Mandy Cheng is unapologetic about her affection for color.

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“There was a time when it was all about white homes, white walls, and white furniture, so I'm really happy to have moved away from that,” laughs the Expert and three-time AD100 designer.

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While immersive palettes underpin her work, Mandy’s approach is so tailored to a client’s tastes and centered around each property that her projects bear little in the way of distinctive trademarks. The LA-based talent puts this down to her early professional years in production and graphic design, when she worked on music videos and artworks for the likes of Rihanna and Beyoncé: “I’m not of the mindset of injecting the same thing over and over into a room. In film, you go into a space and have to adapt it to whatever the creative vision is.”

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In this grand, postcard-worthy house in Atlanta, GA, the clients wanted the property to feel fun and approachable (there are three kids and two dogs in the mix) while still exuding sophistication. Bought sight unseen while the owners were living in Asia, they told Mandy they were undaunted by pattern and wallpaper, giving her carte blanche to inject the home with personality and bold statements.

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On the ground floor, Mandy gravitated towards natural, earthy tones. She daubed the family room in a calming sky blue and chose a hemp grasscloth for the formal living room. Rich in texture, the latter even graces the ceiling: “The rooms are tall, so it gives it a cozy factor and makes you feel fully enveloped,” she says. The sofas continue the sense of warmth, with the same model covered in complementary tones of amberjack and cognac.

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Refreshing the existing built-ins was a way of honoring the young family’s affinity with contemporary design amid the classical setting. In the family room, she swapped out a pair of traditional shelving units for a more linear style in stained white oak. Whenever budget allows, custom millwork is Mandy’s wheelhouse: “It can add such value to a home. It’s a luxury, but it can be so impactful in its permanence.”

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Continuing the theme of weaving in the new amongst the old, Mandy found that using modern lighting fixtures alongside vintage rugs straddled a covetable balance. She applied this formula in the kitchen (which she updated with Benjamin Moore’s Simply White on the existing cabinetry, and sage-green tiles for the splashback). Lawson-Fenning’s Cruz Counter Stools around the island topped with sleek brass pendants pulled it back into her world.

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It was over a decade ago that Mandy, frustrated by the ephemeral nature of production design, switched her skill set to interiors. The task of creating enduring and memorable spaces is one she relishes; the guest bedroom in this home, wrapped in an enchanting, persimmon-print grasscloth, is one which visitors recall long after their stay. Decorating the kids' rooms also proved a hoot: the couple’s eldest daughter had her wish for a blue study granted with a tonal display (her adjoining bedroom meanwhile, is pink, her other favorite color). And down the hall, her little brother falls asleep surrounded by the rhythmic repeat of myriad motors.

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But the most decadent fun was had with the creation of a sexy poker room in the basement. Formerly used as a tasting area adjacent to the wine cellar, Mandy embraced the lack of natural light with a dark wallpaper by British specialist Fromental. Bees exquisitely hand painted using a traditional cloisonné technique catch the light from the glow of the wall sconces no matter the hour.

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