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Interior designer and fine artist Melissa Frederiksen took on one of the most daunting projects of her career two years ago when she agreed to a comprehensive remodel of an 8,000-square-foot home in Green Hills. The traditional home was built in 1989, but the current owner wanted to turn it into a modern space where he could entertain.
Fortunately, Frederiksen was trained primarily by architects. Growing up, her dad owned a construction business, and she went on to study interior design at Wayne State University in Detroit. Later, she spent two years living in an elite artist studio complex where she honed her skills not only in design and architecture but also painting and sculpture. Her diverse résumé and hands-on technique were the perfect combination for the extensive Green Hills remodel.
With no formal blueprints, the project took on a life of its own.
'I work on [homes] the way I work on my artwork. I start and then kind of react,” Frederiksen explains. 'It's like chess. You make a move and then you react, and then you build from this color or that shape.”
Although the original floor plan was kept intact, literally everything else, from floor to ceiling, was overhauled. The futuristic interior was inspired by the Industrial Revolution of the 1930s and 1950s, heavily reflected in the mid-century Saarinen tables and Lucia chairs. Most of the furniture was purchased either online or on buying trips to Atlanta and Miami. Tile used extensively throughout the house came from Mission Stone & Tile. Stark white engulfs everything from the walls to the furniture to the ceiling. Black accents and selective pops of color in paintings or pillows contrast the cool palette. The open, circular pattern of the layout, especially downstairs, makes it functional for entertaining but also gives the area a sense of dynamic motion. Sharp lines, hard materials and severe color transform the rooms into another world, complete with large canvas artwork inspired by Tim Burton and painted by Frederiksen herself.
'It's fantasy land, but it's still functional. I wanted to make sure it was one seamless space,” Frederiksen says. 'I want to create spaces that, yes, they make you feel at home, make you feel peaceful, but I want spaces that transport you some place else.”
Melissa Frederiksen, recipient of Houzz's 2013 'Best of Houzz” Award, specializes in space planning, home staging, interior architecture, furniture design, material specification, color and furniture selection and custom artwork. For more information, go to atmosphere360studio.com.
Resources
Glass shower doors: Green Hills Glass 615‑746‑4528 Hardwoord flooring, custom rugs, tile: Floorz of Franklin; floorz.info Black & white textured bathroom tile/purple bath tile: Mission Stone & Tile; missionstonetile.com Interior work: T.H.E. Construction; heconstruction.net Painting: A-Team Painting 615-419-7968 Drywall: Hoover Drywall 615-589-6625