When it comes to design, Courtney Giles Decker thinks about classic, comfortable and well-edited spaces.
Designer & background: An Alabama native, Decker graduated from Auburn University in 1999 with a degree in interior design. After an internship with Image Design in Atlanta, Decker knew she wanted to focus on residential design. She worked for Susan B. Bozeman Designs part time until she landed a full-time position with Carter Kay Interiors, where she worked for eight years before starting her own firm.
The company: Courtney Giles Interiors was founded in 2008 in Atlanta.
Big break: Having her own townhouse featured on the cover of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine in 2007.
Claim to Fame: Being named one of the "Next Wave" of American designers by House Beautiful magazine.
Awards: A 2018 Kitchen of the Year winner and a 2016 Bath of the Year winner by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles magazine.
Every room needs: At least one antique.
Design pet peeves: Dark linens.
Current obsessions: Wallpaper.
New (or re-emerging) design I like: Hand-printed wallpapers.
… and designs I would like to see less of: The industrial look and too much of the color grey.
Most unusual request: Furnish a man cave in Brookhaven from top to bottom in five days.
Biggest design mistake I have made: Having a rug made that was too big for the room. Luckily it was sisal and could be cut down to size.
… and mistake(s) homeowners make: Buying the wrong scale furniture (either too big or too little) for a space and keeping hand-me-down furniture out of emotional attachment or obligation. Sometimes it should just go away.
Favorites
- Blog: La Dolce Vita.
- Instagram: Bunny Williams Home; Lindroth Design; WB Litchfield Designs; and C. Brandon Ingram Design.
- Atlanta-area stores/showrooms: Bungalow Classic; Parc Monceau; and Max & Company/Mrs. Howard.com. Also showrooms at ADAC: Schumacher; Travis and Company; Ainsworth-Noah; Jerry Pair; and Holland + Macrae.
- Places for unexpected finds: In Atlanta, at Nicholson Gallery and Scott Antique Market.
- Up next: Furnishing a condo in the Charles high-rise in Buckhead and renovating the kitchen and baths in her house.
Find Courtney Giles Interiors at:
- Website: CourtneyGiles.com
- Instagram: Courtney Giles Interiors
EVENT PREVIEW
Southeastern Designer Showhouse & Gardens
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursdays-Saturdays, and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Through May 13. $35. southeasternshowhouse.com.
