Since 2019, House Beautiful’s annual Whole Home project has highlighted some of the best emerging design talent and trends, inspiring a wave of new paint, styling, layout, and organization ideas. In honor of our latest 2026 show house debuting in Charleston, South Carolina, we’re revisiting our archives with a predecessor to today’s Whole Home—the “House of the ‘90s.”
While the 1990s are known for the emergence of mainstream minimalism, à la Calvin Klein and John Pawson, the editors of House Beautiful at the time understood how much the American homeowner really wanted to embrace these trends. Their 1991 show house overlooking the Chattahoochee River in Georgia was a distinctive blend of relaxed traditionalism, family-friendly whimsy, and suburban charm. The whole house is cast in warm, golden neutrals, with flexible seating areas everywhere. Antiques blend in with comfy upholstery (coated in Scotchgard) and beachy white wicker. It’s a home you can really imagine living in.
Read the original story, which ran in our February 1991 issue, and tour the full House of the ‘90s space below.
Story by Mervyn Kaufman, Dara Caponigro, and Susan Zevon
House Beautiful has been talking for almost two years about how we Americans want to live in the ’90s, spelling it out in numerous articles. Finally, we decided to nail our philosophy down literally with boards and shingles, windows and doors. So, with the help of the American Wood Council, this sunny house was built on the banks of a placid river in Georgia, and everything we have been reporting to you was put into it. Our architect was Melanie Taylor of New Haven, Connecticut. Working closely with her were Atlanta interior designer Nancy Braithwaite and the builder, John Wieland Homes.
When HB first began to study what people wanted from their houses in the ’90s, our sources in the design world said, "old-fashioned touches like porches and columns, wedded to contemporary, bright, airy interiors.” They said a home should be “both a refuge and a new frontier... a sheltering, nurturing family center.” They talked about comfort, pared-down traditional styling, classic country details, little hideaway places, romantic bedrooms, pampering baths, big family kitchens.
We said yes to the whole wish list for our House of the ’90s, and you can buy plans to build one of your own.
Living & Dining Rooms
“The decorating respects the architecture,” says interior designer Nancy Braithwaite. The house has a lighthearted spirit, and in the living room particularly, the accent is on comfort. The beadboard ceiling crisscrossed with rafters is painted off-white, appropriate for an informal space in which sisal carpeting and wicker pieces from McGuire set an easygoing mood.
For the windows, Braithwaite shirred upholstery fabric on a rod, and each room was given a surprise element here. An antique beechwood and shell screen enhanced with a checkerboard of blue art paper. The armoire entertainment center holds a TV and stereo. This is not a room just for guests but for the whole family.
Primary Bedroom and Bathroom
The ceiling of the main bedroom echoes the unusual roofline. The walls’ tent-like stripe, hand-painted by Linda Ridings, was designed by Braithwaite for visual impact. The furniture is a casual mix aimed at everyday comfort. The white damask upholstery is also used for the bed hangings whose borders repeat the linen that makes up the duvet. The same linen print reappears as bands on the Roman shades. Adding to the luxury of the room is a narrow balcony looking out on the Chattahoochee River, “almost like a treehouse," says architect Melanie Taylor.
The main bath is a sumptuous spa under a series of arches, one of which frames the window-wrapped whirlpool tub. It is a space two people can use comfortably, with room for a steam shower. The bath is as airy as the bedroom, creating a kind of three-exposure breezeway in which air will circulate well, even in the hot Atlanta summers.
Kitchen and Breakfast Room
“People nowadays want warmer, more nurturing environments that support the way they really live,” says architect Taylor. “This house provides a balance between reassuringly traditional values and the demands of contemporary living. At the same time it fulfills our yearning for the new and the surprising.”
House of the ’90s gives major consideration to the needs of the family, and every member is given equal consideration. There are spaces—the living and dining rooms, breakfast room, and kitchen—in which the family comes together. There are private spaces—the conservatory, “secret room,” octagon room and the bedrooms—where it is possible to find solitude or a private conversation or to study, read, relax or do desk work.
“The key to this design is flexibility,” says designer Braithwaite. Each room has a distinct personality, but all spaces flow together, relating to each other and to the total design. “In the ’90s, we have no need for unused rooms,” she adds. “Most rooms in this house can have more than one function and can adapt to a family's changing needs and living patterns. The architecture is strong throughout; the decorating is comfortable and just a little on the playful side.”
Kids’ Rooms and Secret Spaces
