The changes to the dining room were simple, but strategic. The paint was refreshed and window sashes were painted a dark charcoal (need new windows but can't afford them? #protip: consider painting them!). Instead of finding new art, we "shopped the house," moved things around, and completely changed the feel of the room.

The client for this beautiful transformation is a single mom who wanted to claim her space for herself and her daughter. It was so special to be a part of this process, and completely indulgent to focus on designing a completely feminine, luxurious space for these fine ladies.

Sometimes it can be difficult to decorate when you have a space filled with lots of your current possessions, hand-me-downs, and things inherited from others. It can be daunting to decide what to keep, and how to incorporate it all to communicate your personal style. This is when a call to Gina Sims Designs is a very good idea.

Decatur is known for its distinct, historic neighborhoods, eclectic food, and vibrant downtown: it is not known for log cabins. My clients are the owners of this unlikely urban retreat, and wanted to design a space that provided a TV-free zone to read, relax, eat, and play games as a family.

The first time I met my client was on the soccer field, and our conversation included the exclamation: “come and paint my dining room!” As the kids say: the rest is history. My client is a Classics teacher and has an obvious affinity for classical literature and languages, Rome (well, let’s say all things Italy), and has a house filled with heirlooms. Basically, she’s a dream client. Inspiration at every turn.

My clients have a gorgeous tudor home in the Virginia Highlands suburb of Atlanta. It needed to be fresh and rescue dog friendly!

My clients were married on the beach. The ocean inspires their lifestyle - casual, dynamic and full of life. They love to entertain and with little children and a big, sweet dog, the design needed to be functional and open.

This young family bought a diamond in the rough house - a great area, good bones, and hasn’t been updated since it was built. Oh yes, my friend, we’re talking pink carpet and floral wallpaper. It was amazing.

This house has a beautiful and unique layout. The dining room was at the base of a wide set of stairs in the heart of the house that has the feel of an art gallery. (And... that's how we treated the space -- we added beautiful art and it absolutely made the space.)

When my client called, she was knee deep in construction dust. She had her architect draw up plans to open up the house, add a porch with a skylight to the house with gorgeous doors and transom windows to let as much light in as possible.

If you do not know much about Nashville, Tennessee, let me sum up for you: It’s amazing. You have to go. Everyone in the world is moving there. I lived there for a few years and met my husband there. We go back to visit family on the regular and it holds a very special space in my heart.

My dear aunt and uncle have lived in Dallas, Texas for decades and in this beautiful house when two of the kids were still at home. Now that they've been out of the house for awhile now, it was time that their home had some love.

My dear friends were contemplating a move. To move or stay, that was the question. What wasn't a question was that their home was no longer working for them. The kids were old enough to keep toys to their designated spaces and the furniture had done it's time. Hand-me-downs and the pieces from the bachelor days made it feel less than who they had become as a family and it was time for a reset.

I have my clients do a lot of work on the front end to show me what they love. Usually, they have a board on Pinterest or they have collected dream rooms on Houzz.

I am allowed to have favorite projects. I am. It's my design firm. Now, I love my clients and the diversity of beautiful projects I get to work on but sometimes I get to work on something that I never want to leave.

My clients built this gorgeous house when they moved to Atlanta as newlyweds. After a while, they decided it needed a shot of personality. That's where my team comes in! We decided on a palette of navy, aqua, gray and coral to bring some life into their home. Boost!

Many of us have pin boards and folders filled with photos of gorgeous homes we want ours to look like. But taking that next step of translating a glossy magazine into our humble living room feels, well, daunting. For me, it feels like my job. And I LOVE it!

When my clients decided to update their dining room, we started by taking the palette from warm to cool with lovely grays and blues.

This table is where art is made, work is done, vegetables are tried, papers are read, milk is spilled, jokes are told, arguments begin, and forgiveness is granted. This is where life happens in the Sims household.

I assisted behind the scenes with a photo shoot for MITCHELL GOLD + BOB WILLIAMS at the W ATLANTA DOWNTOWN this week.