Modern-Vintage Interiors Inspiration From Elizabeth Ingram
Atlanta-based interior designer Elizabeth Ingram shares her insight on balancing a vintage sensibility with a modern style, whether it’s a trendy new restaurant or a luxury home
Atlanta-based interior designer Elizabeth Ingram shares her insight on balancing a vintage sensibility with a modern style, whether it’s a trendy new restaurant or a luxury home
Expertly mixing vintage finds with her own line of artisanal furnishings, Elizabeth Ingram’s interior design style is glamourous, unique, and timeless. Perhaps best-known for her high-profile restaurant projects—such as State of Grace in Houston, Texas, and the recently opened Golden Eagle in Atlanta—her residential interiors deserve just as much attention.
Commercial projects tend to be more dramatic, like theater set design, while residential projects tend to be “quieter.” I’ve done some pretty elaborate residences, too, but residences to me are safe havens, and so typically have fewer grand gestures.
I always ask residential clients whether they collect anything noteworthy. Unlike the public spaces I have worked on, I see residential projects as a way to tell the client’s story. It’s my hope that each home is as unique as the client.
After studying fine arts and art history at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, I realized that interior design was a form of installation art and place making, so it seemed like a natural progression.
I see residential projects as a way to tell the client’s story
How would you describe your design style?
The spaces I create are often described as both masculine yet feminine, which I hope strikes a nice balance. I think it’s important for public spaces to be approachable. Although I’m not comfortable with saying I work in one genre, I would say there is often a vintage element incorporated into my design. Sometimes these pieces can be made even more interesting by clashing styles and materials. I like to add visual and tactile texture to pieces.
This was born out of some great relationships forged while doing custom work for commercial and residential projects. I work with a private label upholstery person in Los Angeles, as well as a couple of metal and wood workshops in Atlanta, and a glass blower, who is also based in Atlanta.
I can provide designers with pieces that work in a variety of spaces and for different clients
Where do you seek inspiration day to day?
Honestly, the saying “there is nothing new under the sun” is very truthful to me. I take inspiration from all aspects, genres, and types of art and design, mostly historical, and then I try to twist it a bit. Also, as a paddle boarder, any time on the water “feeds my head,” as it were.
I have my secret sources which I cannot divulge. But in a general sense, I have found some great things on 1stdibs, at BoBo Intriguing Objects in Atlanta, and at the Round Top antiques fair in Texas.
I travel a lot, and if I can, I go to the source for inspiration. Other than that, films are a great inspiration, and I also have a fairly extensive library of reference books.