Real life. Real style. Nandina Home & Design in Atlanta believes your home can have both.
The company: Nandina Home & Design is an interior design firm and retail shop with locations in Aiken, South Carolina, and Sandy Springs. The first store was established in 2006 in Aiken by Jim and Susan Victor and Sue Shannon. The second store opened in 2010 in Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood but recently relocated to Sandy Springs.
Owner & designers: John Ishmael joined Nandina in 2010 as a part owner in the Atlanta location. Ishmael, who grew up in Kentucky and graduated from Georgia Tech, has spent more than two decades in the design industry.
Jessie LaFalce joined the Nandina design team in 2016 as design director. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in interior design and spent the past 25 years working in various design projects, ranging from managing design construction projects to running her own interior design school.
The store: Offers an edited collection of furniture, lighting, accessories, rugs and original art. Vignettes in the store help shoppers visualize how fabric, furniture and carefully placed accessories work together.
People would be surprised to learn: Nandina publishes "N Home," its lifestyle magazine, twice a year. The publication offers color trends, before and after projects and entertaining tips. For a free subscription, visit nandinahome.com and sign up.
Popular gifts: Nest candles ($40 to $75); coffee table books ($35 to $175); bar accessories and home bar carts and cabinets ($40 to $3,500); custom pillows ($100 to $250) made in the company's workroom; and jewelry ($150 to $350), some by Atlanta jewelry artist Mark Edge.
Favorites
- Blogs or websites: StyleBlueprint; RestyleSource; and Ace of Space.
- Instagram: Parker Kennedy Living; Melanie Turner Interiors; James Farmer; and Mecox Gardens.
- Atlanta area home/design stores (other than our own): Huff Harrington Home; Dixon Rye; and Boxwoods Gardens & Gifts.
- Places unexpected finds: 1stdibs.com and Chairish.com. In Atlanta, Scott Antique Market and Gramma B's home and garden shop in Sandy Springs.
- Movie or TV interiors: The New York apartment in the rebooted series "Will & Grace."
Design pet peeves: Following design rules too closely, such as "metals need to match" and jumping onto design trends versus choosing a style or colors you love.
Current design obsession(s): Mixing materials like acrylic and metal, or marble and wood. Using bold patterns in unexpected places like on a sofa or wallpaper on a ceiling.
New (or re-emerging) looks/colors we like: Wallpaper; Deep greens, like hunter and forest, especially in velvet; and smaller-scale rooms and more intimate areas in the home. Also a return to craftsmanship in architecture, finishes and furnishings.
… and looks we are glad to see go: Monochromatic, one-dimensional rooms.
Most unusual request: Design a small boutique-type hotel in South Carolina that had studio living spaces connected to private stalls and turnouts for the client's horses. The equestrian center and its accommodations are popular with horse owners in the area.
Up next: Starting a "Design 101" lunch-and-learn series once a quarter.
Find Nandina at:
- Website: nandinahome.com
- Facebook: NandinaHome
- Instagram: @nandinahome
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