NED AND CATHY AUSTIN could never quite find the perfect home for their family of four. When their search commenced in 2006, it felt like every home they toured was dark, dated, and lacked character.
Having grown up in Myers Park, Ned was “spoiled with the large, towering oaks,” according to Cathy, so any home lacking an ample tree canopy was off the list. The couple had just about given up their search when a neighbor mentioned a home about to hit the market, located on a quiet cul-de-sac in Barclay Downs. At her urging, they went to see it. Despite its stuck-in-the-eighties aesthetic—“It looked like it was straight out of an eighties Ralph Lauren ad,” laughs designer Cathy Austin—the couple fell in love with the home’s solid bones and picturesque, tree-filled yard. “The proportion, the scale, everything about the home’s foundation was fantastic,” she says.
After a few cosmetic updates, Austin’s wheels began to turn with ideas on how to install just the right design scheme—one that consisted of a cozy place to gather and live daily life as a family of four coupled with Austin’s love of art and antiques. As a designer, her home became a sort of design lab over the years, where she would test out various trends and looks before employing them in her client projects. “I would say, ‘Look!
You can do this and that and it’s not the end of the world!’” she says. “When people see how well it works in my own home and I’m not afraid to try it, they oftentimes get on board.”
As a designer, Austin’s calling card is that she doesn’t have one. In fact, her aesthetic is chameleon, pulling design details from traditional to modern and blending them seamlessly into one carefully curated style. Her personal home is no different—a collection of traditional and contemporary artwork, antiques, and fabrics that look effortlessly elegant and sophisticated all at once.
“I believe that when designing, you should buy the best when you can and those pieces will grow with you,” she says. “The pieces that are really made well you can tweak and change as you move forward.” That approach is exactly what Austin employed in her home over the last sixteen years, cultivating collections of antiques and fine art from local and southeastern galleries like Hidell Brooks and SOCO. Pieces by Selena Beaudry, Amanda Stone Talley, and Liz Nielsen informed the color palettes and design of each room. “That’s what I like to do: start with the decorative items in the house and let those lead me to the palette,” she says, “instead of designing the room and adding the art last.”
The result is a home that fully exemplifies Austin’s style and truly makes her happy. “The pandemic has caused us to rethink our interiors and create spaces that lift our spirits and produce a sense of optimism with jubilant colors and patterns,” she says. “A home should be a haven that provides relaxation and a calming influence. I try to practice what I preach by using this as a guide post in my own home.”