Joy Williams Designs A Stunning Vacation Retreat
Photographs by Megan Easterday and LaJoyPhotography
With a burgeoning business in interior design and an equally energetic practice of buying and developing real estate, Joy Williams, the designer and chief creative behind Joyful Designs Studio has designed the ultimate getaway. She and her partner own a fully renovated getaway in the city of Augusta - in a 1920s-era building converted into 3 apartments, including her own 600 square foot pied-e-terre.
Now a year into having the apartment, Joy can finally enjoy the fruits of an extensive design process. “The unit needed a total gut renovation of the bathroom and kitchen,” she explains. “We did the renovations in two stages. The first phase was the living room, dining room, kitchen and bath. The second phase was the bedroom and closet.” To start things off on the right note, Joy designed this colorful entryway with bold geometric elements and clever ceiling design.
While the unit’s previous owners decorated somewhat haphazardly, Joy wanted something more refined and intentional. Dubbing the apartment’s design style, “artfully modern with a grand millennial-ish twist,” it’s a combination of modern moments and classic approaches. A palette of earth-tones with bright, colorful pops highlights attractions like the geometric wallpaper and abstract artwork hanging over the sofa. “My designs always reference the cultural and artistic,” Joy says, “whether it's mine or a clients.”
Small touches complete this room. The sculpture and necklace are both creations of the same artist, Cheryl R. Riley, that Joy picked up while traveling. “I love showcasing Black artists in my home,” she smiles. Other featured artists and works in the home include prints by Khari Turner and Christina Martinez as well as an original piece by Glenyse Thompson.
600 square feet may not sound like much, but when it comes to making a statement, Joy takes full advantage of every inch - and the message is comfort. “The living room is fresh and has a modern traditionalist bent,” she starts. “We wanted to keep it open and comfy.” She succeeded by keeping the colors light and neutral and the seating deep and inviting. “The custom sofa bed pulls out to reveal a king bed,” she reveals.
The far side of the living room reveals a cozy eating nook and fireplace. The room is a combination of vintage finds, modern twists and DIY projects. “We painted the brass bamboo dining nook chairs a white lacquer and rebuilt the fireplace adding porcelain tile to the surround for a modern touch,” the designer recounts. The stylish Indian wedding chest was found at a second hand store, while the slatted built-in banquette was conceived of and built by the couple themselves. “My partner has a background in construction,” Joy explains. “There are cabinets hidden behind the slats and the bench seat lifts up to reveal a ton of extra storage.”
Of all of the home’s many updates and space renovations, the kitchen was by far the most difficult. “We had to gut it down to the studs,” Joy recalls. “We knew it needed to be opened to the rest of the living area.” To avoid ruining the visual flow of the newly connected spaces, some creative choices had to be made. “I decided to forgo upper cabinets,” she explains, “so I had to design a solution to replace the lack of storage. Hence the hidden storage behind the slatted built-ins.”
At the end of the path leading through the kitchen, Joy and her partner opted to place a poignant reminder of the importance of safety and home. “I added a beautiful painting that my cousin, Olivia, created of Breonna Taylor.” Taylor’s wrongful death in her own home at the hands of police in part sparked the protests of 2020. “The painting is a reference to the portrait of Breonna painted by Amy Sherald, who created Michelle Obama’s presidential portrait as well.”
“The bedroom feels a bit different from the rest of the home,” Joy confesses about the main bedroom’s design, and it’s not hard to see why. Where patterns in the living and dining areas are subtle and secondary to the solid blocks of color, in the bedroom, bold patterns rule the space, beginning with the wall-length toile behind the bed. The wallpaper, from the Vale London features a whimsical forest scene. “We wanted to bring the energy of the home into focus here and make it a room to really retire to at the end of the day.”
Like so much of the rest of the home, the bedroom was a labor of love between Joy and her partner. “We did all the work,” she confesses. “The table with the green legs was designed by me and built by my partner. I hand-sewed the Queen Idia headboard cover myself and added artwork from a Seattle artist, Sade Duboise.”
“The bedroom feels like home with lots of cultural references,” Joy reflects. Those references range from patterns and furniture to the large West African Fiddle Leaf Fig that stands proudly in the corner of the room. “I love how fresh and open it feels,” she confesses. “Every afternoon a ton of sunlight floods in.”
“I love that the whole home feels like us. Being in the space makes me happy. I can sit on the sofa in the afternoon with just a cool drink and a good book and it really feels like an escape.”