Good’s Poem in Casual Formality
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Good’s Poem in Casual Formality

See Cynthia Good's unique home, blending simplicity with color and femininity and masculinity.

By Marcia Caller Jaffe July 17, 2019, 1:28 pm Edit

After 37 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and now with the AJT, , Jaffe’s focus is lifestyle, art, dining, fashion, and community events with emphasis on Jewish movers and shakers.

  • Photos by Duane Stork // Good keeps her furniture minimalist in style but incorporates splashes of color.
    Photos by Duane Stork // Good keeps her furniture minimalist in style but incorporates splashes of color.
  • The north view of the kitchen features Christian Chaize’s “Praia Piquinia Beach, Portugal” above the French Provençal pewter table. Bar stools are by Knoll. The chair is a vintage mid-century modern barrel chair recovered in fabric from India.
    The north view of the kitchen features Christian Chaize’s “Praia Piquinia Beach, Portugal” above the French Provençal pewter table. Bar stools are by Knoll. The chair is a vintage mid-century modern barrel chair recovered in fabric from India.
  • The antique wood chair is a one-of-a-kind shaker walnut with dovetail details constructed with no seams. Above it, photograph “Valencia, Spain,” 1952, by Elliott Erwitt, silver gelatin print signed in pencil on verso. Curtains are an original fabric by Lacefield Designs which can be untied to close off the space. Zuni enjoys lounging on her “princess” bed.
    The antique wood chair is a one-of-a-kind shaker walnut with dovetail details constructed with no seams. Above it, photograph “Valencia, Spain,” 1952, by Elliott Erwitt, silver gelatin print signed in pencil on verso. Curtains are an original fabric by Lacefield Designs which can be untied to close off the space. Zuni enjoys lounging on her “princess” bed.
  • Upstairs office/bedroom space above the kitchen.
    Upstairs office/bedroom space above the kitchen.
  • Good felt that her mother’s body movement subjects (diptych, 75-by-60 inches) were inspired by her own love of dance as a teenager.
    Good felt that her mother’s body movement subjects (diptych, 75-by-60 inches) were inspired by her own love of dance as a teenager.
  • William Klein’s “Hat + Five Roses” is one of Good's favorites. The sculpture on right was created by her grandmother.
    William Klein’s “Hat + Five Roses” is one of Good's favorites. The sculpture on right was created by her grandmother.

That face. You’ve seen her face, maybe a young ingénue doe-eyed Natalie Wood? More accurately delivering our nightly news as anchor for more than a decade at Fox 5 Atlanta. Now Cynthia Good is CEO of the largest digital platform for professional women, Little PINK Book.

In 2017, Dana Barrett wrote in Forbes magazine, “Good has a gift for finding just the right niche and deciding when to turn … as she found this gap in an underserved market.” She’s referring to Good’s well-timed instinct to switch from a print magazine to a digital platform. An impressive group of businesses like Cox Enterprises, UPS, The Coca-Cola Co., The Home Depot, and Southwest Airlines are her loyal sponsors. Good said, “Finally companies are willing to make changes versus just changing the optics.”

Nestled in her unboxed “joy with a view” is a light-filled loft in Buckhead where she breaks the mold and casts new ones. When she’s not jet set entertaining or breathing in the natural light, she might be writing poetry and doing goat yoga.
Tour Good’s brick-laden loft one wall at a time.

Good enjoys the spectacular view from her Buckhead loft sipping coffee with Zuni, her Havanese.

Jaffe: Your late mother was an admired artist in New York and Los Angeles.

Good: First my grandmother was a sculptor and created the bust by the window. Mom, Elaine Marinoff, was a renegade as she painted large oils, some erotic (labeled “pornographic,” you decide) among others. Her “Synergistic” and “Dance Series” and body movement figures I think were partly inspired when I started dancing as a teenager.

Mom was born to Ukrainian immigrant parents. She taught art at UCLA and later hightailed it to Tribeca (New York), where she converted an old factory into her studio and living space. She had dozens of art shows and over 100 group exhibitions in places like Chicago, Frankfurt, Boston and, of course, LACMA. Later her work was influenced by world events like the attack on the World Trade Center and the Valdez oil spill.

Jaffe: What appeals to you about a loft lifestyle?

Good: I’ve done a lot of downsizing, … from a 5,000 square-foot two-acre house where I had miniature horses to a nearby 2,600 square-foot loft, to land here in 1,100 square feet. I also have a home, Villa Besame in Mexico, which means I am always moving around a lot of stuff in and out of storage and arranging pieces artfully where I will enjoy them the most. I would define my taste as “eclectic surrounded by art.” My friends describe it as “ferociously feminine.”

When I first laid eyes on this unit, it was furnished as a man’s hunting lodge with wall TVs and dark leather. The exposed beams in the 14-foot ceilings and interior found brick still made it convincing as my “made to order do over.”
The upstairs loft is for the kids when they visit and to house my office supplies.
Seeing the sunrise here over Buckhead and the sunset setting in the West is so gorgeous that it’s ridiculously breathtaking. I enjoy sitting outside on the grass turf and tending to my herb garden.

First edition Picasso “tête de femme au béret,” a color lithograph print on Arches paper, is the central focus over the fireplace.

Jaffe: Who are some of the artists that you incorporated, other than Mom?

Good: The central point over the fireplace is a first edition Picasso “tête de femme au béret,” a color lithograph print on Arches paper. Marc Chagall’s signed etching, “Samson and Delilah” (Bible Series 1958), is in the powder room. I love the square scarlet Basquiat painting “The Head” and collecting the hanging strands of Twine & Twig — necklaces from shells, African trade beads, horsehair tassels and shed antlers from around the world.

Jaffe: What is unique about your furniture?

Good: I consider myself a minimalist with splashes of color. With the lemon and blue … you can’t but feel happy. I did not use an interior designer. Most of these are pieces from other residences collected over the years. Some from West Elm (the desk), the high bar stools are Knoll, the office chair is Eames. This antique wood chair is seamless and has no bolts.

Photos by Duane Stork // Good keeps her furniture minimalist in style but incorporates splashes of color.

The dog food bowl of my Havanese, Zuni, is Jonathan Adler, which matches the lamps. Zuni, by the way, means “feisty female” in Sanskrit. She loves watching my bird, Blue, probably the oldest canary alive today, in her antique bronze gilded cage. Her hue is hyacinth-like.

The kitchen table is oblong French Provençal pewter. The fabric that encompasses the 10-foot floor-to-ceiling, tie-back curtains was made by Lacefield Designs.

The master bedroom wall features this original photograph by Rob Brinson from his series “On the Rocks” shot in Cabo San Lucas. Note the woman at the bottom.

Jaffe: You have some serious photographs. Which are special to you?

Good: My favorite is “California Kiss” by Elliott Erwitt. Some I acquired from the Jackson [Fine Art] gallery: Christian Chaize’s “Praia Piquinia Beach, Portugal” and William Klein’s “[Hat+]Five Roses” (or maybe that is my favorite, can’t decide). Most spiritually treasured is Rob Brinson’s Series “On the Rocks” shot in Cabo San Lucas.

Jaffe: You gained attention just a few months ago proudly walking across the stage at Beacon Theatre in Manhattan to receive your master’s degree in fine arts. How did that work?

Good: New York University has a two-year MFA program in poetry, which has five residencies in Paris. The NYU campus is in the Latin Quarter. We studied with some of the planet’s most remarkable poets, including Robin Coste Lewis, Catherine Barnett, Nick Laird and Meghan O’Rourke. Writing poetry is something that I “need” to do. Telling these truths is not superficial. I must say (laughing) that getting mostly rejection letters from my anonymous poetry submissions to publications can be hard to take.

Jaffe: What’s next?

Good: Little PINK Book’s 15th Anniversary Fall Empowerment Lunch “Crush Your Fears” Seminar will be at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia featuring powerful businesswomen.

Jaffe: Last word.

Good: My living space is masculine, feminine, strong and sophisticated, like parts of all of us. De-cluttering and getting rid of things we do not use creates serenity and is so freeing.

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