This Tiny Atlanta Cottage Is Home to a Family of Six

An art gallery owner, a landscape designer and their blended family call this charming vintage bungalow home. See how they fill the space with clever design details, contemporary art and French flair and prove you don't have to have a grand space to exhibit great style.

By: Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

This Family of Six Shares a Tiny Bungalow

Atlanta photography gallery owner Anna Walker Skillman and landscape designer Thibaut Devillard have a blended family of six (plus dog and cats) but make their tiny bungalow in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur work for them by keeping their design clean and elegant and using white walls to highlight Anna's impressive photography collection. Though the couple do maintain separate residences in Atlanta, they are often all together in their Decatur home. Read on for her tips on bringing style and personality to a small 1,367-square-foot space.

French Flair and Boho Comfort Define This Charming Atlanta Home

It's clear a love of all things vintage and the luxe details that make French homes feel both elegant and lived-in are key components of husband and wife creatives Anna Walker Skillman and Thibaut Devillard's cozy Decatur home. Thibaut is a talented French-born landscape designer whose designs tend toward the restrained and monochromatic but decidedly timeless. And Anna is a regular at Paris Photo where she makes connections and represents the blue-chip photographers on view at her Buckhead gallery, Jackson Fine Art.

The Pleasing Contrast of Modern and Vintage

A lacquered white, open kitchen (the cabinets were sourced from a big box store to keep costs low) keeps things sleek and cool and provides a nice contrast to the vintage lines of this 1948 bungalow. To help with the kitchen's flow, a wall was removed between the kitchen and former dining area, which really opened up the space. The family's home on a quiet, charming street is one of the last in the area to be renovated, but Anna has held onto the home's simple lines and its prime location on a street filled with children who can walk to and from school.

Ways to Make a Small Kitchen Function Better

There is no such thing as too many cooks in this expansive open-plan kitchen that is conducive to food prep and conversation with a round dining table built into the whole scheme.

A Sumptuous, Romantic Vibe

Though Anna admits that her dog Charlie Brown and cats Chubs and Tunes take a toll on her Mitchell Gold sofa, she wouldn't have it any other way and casually hides any inconvenient pet snafus with pretty, cozy throws. A large gold framed mirror lends gravitas to the small living room and enlarges the space, casting light around. Gold touches throughout work beautifully with the peacock-colored couch and Anna's proverbial vase of fresh flowers to lend another romantic touch. "I just love roses," says Anna, who has been buying herself roses every week since she was in her 20s in the ultimate gesture of self-care. Her grandmother Eleanor had a rose garden, which may have inspired her love of the flowers. Friend and interior designer Jayme Armour helped Anna achieve the look she wanted in her home.

A Beautifully Curated Bookshelf

Anna's photography and art collection focuses on the female figure. Here she has arranged some of her lovely small oil paintings alongside collectibles in a harmonious color scheme of blues and neutrals to give this arrangement a cohesive look.

Clever Ways to Display Photography

The female image (as in this large Mona Kuhn image above the fireplace) in photographs, whether displayed in vintage or gallery-white frames or housed in brass curio boxes, is featured throughout Anna and Thibaut's home.

Gold and White Create a Continuous Color Story

A glossy enamel sideboard in the kitchen is stacked with white platters and casseroles in a home that takes advantage of the clean, open virtues of white walls and furniture to provide a lovely backdrop for brass fixtures and lots of contemporary photography. Anna had the wood floors throughout the home painted black, which she admits comes with maintenance issues (her robot vacuum stays very busy). But the look is contemporary and sleek and mimics the style of her Buckhead photography gallery Jackson Fine Art.

A Childrens' Bedroom That Marries Cottagecore and Gallery Chic

The bedroom shared by the family's two youngest children Guillaume Charlotte and Thibaut doesn't dumb things down just because children are involved. The sophisticated light fixture and contemporary artwork raise the bar for families who think only superheroes and princess pink belong in kids' bedrooms. Anna takes a cue from her gallery aesthetic by keeping the walls pared down in classic white. Another mirror to expand the space and charming vintage-style quilts lend character to the room.

The Delightfully Organized Chaos of a Childrens' Bedroom

Childrens' books and toys are kept (relatively) in check on simple white shelves and displayed alongside contemporary photography.

A Raised Bed Offers Extra Storage

Anna's oldest daughter Ruby sleeps in a former porch converted to a bedroom where her dual purpose bed offers plenty of room for storage beneath in a tight space.

Blue Sky Suggested in This Bedroom Ceiling

A haint blue ceiling brings indoors the color that decorates many Southern porches. The limited closet space that often comes with older homes is addressed with hanging shelves in Anna's second oldest daughter Stella's bedroom. A lacquered white desk continues a theme seen throughout the home.

The Absence of Window Coverings Lets the Light Flow In

In the main bedroom, the lack of window coverings (as well as an everpresent mirror) makes the space feel more expansive. Anna's grandmother was a talented portrait painter and many of her works, like this one, have pride of place in the home.

A Clothes Closet And Candle and Book Stash

Anna is a dedicated dress wearer all year long and rotates out her dresses according to the season. The closet in her main bedroom also houses favorite obsessions: deliciously scented candles and contemporary fiction, making for a one-stop shop.