how an Israeli designer created a dream home in Atlanta

More than a decade ago, the brother of interior designer Sharon Bareket moved with his family to the United States for work. They began their new life in a company-provided home, later rented their first house and asked Bareket to design it for them.

Since then, through several moves—from rentals to finally purchasing a home of their own—Bareket has been part of every design decision and furniture purchase.

“For the first and third moves, we made huge purchases both online and in stores,” Bareket recalls. “When I visited, we scoured local markets and secondhand shops together, ordered items off Craigslist—a popular resale site in the U.S.—and collected all kinds of unique finds. Over time, that became a large collection of furniture and accessories that’s followed them through every move. We relied on it again for the latest house, which they bought in Atlanta about two years ago.”

This latest project began shortly after the war broke out, Bareket says, “and I didn’t feel comfortable traveling so far from Israel. So I did everything—literally everything—remotely.”

Her brother and sister-in-law photographed and filmed the house at different times of day so she could assess its lighting. They showed her paint samples up close and from afar, indoors and outdoors.

“We even scheduled ‘joint shopping trips,’ where they walked around stores filming live video while I watched the screen from home, asking them to zoom in on specific items. That’s how we managed the whole project. When the house was finally ready—only recently—I flew over to see it in person. The process took longer, but thankfully, there were no major mistakes. The only issue was in one room where the wall color turned out too light, which I actually noticed in the photos before I even arrived.”

The 300-square-meter home sits on a 600-square-meter lot. The entrance opens to a wide hallway with a wooden bench beneath a round mirror. A bit farther in hangs a large fashion photograph taken by Bareket herself, who spent 25 years as a fashion and art photographer before moving into interior design. Beyond it, a door leads to the guest room, where some walls are painted deep green and others covered in a dramatic fantasy-themed wallpaper.

To the left of the entrance is a home office, furnished with a mix of existing and new items—a desk and drawers from the previous house, cushions once used in the living room and a new rug and sofa purchased online. The room’s focal point is a bold, colorful wallpaper.

“I hesitated at first,” Bareket admits. “It’s playful and inspiring—great for a creative workspace—but it’s also very striking. So I only applied it to the upper half of the wall and painted the lower part a deep blue for balance. I was a bit nervous when I saw the photos, but once I arrived, I fell in love. It came out stunning.”

The main open-plan living area required the most planning. “The house didn’t need renovations—it was beautiful and in great condition,” she says. “But the main space was large and needed careful zoning to feel intimate. We wanted to reuse as much of the family’s existing furniture as possible and make it work for the new space.”

The living room is divided into three areas. The central section faces a fireplace, furnished entirely with pieces from their previous home. To the left, Bareket added a small sitting nook anchored by a mustard-brown sofa that once stood in the old home office. “They thought it was unnecessary—that no one would use it—but it became everyone’s favorite corner,” she laughs.

On the other side of the room is the dining area, next to a kitchen that needed only minor updates. “We installed open shelves on both sides of the window and bought new bar stools,” Bareket says. “Otherwise, we kept the high-quality cabinetry as-is and focused on accessories and lighting to add warmth and color.”

The only major new piece is a large custom-built bookcase on the right side of the space, designed remotely by Bareket and crafted by an American carpenter. “I often use dark greens, but this time I wanted a lighter, livelier shade that I could picture clearly in my mind. My brother and sister-in-law searched stores until they found it—a vivid green that ties all the living room colors together. Organizing the books was another challenge—they have a huge collection and wanted them arranged by subject.”

The staircase, lit by a skylight, remained as it was, with light brown carpeting covering part of the wooden steps. A green plant and one of Bareket’s own photographs—a red-haired girl sitting on a bench, eyes closed—add a gentle, airy mood. Upstairs are three bedrooms: one for the couple and two for their daughters, aged 16 and 13.

The older daughter, Bareket recalls, had a request that was “hard to swallow.” “She wanted a dark, gothic atmosphere and to paint her walls black,” says Bareket. “It took some convincing, but eventually I talked her into deep burgundy instead—on the walls, door and even the ceiling. We did tons of tests until we found a tone that was rich and dark enough.”

That room was one of the few where the family bought new furniture, adapting to the teenager’s changing needs. Bareket especially loves the swivel armchair in the corner. “We found it together—virtually—at a secondhand warehouse. These are massive hangars packed with piles of furniture. I spotted the chair half-hidden in a corner.” The younger daughter, in contrast, asked for a calm, all-white room.

The parents’ bedroom, unlike their daughter’s dramatic space, features soft pink walls and a sloped ceiling in the same pastel tone. A low section of wall behind the bed is covered in floral wallpaper, and most of the furniture came from their previous home. “It’s one of the few rooms we slightly adjusted when I visited,” Bareket says. “I had supervised the hanging of artwork from Israel, but once I was there, we added a few more pictures opposite the bed and shifted some around. Other than that, the whole project was truly done remotely—with homeowners who trusted me completely. It was a unique and deeply rewarding experience.”