Who Decorated The House From Chrisley Knows Best?

You ever get that feeling when you go to hit 'Publish' that you're not right? Probably not - you're probably a better blogger than I, but there was a part of me that thought I was wrong about who decorated the Chrisley house from my last post. Sure enough, a reader I love (I love all of you equally), pointed out that the dining room was actually the work of Atlanta decorator, Toby West. I KNEW IT! Well, I didn't know it, really - or I wouldn't have mislead you in the last post. But I had this feeling that it was just too finished to not have a real decorator touch.

The more we talked about it - the more it all revealed itself. The house had actually been published, in the pinnacle of design magazines, VERANDA! Now, I'm not a hoarder, not really, but I like to hold onto some issues of design magazine in the event I ever need them for inspiration. So I started looking and low and behold, wouldn't you know I had it! I love when that happens!

So, not only did I have the photos from the photoshoot, taken by Peter Vitale, but I also had the article. Oh yeah, JACKPOT! The article was titled: A FORMER SHOW HOUSE / SOFTENED SETTING. They give credit to Toby West for Interior Design, and Architecture credit to Caldwell-Cline Architects. The article was an interview of both Todd Chrisley, patriarch and head honcho for Chrisley Knows Best and decorator, Toby West. It mentions that Todd brought his own vision, and had once owned an interior design company. (This is where I got mislead in the former post ... sorry!) However, later in the article, West says: "he (Chrisley) let me do what I needed to do". And fast, apparently. Todd Chrisley gave Toby less than 7-months to completely decorate the 25,000 square foot manse. Sheesh! Can you imagine? Alright, alright you want pictures, right? Some of these I was able to pull from Veranda, the others I scanned.

The two page spread of the formal living room in the Chrisley's North Atlanta home. I hate when they print rooms in the crease like this - but to get the shot, one must do what one must do. Now let's compare with the real estate photos, shall we?

Just about everything is exactly as the Veranda article shows it - sans the flowers and greenery. I love that fabric on the chairs (Brunschwig & Fils). Behind the sofa, French herbariums from Coco Chanel's apartment hang on the Colefax & Fowler upholstered walls:

There's not a real estate shot that shows this view, but I assume all is still in tact. Now, the dining room is a different story.

Gorgeous right? And the real estate photo of the same room:

Yep, yep, yep! It truly was the hand of decorator Toby West. Now, the chandelier is different in the real estate photo - which is what you actually have to do unless you write in contingency should you choose not to sell the fixtures. Perhaps the Chrisley's decided to keep or sell their 19th Century Irish crystal chandelier?

I love how Veranda made these rooms feel so cozy with the cropped shots. You can tell by the real estate photos that they are caverns, to be expected with so much square footage I suppose.

Here from the Veranda spread - the main hallway of the mansion, which runs completely though the center of the house. Right off the dining room, the chairs are the same used there.

And here a different view - but you can see, not much has changed. Real Estate photos are bad as a standard, but you'd think that with the listing price at over $2M, and a prestigious broker like Sotheby's, the photos would be a little better. 

Remember this room from the old post? 

Well, here it is at a much more flattering angle ...

I wonder what happened to this bench that was at the foot of the bed? And the chairs. And how much more beautiful is this staged bedside table vignette over the cordless handset, and closed laptop?

This now makes me want to get chairs for either side of my bed. Seriously. Though I don't have a 1,000 square foot bedroom, so I'm not quite sure how that would work. One of the most beautiful rooms we see in the house throughout Chrisley Knows Best is Todd and Julie Chrisley's master bedroom.

Really very beautiful and extremely luxurious. I love everything about it, including that Cowtan & Tout fabric on the walls.

The real estate photo shows a much less flattering shot, wouldn't you agree? And where did that beautiful little slipper chair on Julie's side of the bed go for these photos? And the library table at the foot of the bed?

The capital wall decor also seems to be missing from the real estate photos, and that desk sorely misses that little Gustavian chair.

The beautiful sitting room, complete with fireplace in the master bedroom. Such a beautiful photo, and wonderfully styled.

Looking very similar here, in a different angle. The only thing missing is the bench at the fireplace, do you think it needed it? I think it rounded out the arrangement, and really helped to anchor that positioning of the chairs ... but maybe the photographer for the realtor said, let's show off the fireplace? With this angle we get to see a door, that mysterious door that leads to where?

To a private sun porch, of course. I love this room, and have already dog eared the page to show the pleating of those corners to my slipcover maker! Yes, I'll be copying that Toby!

And the real estate photo. Those orchids look a little tired, don't they? And am I the only one missing that little chair? I seriously think that the photographer for the real estate photos had something against small chairs. Seriously.

So, while I wish the whole Veranda would have been about the Chrisley's home and their decorator, Toby West - this is where they leave us, and where I leave you. Thank you so much to Victoria, my reader and supporter and friend for pointing me in this direction! You're the greatest!