Southern Lady July/August 2022

When we built our home a while back, I knew from the start it needed to have one special feature: a large, welcoming porch. We are blessed with a beautiful view from our backyard, and when the weather is nice, I love to sip my morning coffee on the veranda and watch the day come alive. There’s nothing like it to make summer feel complete! On page 71, we share three pretty porches perfect for sitting a spell. From an expansive poolside terrace to a screened, sunlit beauty, they’re sure to motivate you to create an outdoor retreat all your own. Outdoor living stars in this issue, starting with our story on a talented trio of ladies known as the Plein Aire Cottage Artists on page 15. These enterprising painters banded…

SEASIDE DREAMS When you think about an island escape, you might picture somewhere exotic and tropical, with coconut palms and vivid turquoise water. But some of the most breathtaking isles I’ve ever seen are right here in the South. The wild, pristine allure of Georgia’s Cumberland Island; the shell-encrusted shores of Sanibel Island in Florida; the salt marshes of South Carolina’s Kiawah Island—each of these and their coastal cousins feels unique, and each one is special. On page 53, we introduce you to a pair of Virginia gems: Chincoteague and Assateague Islands, known for their unspoiled nature and laid-back appeal. Besides being the perfect spot to get off the grid and unwind, Assateague is also famed for the herd of wild horses that roams freely, and catching a glimpse of these…

WHAT INSPIRES YOU? WE’D LOVE TO SEE—TAG US IN YOUR PHOTOS! Get a glimpse of the beautiful images our social media friends have shared with us, capturing their own inspiration from the pages of Southern Lady. Top row: Luscious homemade galettes featuring the season’s most flavorful mixed berries star on @afarmgirlskitchen’s menus. Enveloped in sunlight and embellished with fresh peaches, @vintagechicdecor presents a cheerful vignette with a delectable sweet treat. An alfresco tablescape adorned with bright citrus hues and pink flowers has @mygeorgiancolonial relishing summer’s longer days. Middle row: A profusion of freshly picked sweet peas and snapdragons adds joy to @era_living_’s home. Take in the beauty of @everydaylivingblog’s sprightly cottage garden, where there are plenty of blooms to admire. Bottom row: An idyllic seaside ambience welcomes @reeses_hardwear’s guests with shell…

For more than 20 years, three women known as the Plein Aire Cottage Artists have wielded paintbrushes against bulldozers in Indian Rocks Beach, a small barrier-island city committed to resisting Florida’s high-rise sprawl. Single-story abodes boasting histories as colorful as their façades have guided the group’s hands and hearts, prompting a mission to save these irreplaceable pieces of the past. “We didn’t set out to be environmental painters, but [in the early 2000s], a lot of investors were coming in and buying the cottages, demolishing them, and putting in condominiums with no regard for flowers or fauna,” says Helen Tilston, who spends half the year in her native Ireland and the other half at the home she and her husband purchased in Indian Rocks Beach three decades ago. Like the Tilstons, Mary…

The seeds of Nazia Rahman’s blossoming business, Exquisite Floral Cupcakes Bouquet, were sown gradually over a lifetime journey of world travels as she sought to put down roots. Now a happily married mother of two boys, she has found a community in Nolensville, Tennessee, and discovered another lasting love in an unexpected union of flowers and baking. She shares her passion with edible bouquets made of artfully frosted cupcakes that could easily be mistaken for the real thing, if they weren’t so delicious. “I just love flowers so much—how the petals sit on top of each other and how many details there are inside,” Nazia says. Her appreciation for these intricacies developed as she learned to carve them on various mediums during travels she tacked on to trips to Singapore to…

“SUMMER AFTERNOON, SUMMER AFTERNOON; TO ME THOSE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE TWO MOST BEAUTIFUL WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.”—HENRY JAMES…