The Francis Files

A Denver Apartment Makeover With Transitional Style

A friend's compact Denver apartment in LoHi, done in transitional pieces she can take to her next home: a sofa bed, a green velvet chair and a maze rug. Read more...

Finishing Touches for a Stylish Apartment With Frontgate

The last layer in my Midtown apartment: a lift-top desk in place of a media console, counter stools, a shell mirror and a hand-painted floral triptych. Read more...

Small Space, Big Style: My Atlanta Living Room With Coley Home

My small Midtown living room, done in one color family with strong shapes, a Clam Chair and Coley Home's Mia Shin Toaster Chair and Herb mohair ottoman. Read more...

My Restful Retreat Bedroom Design for Small/Cool NYC

My Restful Retreat bedroom for Apartment Therapy's Small/Cool NYC, painted in Clare Cloud Watching, with the symmetry and wallpaper tricks I use in small rooms. Read more...

A Historic Kitchen Renovation With Georgia Marble

A badly flipped kitchen in a 100-year-old Southwest Atlanta bungalow. Raised uppers, a marble shelf on brass brackets and the old charm put back. Read more...

Westover Place Project: Modern Classic Dining Room Reveal

A dining room for an old friend's Buckhead townhouse: her heirloom pieces, Ballard Designs updates, custom drapery and a mirror to catch the light. Read more...

A Moody Dark Brown Guest Bedroom Refresh

Our guest room, painted in Clare Coffee Date with a custom blue toile headboard. Why going dark makes a small bedroom feel larger, not heavier. Read more...

A New Look for the Media Room Loft

The West Midtown media loft, reworked to sleep a guest around a Queer Eye storage futon, with a custom detail and an olive green fall palette. Read more...

Simple Fall Tablescape Ideas for Moody Autumn Entertaining

My formula for a moody fall table: repeat one accent color twice, pair a loud pattern with a quiet one, and make the centerpiece a third of the table's length. Read more...

How to Use Behr Gratifying Gray Paint to Transform Your Primary Bedroom

The West Midtown primary bedroom in Behr Gratifying Gray, a warm gray that sits well with vintage pieces, and how I paired it with pink and blue. Read more...

West Midtown Bathroom Renovation on House Beautiful

My West Midtown primary bath on House Beautiful: a walk-in shower where the tub was, a green marble-topped vanity, floral hex tile and Creme Fraiche walls. Read more...

A Fresh Pied-à-Terre Design With Coastal Living

An intown Atlanta pied-à-terre, lightened with Coastal Living pieces: a wicker bar cart, blue bamboo chairs and a rattan mirror, without changing the floorplan. Read more...

A Classic Primary Bedroom Design With Frontgate

The primary bedroom at Niles Place with Frontgate: marble-topped French nightstands, blue Parsons chairs, an antelope rug and playing card collages by the bed. Read more...

Dark Brown Media Room Design Reveal

My first finished room in the new apartment: a media room and study painted in Behr Dark Truffle, built for reading, working and movie nights. Read more...

Caraway's Bakeware Collection in my Kitchen

Caraway's bakeware in Cream, chosen to match the cookware I have cooked with weekly for almost two years, and how the set organizes in my kitchen. Read more...

Buckhead Guest Room Refresh With Serena & Lily

A Buckhead bedroom turned guest room with Serena & Lily: fringed sky blue sheets, a navy-embroidered duvet, a sand quilt and a rattan mirror above the bed. Read more...

Small Bathroom Shower-to-Bathtub Renovation

In the West Midtown guest bath, a 48-inch tub replaced a plastic shower kit. Square slate tile, grey walls and green curtains tie it to the mural next door. Read more...

Blue & White Kitchen Makeover: Samsung Bespoke Review

The Terrace Drive kitchen, where a navy glass Samsung Bespoke fridge set the whole palette. Before and after, plus how to bring navy into a small kitchen. Read more...

Dark Green Media Room Reveal With AllModern

Meghan's media room in Behr Dark Everglade, which softens the jump to a navy sectional. A glass Flynt coffee table and a sky blue maze rug keep the small room... Read more...

How to Add a Baking Station to Your Kitchen

A kitchen cart turned into a baking station for extra prep space, with cabinets in Behr Perennial Green, a low-commitment way to try a bold color. Read more...

Hand-Painted Tropical Wall Mural

I hand-painted a palm mural in the West Midtown guest room in one day, using sample pots of Magnolia Home paint over KILZ primer. How I sketched and layered it. Read more...

Modern Chandeliers for a Midtown Townhouse

A Liberty sputnik for the double-height living room and a linear Bowery over the tulip table. Two West Midtown chandeliers that relate without matching. Read more...

Master Bedroom Vintage Rug in West Midtown

A faded vintage Turkish rug from Revival brings color to my mom's white West Midtown bedroom without crowding it. What I put under it, and what I would use next... Read more...

Bright Dining Room Update for Hedgewood Homes

A rental dining room for Hedgewood Homes, made light: white wishbone chairs at a black table, speckled ceramic vases and black and gold frames over a mid-century side table. Read more...

Styling a Cozy Fireplace With Holiday Decor

Holiday styling in the West Midtown living room: a fluted electric fireplace dressed with pine garland, gold ribbon and lanterns, plus a faux fur throw on the armchair. Read more...

Vintage kitchen runner from Revival Rugs in modern kitchen design on Thou Swell #vintagerug #vintagerunner #kitchenrug #kitchenrunner #vintagekitchenrunner #kitchendesign #kitchendecor #kitchenideas #vintage #revivalrugs

Vintage Kitchen Runner in West Midtown Project

A 3'2" by 10'8" vintage runner from Revival fits exactly between the island and counters in the West Midtown kitchen. Its muted orange picks up the wallpaper backsplash. Read more...

One Room Challenge: Virtual Atlanta Loft Design

My virtual One Room Challenge loft, inspired by the Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts: exposed brick, a red-striped Raleigh sofa and Rainstorm teal in the dining room. Read more...

Modern kitchen makeover with Vetrazzo terrazzo countertops, black cabinets, and green island on Thou Swell #kitchen #kitchendesign #kitchenideas #modernkitchen #vetrazzo #terrazzo #countertops #polycor

Terrazzo Kitchen Countertops With Vetrazzo

Vetrazzo in Fair Pearl, made with recycled glass and flecked with mother-of-pearl, replaced builder-grade counters in the West Midtown kitchen. Ashy black cabinets finish it. Read more...

Refreshing Blue & White Bedroom Makeover

Meghan's bedroom in Swiss Coffee with a Waterfall blue ceiling and a painted faux mantel. A four-poster bed, floral curtains and a red rug over carpet keep it cozy. Read more...

Family Room Makeover With the Queer Eye Collection

My friend Emma's sunroom had not changed in 13 years. Pieces from the Queer Eye collection, a hand-painted Italian tile coffee table and green velvet dining chairs reset it. Read more...

Kevin O'Gara modern dorm design for The Home Depot summer catalog with gray gingham duvet, blue storage bench, cowhide rug, and map wall hanging on Thou Swell #dorm #dormroom #dormdesign #backtoclass #homedepot

My Dorm Design for Home Depot's Summer Catalog

The dorm room I designed for The Home Depot's summer catalog, modeled on Cornell's old halls: a map tapestry, tufted headboard and faux cowhide over a patterned rug. Read more...

Exploring Atlanta with the new Toyota Corolla #toyotacorolla #atlanta #travelguide #atlantaguide #sponsored

A Day Exploring Atlanta With the Toyota Corolla

A day driving around Atlanta: the skyline from Jackson Street Bridge, Carroll Street Café in Cabbagetown, sushi on the O-Ku roof and Lee+White on the Westside Beltline. Read more...

The Perfect Mirror for My Apartment Living Room

Why I chose the Atoll, a curvy white floor mirror, over two gold options for my apartment living room, and how it plays with cream velvet and a vintage Turkish... Read more...

Invitation Homes Make It Home Showhouse master bedroom design reveal by Kevin O'Gara on Thou Swell #bedroom #masterbedroom #bedroomdesign #southernstyle #southerndesign #interiordesign

Make it Home Showhouse Master Bedroom Reveal

My showhouse bedroom for Invitation Homes: removable coral wallpaper behind a canopy bed, a framed St. Frank Ikat robe and Josh Young portraits over a campaign dresser. Read more...

Light blue dining room with Clare Headspace paint color in Atlanta with antiques and modern Hudson Valley Lighting brass chandelier on Thou Swell #dining #diningroom #diningroomdesign #bluepaint #southernstyle #interiordesign #antiques

Airy Dining Room Reveal With Clare Paint

Clare's Headspace on the walls, a brass Hudson Valley chandelier overhead and red striped curtains for contrast. The Dove Hill dining room, as featured on Domino. Read more...

Small space bedroom dorm design with grey velvet curtains, blue Louis chair and black and white photography on Thou Swell @thouswellblog

A Sophisticated Grey Dorm Room Design

A year into living in it, I reworked my dorm room in navy and dark grey: Louis XVI-style linen chairs, grey velvet curtains and a tufted ottoman for storage. Read more...

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