Summer Thornton Design

It wasn’t long after Summer Thornton launched her own eponymous design firm, in 2007, that her bold contemporary takes on traditional decor catapulted the Chicagoan to nationwide renown. Her flair for formalizing the flamboyant is on full display in this grand pine-paneled library in a home in Atlanta’s exclusive Buckhead neighborhood. A sofa expertly outfitted in violet ultra-luxurious Loro Piana cashmere jolts the space out of any semblance of Downton Abbey–style fustiness. A pair of club chairs upholstered in a Pierre Frey red-and-plum checkerboard-pattern jacquard and a royal-blue mohair rug provide lively ballast for the brio. A sleek nine-foot-long custom Grigio Carnico–marble coffee table gives the room a modern stamp, as does an intriguing Murano glass and brass Scudi chandelier, sourced on 1stDibs. The latter is a favorite of Thornton’s because, she says, “it resembles the intricate inner workings of an old clock and adds a touch of curiosity and sophistication to the study, much in keeping with the personality of the man to whom it belongs.”