Mallory's Concept Board

This room will make household chores a treat rather than a drag. It's Mallory Mathison's chic take on a laundry room. We shouldn't be surprised, the Atlanta-based designer-to-watch and Domino 10 member has always been inspired by that other Southerner known for cozy glamour, Miles Redd.

If you plan to be in Atlanta in November, you will be able to see the room finished and decked out for the holidays. Mallory is currently hard at work on the laundry area, plus home office, to be unveiled as part of the 2008 Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Christmas House. The showhouse is a grand tradition here. It benefits the Alliance Children's Theatre and has been an annual happening for 34 years.

For now, Mallory is generously sharing a sneak peek. I've tried to post these images so that you can enlarge them and read the fun notes. But I will point out a few highlights: The color scheme is composed of soft yellows and charcoal with clear red accents. A small hit of animal-print adds drama (Scalamandre's "Tigre" silk- velvet, one of their oldest and most classic fabrics). Couture details come in with luxe trim for the window shades and red-monogrammed custom-made garment bags. And don't miss the red chinoiserie chandelier.

I think for a laundry room on a more modest scale, some elements to steal and reinterpret would be a Roman shade with grosgrain trim, some sort of great red light fixture, and pretty garment bags. But of course the whole point of a showhouse is to stretch the imagination. Everyone will take away her own ideas.

Closer to the event, I'll post reminders about Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Christmas House. Details about the other designers involved (big names) are on the magazine's site. If you want to mark your calendar the dates are Saturday, November 15 through Sunday, December 7. Location, 1620 Mt. Paran Road.