18th-Century French Design: Atlanta

Written by

For our design inspiration today, we have a newly built twenty-room townhouse in Atlanta completed with elegant 18th-century French design. New York interior designer Brian J McCarthy spent five years turning the 11,000 square-foot Georgia mansion into a regal Parisian hotel particulier. The designer oversaw every detail from floors to finishes to ensure an authentic finish. He and the owners gathered the 17th and 18th-century furnishings in their more than thirty European shopping trips.

The home includes fourteen paneled rooms created by the 18th-century French design specialist Feau & Cie. They assembled the rooms in Paris and then shipped them to Atlanta. Once installed, a crew of painters followed to do the finishing touches. The Parisian firm Atelier Meriguet-Carrere custom created the finishes throughout the townhouse.

18TH-CENTURY FRENCH DESIGN INSPIRATION

French Design in the Grand Salon

The grand salon features white and gold Louis XV boiserie with ornamentation in the style of the period. The splendid paneling, doors, and overdoors set off the many treasures collected. A 20th century Louis XVI-style Aubusson carpet covers the floor. The designer balanced the room with a Louis XV canape across from the Louis XV-style chimneypiece. Louis XVI marble and bronze torchieres stand on either side of the large bay window. The bright candy colors give the salon fresh and youthful energy.

Brian McCarthy fine tunes every detail to perfection. He excels in many stylistic languages, and here delivers exquisite 18th-century French Design. His projects often include extensive custom work, fine art, and period antiques as this one does. He is a designer for the super wealthy who genuinely want the very best. He delivers it!

Iron and glass doors open to the less formal entrance hall. The limestone and slate cabochon floors lead to a grand staircase that goes up four stories with a skylight at the top. A Flemish bench gathers with 18th-century French armillary spheres on custom marble pedestals flanking a large gilded mirror.

The library features carved oak boiserie modeled on an original Louis XIV room with a period Louis XIV marble mantle. A 17th-century giltwood chandelier hangs above while a rare Oushak medallion carpet covers the floor. McCarthy created the Chinoiserie bar cabinet using portions of a 17th century Coromandel screen.

Painted scenes from Aesop’s Fables decorate the paneled walls in this hall with parquet wood floors. A marble-topped Louis XV giltwood console table stands beneath a mirrored panel.

The Regency-style dining room includes Chinese lacquer and mirror panels and an Italian fresco inspired ceiling design. Intricate wood parquet covers the floor while a Louis XIV rock crystal chandelier illuminates the exotic space. Custom dining chairs modeled on a Louis XV side chair include embroidered backs inspired by the panel designs. McCarthy consulted with a French maker of haute couture applique and embroidery for the chairs and curtains.

The owners wanted a functioning kitchen that fit in with the grandeur in the rest of the house. Feau & Cie created the Louis XIV-style cabinetry paired with parquet wood floors and marble counter-tops.

The designer furnished the master bedroom with mostly Regence and Louis XV pieces. A carved and gilded Louis XVI-style bed anchors the space. Across the room, a Regence console table stands beneath a framed 18th-century textile that conceals a television. Couture-worthy embroidered draperies trimmed with passementerie frame the full height French doors. A 17th-century chandelier sparkles above.

The designer finished the master bedroom sitting room in more of a Neoclassical style with Directoire green boiserie.

The walls of the wife’s Louis XVI style bathroom are painted using a polychrome technique to resemble porcelain. Calacatta gold marble covers the floors and surface tops. The large windows wash the room with natural light.

The husbands Louis XIV style bath has a heavier mood. A 17th-century Indian carpet covers the parquet wood floors. The room includes a collection of 17th and 18th-century pieces.