HGTV’s Urban Oasis Dream Home at Mandarin Oriental Residences Atlanta (Buckhead)

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If you haven’t entered to win the Mandarin Oriental Residences amazing condo, you only have 24 hours left. It’s an opportunity I wouldn’t miss.

Back in 2013, I shared the floor plan for the unit, which was priced at $1.399 million. The grand prize package (which also includes an all-new 2015 Acura TLX, all furnishings plus $50,000 cash courtesy of Quicken Loans) is valued at over $1.5 million and will be awarded to some lucky winner tomorrow. You can enter here.

Residence 53A is located on the 37th floor of the building and has gorgeous views from all rooms, including Buckhead and Stone Mountain. Interior designer Lindsay Pumpa decorated the HGTV Urban Oasis dream home. It features two-bedrooms, two-bathrooms, one half-bath and a large 300 square foot terrace (with gas grill). This unit has one the larger terraces in the building.

I caught up with Jack Thomasson, HGTV Urban Oasis Home Planner, when I toured the space a few weeks ago and asked him a few questions about his role in the project. I was wondering how he came up with Atlanta as the location for the next Urban Oasis. He said he first looks at where they have not been in order to decide where to go next. Atlanta seemed like the the best place for their 5th anniversary home. Since he lives in Atlanta, this was a wonderful choice as well! Jack went from building to building in order to find the perfect urban oasis. He chose the Mandarin Oriental because it clearly rose about the rest and offered space, luxury, style and stunning views. Jack was originally looking for a city view, but when he saw the terrace, it seemed to make sense considering this is the Urban Oasis. Having a green view instead of a city view fit the name perfectly.

From start to finish, the timeline for completion took approximately just under a year. The build-out took about four months. The moment the unit was completed, the unit was completely decorated in about 3 days. Unbelievable! Jack said they definitely have their formula down at this point. There were no major hiccups this year, since they have done this four times already.

I mentioned his expectations must be very high now for the next Urban Oasis, considering the Mandarin Oriental is such a marquis property. He said every year they hope to raise the bar and he is going to look for another location that offers a different experience. No comparing apples to apples here!

What was his favorite thing in the condo? The master bathroom!

I also spoke with Lindsay Pumpa about her first project in Atlanta! I was so excited to speak with her about the interior design and about her background. She is from Miami (just like me) and has been doing design since she graduated school. High-end residential design is her specialty, high-rise design to be specific. She also focuses on modern design – no traditional though (some transitional). I asked her what the game plan was in designing the space. She started by looking at the Mandarin brand. Lindsay wanted to make sure that her design lived up to that standard. At the same time, the brand isn’t super modern either, so her challenge was to play down the modern aspect somewhat. She had to make the space a little more transitional and mix the two styles. “Livable contemporary” was what the goal was. What was her inspiration for the design? She said the Mandarin Oriental brand. Her favorite item in the condo is the dining room chandelier (which was custom designed for the space by a local artist).

Lindsay said her biggest challenge this year was working with furniture sponsor AllModern. They are a completely online business, so she didn’t get to see or touch anything before purchasing it. She had to go by the website photos. For you and me, it makes everything in the condo very accessible to purchase.

When I asked her about design trends, Lindsay said gold tones have come back. You can see this in almost every space in the condo.

The Mandarin Oriental Atlanta at Buckhead is a 42-story building with only 35 condos. There are one to two units per floor, averaging 3,000 square feet. I spoke to my friend Karen Rodriguez who is the listing agent for the property. She said 9 units have sold this year (including one resale unit) for a total of $19,000,0000. She said the contemporary design and finishes of the new spaces are her favorite features of the condos. We are on the same page there! I’m a huge fan of the building and the condos.