This Atlanta Cottage is Designed to Make You Smile

Punchy patterns, poppy colors, and other bright, bold details turn this Airbnb Plus home into a happy oasis.

Photographs by Jessica Sample

Sophie Loghman found prints for the portrait wall at vintage stores and on eBay and Etsy. Her layout strategy? “Fill the space floor to ceiling, and don’t line them up too perfectly — that adds character.”

For some people, a dream house means walk-in closets, a chef’s kitchen, or a sprawling backyard. For Airbnb Superhost Sophie Loghman, it meant a pink front door and “welcome party” of plastic flamingos — plus a cheery palette throughout, with unexpected elements in every room. “I’m an upbeat person by nature,” says the digital marketing strategist and avid Instagrammer. “Years ago I created #happyhousedreams for my fellow Instagrammers to tag whenever they found ­pastel, candy-colored homes, and then I fell in love with this one, a shotgun-style cottage in Cabbage­town” in Atlanta.

The combo of yellow chairs and pink front door “sets the stage for the colorful hues inside our little modern dollhouse,” says Sophie.

She renovated the spaces and filled them with whimsical pieces (retro pink refrigerator, birdcage pendant, quirky portrait wall), but after getting engaged, Sophie and her fiancé, Michael Kaufman, worried it was too small a home to start a family in. Instead of ­letting it go, she Airbnb’d it with her brother Saba, a real estate pro. “The goal was to offer a place to stay where people would feel comfortable and happy the entire time,” says Sophie. “Some visitors say it’s inviting, and others have called it ‘magical.’ But my favorite was when guests said they ‘giggled throughout the whole home.’ To me, that’s the biggest compliment.”

“I’m drawn to happy hues like pink and yellow, and Saba’s taste is more minimal. We merged both of our styles into one fun space.”

— Sophie Loghman, Superhost

Cushy living room

Sophie and Saba were deliberate about what they splurged on: high-end light fixtures to emphasize the 18-foot ceilings and key pieces that make a guest feel good (plush rug, top-quality mattress, sofa you can sink into). “When you see a bold space like this, you wonder, is the couch actually going to be comfortable?” says Sophie. “We knew if it wasn’t, people wouldn’t want to stay here.”

Beneath an aqua record player is a collection of old-school albums. “Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie … the kind of music that makes you want to hang out and have a little dance party,” says Saba.

Colorful kitchen

Sophie chose a faucet and hardware in the same brass and gold finish as the dining room chairs and chandelier: “The subtle repetition connects the rooms.” Open shelves are styled with pastel plates, smiley-face mugs, and other cheery pieces.

“Mixing high and low elements was important to us. We wanted to make sure this wasn’t the type of home where people are scared to sit down.”

— Sophie Loghman, Superhost

Cheery bedroom

Born in Atlanta, Sophie lived in Los Angeles for several years and visited Palm Springs often. When she moved back to her hometown, she brought that poppy West Coast aesthetic with her. The bedroom’s lemon-print wallpaper looks a little daring but was also a practical purchase. “The color aligns really well with the kitchen door downstairs,” Sophie says. The birdcage chandelier is meant to elicit emotion: “It’s something you don’t notice immediately, but it’s a fun surprise when you go to turn the lights on or off.”

The bed gets its one-of-a-kind look from a mash-up of patterned linens and a pom-pom-fringed throw.

Indoor-outdoor area

To help the small kitchen feel more expansive, Sophie opened it up to the back deck by having a contractor build a Dutch door. Guests have access to a fire pit out there, too.

About the author: Betsy Goldberg is the Deputy Editor (Home) of Airbnb Magazine. Previously she was the Deputy Editor of Real Simple and HGTV Magazine, Editorial Content Director at Bed Bath & Beyond, and an editor at UsWeekly, Modern Bride, and New York Magazine. She is co-author of BusinessWeek’s Guide to the Best Business Schools and her writing has also appeared in Glamour, Health, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Money.