearby teens plenty of space to do their laundry independently. Countertop: Caesarstone. Hardware: Rocky Mountain Hardware. Fixtures: Elkay.
Tour the Entire House
I am the Market Director for House Beautiful. At any given point I’m searching for my next foodie and design-related travel adventure, drinking a nice pour of bourbon or a perfectly poured martini, or searching for my dream home in Mexico/North Carolina. My personal design style: lots of pattern, color and art on every surface.