About
Carriage House Studio, LLC, is a collaborative architectural design firm created by Heather Quinn Kurtzer, Tiffany Nichole Watkins, and Holly Mizelle Johnson, inspired by their combined love of design and craft. The three partners met while working for some of the most influential and classically driven residential firms in the north and southeast. Founded on the idea that the human experience can be enriched through beauty in nature and the built environment, Carriage House Studio is committed to providing highly detailed residential designs that respond to client goals and the environments in which they are located. Rooted in the belief that good design should inform and delight the senses, Carriage House Studio approaches every problem with a renewed, holistic way of thinking about human interaction and its relationship to spaces, no matter how big or small. With over 30 years of combined experience in the high-end single-family home market, Heather, Holly, and Tiffany bring a wealth of knowledge to every design problem to create something beautiful, timeless, and all that exemplifies home.
Tiffany N. Watkins, AIA
Tiffany N. Watkins began her career in design at the Georgia Institute of Technology where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. She holds a Master of Architecture Degree and a Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Miami. While attending the University of Miami, she earned numerous awards including the AIA Henry Adams Medal for scholarship and excellence in a professional architecture program. Tiffany is now a registered architect with the State of Georgia.
Tiffany has worked in traditional and classical residential design for over a decade, beginning with Harrison Design Associates. She worked with William B. Litchfield Residential Design and with Pak Heydt & Associates as a project manager and designer. Her work has been showcased in both Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles and Traditional Homes Magazine. She and her husband Nathaniel live in Atlanta with their daughter Abigail.
Holly Mizelle Johnson
Holly Mizelle Johnson holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture 1994. Prior to Carriage House Studio, she owned her own architectural design studio, HMJ Designs, in Atlanta, Georgia. She began her career working in Chicago with Kathryn Quinn Architects, where she was involved in the production and detailing of several high-end residential projects. Her work brought her to Philadelphia where she worked on a consulting basis with Voith MacTavish Architects, designing and managing the millwork interiors of the Drexel School of Business in Philadelphia. While there, she collaborated with G.P. Schafer architects on projects in upstate New York and Georgia.
Johnson has been a member of the Notre Dame School of Architecture Advisory Council since 1999. In 2010, she co-founded an alumni outreach initiative named the Montana Society which provides a platform for increased connection, mentorship, and service. Johnson is the 2020 recipient of the Orlando T. Maione Award which honors distinguished contributions of time and talent to the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. Johnson’s husband Derrick is Vice President of operations at a medical equipment management firm based in Minnesota. They have two children, Hannah and Zane.
Heather Quinn Kurtzer
Heather Quinn Kurtzer graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from (what is now) Kennesaw State University, in Marietta, Georgia. As an Atlanta native, Heather has worked specifically in the residential design field for almost thirty years. She began cultivating her career in Buckhead, passing through some of the most prominent residential firms in Atlanta. Heather truly became a student of classical architecture, proper proportions and its discerning details under the guidance of Yong Pak and Charles Heydt, Pak Heydt and Associates (PHA). After thirteen years as a project manager with PHA, Heather sought a different perspective and quickly found William B. Litchfield Residential Designs. There, as project manager and designer for many years, she was able to work closely with Bill and collaborate on the design of many of the firm’s projects.
In November 2020, Heather branched out on her own with Heather Quinn Kurtzer Designs, LLC. Now with Carriage House Studio, she continues to specialize in traditional architecture, honoring classical proportions and detailing while carefully translating “historic” design into the modern lifestyle so many homeowners seek today.
Heather and her husband live in Brookhaven, Georgia. Their daughter is a UGA graduate, now practicing interior design in the Atlanta area, and their son attends Purdue studying mechanical engineering.
Our Office Mascot
“Sage”