In her sophisticated yet livable spaces, award-winning designer Donna Grace McAlear draws on her experience as a museum curator and art expert.
Designer & background: Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew up in various parts of Canada. She earned an undergraduate degree in fine arts, a master's degree in visual art (contemporary fine art) in Canada and a doctorate in cultural policy in Australia. McAlear worked for 20 years in art museums in Canada, Australia and the United States in various key positions before starting her design firm.
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The company: New Mood Design was founded in 2004 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a part-time venture while McAlear was still working in art museums. In 2009, after relocating to Atlanta from Toronto, she went full time with her design firm.
First design job: Selecting new paint colors for the exterior and interior of a 4,500-square-foot home and furnishing the entire home for a couple with four young children in Baton Rouge in 2004.
Big break: Hired in 2009 for a turn-key design of an architect-designed, new construction ski home in Breckenridge, Colorado. The client wanted a minimally furnished modern home, both functional and elegant, for family weekend ski retreats. The home was dubbed the "Peak 8 Penthouse." Atlanta Modern Luxury magazine published the ski home in 2011. Kitchen TRENDS magazine published the project in 2012 and selected New Mood Design as a designer of a "Trends Top 50 American Kitchen 2012-2013."
Claim to fame: Named one of eight designers and architects featured in Heat & Glo's 2016-17 "Designers on Fire" North American media campaign
Design pet peeve: Cluttered, over-crowded spaces.
Current design obsession(s): Surfaces: textiles to tiles.
New (or re-emerging) designs she likes: Wallpaper, in an amazing variety of modern materials, patterns and textures. Also that modern and contemporary design is a growing trend in the Atlanta area.
Most unusual request: The "Peak 8 Penthouse" client required that all the fixed lighting in the home not impede panoramic mountain views from the large windows on the upper two levels.
Biggest design mistake she has made: Partially renovated her own kitchen last year. In retrospect, she should have fully renovated it, saving time, disruption and costs over the long term.
… and biggest (or common) mistake homeowners make: Cramming too much into a room. Empty space is an essential design element.
Favorites
- Blogs or websites: Design Milk; Dezeen; Dwell; and The Cool Hunter.
- Instagram: Martyn Lawrence Bullard; Holly Hunt Design; The Hardt; and Bjork Studio.
- Atlanta area home/design stores: HA Modern; Illuminations Lighting; Specialty Tile; Switch Modern; Ligne Roset; Roche Bobois; and Alan Avery Art Company.
- Recent projects: Modern, artistic kitchen and powder room remodel in Roswell; a Buckhead loft remodel, including design of a new cocktail bar, surface renovations (floor stain and wallpaper), new furnishings, artwork and lighting. Also new furnishings, lighting, art and accessories for an entire home in Ansley Park.
- What's next: Interior design of an architect-designed home addition in Grant Park, including the bathroom, dining room built-ins and interior stair designs. Also furnishings, lighting, art and accessories for an entertainment space in a Johns Creek home.
Find New Mood Design and Donna McAlear at:
- Website: NewMoodDesign.com
- Facebook: NewMoodDesign
- Instagram: newmooddesign
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