In an era of defined aesthetics, curated social media feeds, and clearly drawn flanks, it’s refreshing to peer into the home of Atlanta-based interior designer Krista Little Sharif and see aspects of contradictory styles coexist. The house of Krista, who cofounded Hayes Little Studio with Kate Hayes, has both complexity and simplicity that draw you in. “Designing my own home from the ground up was a first for me,” Krista says. “The home is ultimately a reflection of my style—whimsical and cheeky with a little edge.”
The Lake Claire neighborhood, located on the east side of Atlanta, boasts an eclectic mix of homes—from Victorian manors to Craftsman bungalows and 1950s cottages. However, Krista’s 1980s modernist abode is unlike traditional remodels, taking classic design expressions and developing an entirely new concept for today. This direction is not a revival of a modernist structure but rather a mixture of modern and traditional styles. “It was a new experience layering on and reworking some of the earlier more retro work I had done for our clients [who previously owned this house],” Krista says. “I had a ton of ideas, but we ended up running concepts by each other and tweaking until we eventually landed on this smorgasbord of a design.”
In the living room, a double-height ceiling lets natural light spill in from the windows. The white walls are contrasted by black flooring and dark accents like the popular Faye Toogood Roly Poly Chair, Noguchi Akari UF3-Q floor lamp, and a large vintage museum poster from the former Yugoslavia. In the evening, the room is transformed thanks to the HAY neon tube LED with blushing pink mood lighting. An unexpected quality is also reflected in the fun elements around the room, such as the velvety Pierre Frey table skirt, a crescent moon-shaped side table, and a brass Brite Bodies Antoine table. (Designed by Krista and Kate, Brite Bodies launched in April of last year. Having worked for a furniture designer when she first moved to Atlanta, creating her own collection of whimsical pieces was a natural evolution for Krista.) “We love creating these spaces and then being able to sprinkle them with pieces of furniture that we’ve designed ourselves,” the designer says. “It is both of our true passions.”
