Interior designer Jade Joyner knew she wanted her Athens, Georgia, home before she had even seen all of it.
The previous homeowners hired Joyner to help design their next residence as they prepared to downsize. But when Joyner arrived at their 45-year-old home in Athens, Georgia, she said she felt an immediate connection to the property.
Knowing the owners eventually planned to sell, Joyner and her family waited for the right moment to ask whether they might be considered.
“It was sold to us off-market with a handshake deal,” Joyner said. “We had to make an offer on it before we even got a full tour.”
Joyner, the co-founder and principal designer of Metal + Petal, said she was drawn to the house in part because it already had a strong architectural identity. Rather than dramatically changing it, she set out to preserve its character while adapting it for the way her family lives.
Last year, they added a second home for Joyner’s mother, turning a longtime family goal into reality.
“We always wanted to have a family compound, especially after my father passed,” Joyner said. “There is something really special about being close enough to be together, but still having your own worlds.”
Working with the architecture
Joyner describes the home’s style as “European contemporary,” combining traditional architectural elements and old-world references with cleaner lines and contemporary furnishings.
Her background informed that approach, she said. Joyner and her family spent years living in Europe, and she said she has long been drawn to homes with history and character.
The house had also been well cared for by its previous owners, Joyner said, allowing her to focus on editing rather than rebuilding.
The first round of changes involved pulling back several decorative layers. Joyner said they removed carpeting, replaced light fixtures and took down shutters and heavy drapery. They renovated the powder rooms and painted or wallpapered nearly every room.
Outside, Joyner said they removed more than 300 dead or unhealthy trees and reworked the landscape, uncovering plantings that had been hidden or neglected over time. The family also repainted the exterior. The goal, Joyner said, was to bring new life to the property without erasing what initially drew her to it.
A mix of old and new
Inside, Joyner has built on the home’s traditional framework with a mix of contemporary furniture, antiques, vintage finds and pieces collected over years of travel.
“As a designer, I am always collecting, and I believe in layers as much as I believe in the power of editing a space,” Joyner said.
When the family first moved in, they purchased new furnishings from companies including Highland House, Arteriors, Made Goods and Noir. Joyner also brought in pieces from her design warehouse, including accent chairs found in Paris and a sideboard she had owned since living in Budapest.
She and her family continue to collect while traveling and regularly shop vintage stores and markets, she said.
“I like the juxtaposition and the mix of old and new, contemporary and classic,” Joyner said. “We are always collecting.”
That layered approach is also rooted in her family history. Joyner said she grew up with a mother who designed furniture, and their home was constantly changing. The experience shaped her belief that an interior can evolve over time rather than appearing finished all at once.
Her own home has become a place where she can test that philosophy in real time. Joyner said she regularly restyles rooms, moves furniture and experiments with new ideas before trying them in client projects.
Rooms that change with the seasons
Joyner said she has several favorite spaces, each with a distinct role in the family’s daily life.
Her solarium serves as her home office and personal retreat. Filled with natural light and finished with terracotta tile floors, the room overlooks the backyard and provides a quieter counterpoint to the home’s larger gathering spaces.
Her husband’s study, tucked away and trimmed in walnut cabinetry, has a more enclosed and intimate feel, she said.
The library is one of two living rooms and becomes a gathering place during the fall and winter. Joyner said the room is among the most distinctive spaces in the house and reflects the balance she sought throughout the interiors: traditional architectural elements paired with a more current approach to furnishing.
In the formal living room, Joyner kept the palette softer and fresher so the space could change with the seasons. The room becomes a setting for holidays and celebrations, but she said she did not want it to feel overly precious or separate from everyday life.
“Nothing in our home feels precious or delicate,” Joyner said. “That’s how I design for clients as well.”
A house designed for gathering
The main house has become a natural gathering place for Joyner’s family, she said. Her daughters often come home to stay despite having apartments of their own, and the property regularly hosts dinners, celebrations and family time.
“This is the house no one wants to leave,” Joyner said. “It’s where our daughters come to stay, even though they have their own apartments, where our family loves to gather. It’s the backdrop of our lives.”
That sense of use is central to Joyner’s idea of home. She said she wants the rooms to accommodate both entertaining and ordinary routines, whether that means lighting candles, opening a bottle of wine or spending a long spring evening on the veranda.
“Home is where I get to be an artist,” Joyner said. “It’s personal, and a little imperfect.”
Joyner said the property also allows her to bring together the two sides of her work: an appreciation for traditional architecture and a preference for interiors that feel current, flexible and personal.
Her approach has informed more than 25 years of work in interior design and nearly a decade with Metal + Petal, which has offices in Athens and Charleston, South Carolina. The firm will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall, Joyner said.
She is also preparing to release her first coffee table book, “The Modern Traditionalist,” in spring 2027. Joyner said the book revisits projects that have shaped her career, including residential and commercial interiors, sorority houses and her own home.
She wrote the manuscript by hand before it made its way to print, she said, and sees the book as an opportunity to share the ideas behind her work as well as practical inspiration for readers.
But Joyner said her Athens home remains the most personal example of that philosophy. It is where she can continually revisit rooms, experiment with new arrangements and live alongside the objects she has collected over time.
For all of its scale and architectural detail, Joyner said the house is ultimately defined by what happens inside it.
“Home is where I come back to me, to us, to what matters most,” Joyner said. “It’s a museum of the things I love and holds the souls I love most.”
