Melanie Millner creates infinitely beautiful, Spanish-style mansions in Georgia

“My clients have been very interesting,” says Melanie Millner from The Design Atelier, which has offices in Atlanta and Maine.

"This is a semi-retired real estate developer with connections in Telluride and collections of furniture and rugs from the American West, and his wife is Finnish," a legacy that the designer learned about through woodworking inspired by fabrics and lace from Finland.

When guests arrive at the 65-acre horse farm, they pass by an old barn and a bridge to the parking lot. The entrance features stone masonry, which Millner describes as "artistry" - it attracted masons from Highlands, North Carolina, to complete the work. A specially designed lantern is a replica of an antique item, as no one wanted to take the risk of using the old wiring.

The homeowners were "very attentive to detail - they wanted only the best," says Millner, explaining why it was almost a three-year design project. (This does not include the years of construction with various architects and builders.) "Every square inch was carefully considered in terms of quality and craftsmanship," she says. At the same time, "they wanted it to feel like an old village that has always been here."

To achieve this, the designer went the extra mile by importing old limestone floors from a chateau in France. The main challenge for Millner was working with the existing family furniture in a house with completely different dimensions - in another part of the country.

Their solution to the problem of ecumenical influence was to integrate items from Colorado and accents inspired by Finland, along with a lot of individual work. "This is what made the project both challenging and rewarding," she says.