Room Envy: A metal fireplace that "steels" the show

A 25-foot-tall fireplace gives this great room a dramatic focal point

Photograph by Galina Coada

"Like stone and wood, metal is a material I feel should be incorporated into every project," says interior designer Michael Habachy. For this Tuxedo Park house, a 25-foot-tall fireplace clad in steel gives the great room a dramatic focal point.

This project was a gold winner in our first-ever Georgia Design Awards. For more winners, see the winter issue of Atlanta Magazine's HOME.

Wonderful woodsA custom coffee table from Habachy's eponymous showroom at ADAC combines bleached tropical wood and metal straps. A burled wood vessel on the table by master wood turner Anatoly Tsiris continues the organic feeling.

Weighing the optionsThe steel kindling tower is constructed with quarter-inch blackened steel plates and is quite heavy, says the designer. Walls and flooring were engineered to be structurally sound, with shelves safely fastened to the walls.

Off-center, on target"I used to be a symmetry freak, but now, I push myself to design asymmetrical features in a space," says Habachy, who kept the stacked kindling off to one side in his design. No surprise: The designer worked for a metal fabricating shop early in his career.

Sit on itA leather chair by Minotti offers a sophisticated spot to enjoy the fire and all that's around it.

Floor factsAs a practical move, the designer found a limestone-looking porcelain tile by Florim that can withstand wine stains and wear from three boys in the house.

This article appears in our December 2022 issue.