HGTV Designer Michel Boyd Has an Eye for Luxury

Atlanta celebrity designer and Luxe for Less star Michel Boyd's high-style home is a showcase of his upmarket design sensibility.

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By: Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Chris Tsambis

Gold and Black Design Scheme

Atlanta designer Michel Boyd's living room is a blend of gold and black and a purposeful balance of hard and soft, gilt and fur surfaces.

Dramatic Light Fixture

This striking starburst metallic light fixture adds real drama to designer Michel Boyd's space. "For me in my space, the accent color is the metal," says Boyd.

Black Marble Accessories

"Right now I'm obsessed with black marble" says designer Michel Boyd, who mixes objects at various price points together to create what he calls "a high-low story."

Mixing Metals

"Don't be afraid to mix the metals" says designer Michel Boyd who uses gold and silver together in his space. Metallics, says Boyd, work for him like a pop of color. "That reflective surface is the pop of color," says Boyd.

Paint Finish Tips

"One of my favorite tips is to paint the crown and the trim the same color as the wall and I don't change the finish" says Boyd. He prefers a flat, matte wall surface for a more gallery-like ambiance. Especially when metallics are in the mix, as in Boyd's living room, you don't want shiny walls and shiny surfaces.

Create Niches

Using careful groupings of furniture and objects, you can create distinct niches, even in smaller spaces. Designer Michel Boyd uses an ultrasuede-covered couch and bookcase to create a reading nook in his home, and this chair and pillows framed by a cut-out portion of wall is its own unique vignette.

Unique Architectural Detail

A cut-out in an interior wall keeps this elegant home feeling open and adds a fresh, unexpected element.

Metallics in the Mix

Metallics are an easy way to bring glamor into your home decor and adding them into your design scheme is relatively easy. A side table, metallic tray or even some dramatic gold coasters can quickly add luxury to your space.

Reading Nook

A curated collection of books arranged in a matching color scheme make this small reading nook cohesive. "Books are interesting" as a design feature, stresses Boyd. "It's kind of like a window into the house" and the taste and interests of the owner.

Luxurious Fabric

Though the look suggests velvet, this stylish reading nook couch between Boyd's living room and dining room is actually upholstered in more easy-care ultra suede. With such strategic choices, says Boyd, "you can have a luxe look," without sacrificing practicality.

Dine in Style

When he's not entertaining for groups of up to 300 people, Michel Boyd keeps his dining room spare and neat. But when staging dinner parties, "I like to set a table," says Boyd. "I like to junk up the table," with accessories and other elements, "you're creating a moment," says Boyd.

Color Theme

The same gold and black color scheme continues from Boyd's living room to his dining room and kitchen. Editing is key in Boyd's view. "The best designers are great editors," he notes, "It's not always easy to practice restraint."

Gallery Walls Work Everywhere

Boyd has created a gallery wall above the cabinets in his kitchen using gold frames to continue a metallic theme that defines the living, dining and kitchen in the ground floor level of his home.

Chic Storage

Though they look like gorgeous decorative accessories, these gold and geode elements are actually boxes that Boyd uses to keep unsightly items out of view. Boxes and trays, that convert any surface into a table, are two of his favorite design elements to use throughout his home.

Take Your Cue From a Designer

A designer's home is a showroom, a laboratory and idea generator when it comes to finishes, trim and fixtures. Designer Michel Boyd calls his style "curated luxe living," and puts his focus on making sure each object in his home is both useful and beautiful. Keeping glasses, plates and other everyday items in the same style and color family is just one way to bring a designer vision to your home design scheme.

Sculptural Pieces

No space is wasted including this landing in designer Boyd's home. Boyd creates a memorable, striking vignette by placing a series of sculptural items including a striking fur ottoman and a distinctive light fixture in close proximity. The result is a tableaux worthy of a contemporary art gallery.

Built-Ins Are Key

Plenty of built-in cabinets keep clutter and work out of the way but within easy reach in Boyd's terrace level home office.

Shelf Story

When organized, a shelf in a home office is a thing of beauty, with reference books easy to find. Boyd suggests adding a curtain rod and heavy curtain mounted outside bookshelves to hide away visual clutter when it's not needed and create a neater, more organized space.

Working Home Office

The terrace level of Boyd's home features a home office where he can work on designs and bring clients for meetings.

Fabric Swatches

A detail of designer Michel Boyd's home office featuring large drawers filled with fabric samples.

Everything in its Place

Designer Michel Boyd's home office features file drawers filled with samples and swatches organized by color and style for easy reference.

Guest Room Design

"I treat my guests just like me," says Boyd of how he stages his luxurious but comfortable guest room, asking himself, "if I was in the room, what would I need?" Absolutely essential: "fluffy towels and great sheets." And he has some advice so you are always ready to receive visitors. "Whenever someone leaves, I strip everything so I'm ready for the next person."

Texture Is Key

Soft, luxurious textures lend comfort to this guest room. Appealing to the senses is an important part of a guest room says Boyd, who makes sure his favorite candles and shower gel are on hand. "The W has a fragrance, why shouldn't you?"

Pile on the Pillows

Nothing says luxury like a variety of pillows in different textures on a guest bed. A handy bench at the foot of the bed on which to pile the pillows when your visitors are sleeping is a thoughtful touch (and keeps the pillows from winding up on the floor).

Style Master

An orderly closet with shoes arranged by color helps keep admitted clotheshorse Michel Boyd organized. "When you have a lot of things, it's important to have systems," says Boyd, "and for me, color works."

Jewel Box Master

Jewel tones and a luxurious space with plenty of texture and visual interest makes designer Michel Boyd's master bedroom a real sanctuary.

Peacock Hues

Gorgeous purple, blue and mauve jewel tones add richness to this master bedroom.

Time Away

"This is where I come to lounge and hang out and decompress from the day" says designer Michel Boyd of Smith Boyd Interiors, of the luxurious master bedroom in his Atlanta home.

Calm and Comfort

A dark ceiling, antique mirrors and a textured, frescoed wall create a feeling of enclosure and warmth in this master bedroom.

A Bedroom Oasis

Designer Boyd took the unusual tack of placing a large, sculptural bathtub in his master bedroom, but the effect is striking and only adds to the sense of comfort and luxury in this space.

Rich Wall Treatments

The bathroom, closet and dressing area of Boyd's home features an array of rich wall treatments—including Fornasetti wall covering in the water closet—and details like this gilt and velvet chair to anchor the space. In a small bathroom space Boyd recommends having a little bit of fun. "Powder rooms are the one place you can be indulgent" he says.