How Two Design Partners Decorate Their Own Homes

"You know when you meet someone and your brains just mesh? That’s what happened with us,” says Lathem Gordon of her friend and business partner, Cate Dunning. The two met while working at an Atlanta design firm four years ago and hit it off so well that they decided to open their own interiors company, GordonDunning, based out of a carriage house in Lathem’s backyard. They not only collaborate on ideas for client projects but also weigh in on decorating decisions in each other’s homes — which is a piece of cake, since they live just a mile apart in Decatur, GA. (Having easygoing husbands who don’t mind a third opinion helps too.)

It’s pure coincidence that Cate and Lathem both live in Cape Cod–style homes built in the late 1940s that are sized at around 1,300 square feet, with red front doors that almost match. But inside, any similarities are the result of late nights spent collaborating on Pinterest boards, a shared passion for blue and white, and pushing the other out of her comfort zone. “I know Lathem’s house so well, and vice versa, that when one of us is overwhelmed by 10 fabric options for drapes, the other can pick a winner,” says Cate. “It’s like having a very decisive twin.”

Click through to see inside both homes.

Click through to see inside both homes.

This room started with the navy polyester-blend velvet sofa from Lee Industries that stands up to toddler spills (Lathem and her husband, Jason, have two daughters). After Lathem carried around a sample of a client’s floral Brunschwig & Fils fabric for weeks, Cate nudged her to make some pillows out of it for herself. The wingback chair belonged to Lathem’s grandmother. To bring it out of the ’70s, she gray-washed the legs and had it reupholstered in a geometric Annie Selke fabric. With so much new stuff, Lathem wanted a rug that felt old, so she picked a handwoven wool one with a faded look from Lulu & Georgia.