The Clutter Furnishings & Interiors owner reinvents her house in The Landings using her signature maximalist style, while staying true to its architectural roots
Written by ALLISON LANE FARMER
Photography by MIKE SCHALK
“ALL A HOUSE IS, IS BRICKS AND MORTAR, and then it’s what you do to it,” says Lynn Rahn, whose name has become eponymous with interiors, home staging and her Mall Boulevard store, Clutter Furnishings & Interiors. For the uninitiated, Clutter is a vintage furniture consignment shop full of treasures and unexpected finds hand-selected by Rahn and her daughter, Brooke Chancey.
So when Rahn received a call from a real-estate agent asking her to take a look at the furniture in a new listing, it wasn’t the furniture that caught her eye, but the bricks and mortar that surrounded it. “I felt really called to this house, and I didn’t know why,” she says. “It was meant to be for us to be here. There was a pull.” Then, there was a lot of work to do.
Indeed, not one surface went untouched in the months after the designer and her husband, Jimmy, purchased the house. Unbelievably, the top-to-bottom renovation did not require moving any walls or making any changes to the existing layout. “We kept the integrity of the house,” Rahn says. “We were able to take this house and make it fresh again and not take out a wall. I don’t believe that you always have to take out a wall to make it a really memorable space.”
The home, designed by the late John Gregory & Associates, is a shining example of playful 1980s architecture — all high ceilings, varying angles and an asymmetrical roofline, oriented around a central patio. In lieu of windows, the home has sliding glass doors, blurring the lines between outside and in, filling the interior spaces with natural light.
Rahn, whose design eye has been honed after four-plus decades in the industry, bathed the walls in Benjamin Moore White Dove, a creamy off-white, and true black paint, both chosen to showcase her vast art collection.
“We have probably 200 to 300 pieces of art in this house,” she says. “I’m a gallery girl. I like walls full of art.” True to her word, Rahn’s walls are filled with everything from traditional oil portraits to post-war abstract pieces. A taxidermied Hereford bull overlooks a colorful abstract work attributed to Leibhardt in the living room (artist’s full name is unknown), while on the opposite wall, a troupe of similar taxidermied mounts hang above an antique lamp Rahn has updated with a kelly green shade.
“This house is probably my favorite because her style has evolved,” Chancey says. “She follows our golden rule: you acquire what you love.”
“This is our 14th house, and by then, you know what you like and don’t like,” Rahn asserts. Her no-fuss philosophy to design carries through to the kitchen, where she has artfully arranged emerald green subway tiles by Cemento in a geometric pattern. The result is a colorful backsplash-turned-focal point imbued in her signature hue.
“Green is my favorite color, and the house kind of speaks to green because it’s sitting on a fairway,” Rahn says.
Pops of green can be found in every room throughout the home in a smattering of applications. Two green lamps sourced by Rahn while antiquing in Atlanta stand center stage in the lady’s room, while in her primary bathroom, she’s selected a wall-spanning screen depicting a bonsai tree in a vibrant shade of green. The screen, which wouldn’t sell at Clutter, was relocated with the help of Rahn’s husband and set atop two-by-fours for stability. Along the other wall, Rahn has displayed her grandchildren’s artwork, a handwritten letter and various personal treasures, curating a space that has quickly become her favorite place to decompress and unwind. The suite is a perfect example of Rahn’s eclectic and approachable take on design. “Everything here has been collected through the years,” she says.
The real magic comes in Rahn’s ability to mix pieces from different periods and design styles.
In the bathroom, a gold midcentury Lee Reynolds piece hangs alongside two ornate gold mirrors. The juxtaposition is a theme for Rahn, who deftly and expertly toes a multitude of lines in her home. There are layers of artwork and taxidermy, yet her rooms never feel too crowded. She has a host of fine antiques, yet her home feels relaxed: a place where self-expression is encouraged.
Ensuring her home felt inviting was important to Rahn. “When somebody comes to our house, it’s cozy and it’s very welcoming,” she says. “Keep it casual,” says the designer, who outfitted the hall closet with a built-in bar. “Don’t get so caught up in it, and don’t take yourself so seriously.”
True to her word, Rahn has eschewed any “rules” for design, following only Clutter’s golden rule: acquire what you love.
“Her house is her sanctuary and she’s created that,” Chancy says.
DETAILS
- Homeowners: Lynn and Jimmy Rahn
- Neighborhood: The Landings
- Year built: 1986
- Year purchased: 2021
- Bedrooms/bathrooms: 2 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
- Square footage: 3,000
- Architect/builder: John Gregory & Associates
- Interior designer: Lynn Rahn, Clutter Furnishings & Interiors
- Kitchen countertops: MultiStone
- Furniture: Clutter Furnishings & Interiors
- Porcelain bath tile: Cemento Collection, installed by Kent Phillips
- Wood flooring: original to house
- Widows and doors: J+L Glass
- Paint: Benjamin Moore (Jeff Beamon & Associates)
- Accessories and art: Clutter Furnishings & Interiors
