Southern Living August 2020

ON A FRIDAY MORNING in early June, not long after a wave of protests against racial injustice had swept the country, I saw a post on social media that made me smile. A group of more than 30 florists from my hometown of Birmingham had come together to decorate the entrance to the Rotary Trail, a beautifully landscaped walking and biking path in the heart of the city. They had covered the 46-foot-tall iron scaffolding with thousands of blooms as a symbol of unity and solidarity with the Black community, in remembrance of victims of racism, and as a way to share something that was positive when the whole country was grieving. “I am just a florist, but I wanted to do something,” says Carolyn Chen, owner of Wild Things…

WHEN INTERIOR designer Emily Painter first set foot in the Palm Beach, Florida, apartment she now calls home, the exact word that came to her mind was “frightening.” But rentals are hard to come by in this South Florida city, especially along Worth Avenue, the upscale shopping and dining district she was eyeing for her family. So Painter didn’t run away. Instead, she began dreaming. “The walls were brown with mirrors everywhere,” says Painter, who has spent the past five years working as senior designer for Amanda Lindroth and before that was with Margaret Kirkland in Atlanta. “It was the most un-Palm Beach place imaginable. But that meant I had a blank canvas for reviving it.” Painter convinced her husband, Austin, she could erase the drabness and resuscitate the 1,300-square-foot space.…

WHY WE LOVE IT Every inch of this charming floor plan has a purpose. Originally designed as a lakeside getaway, the layout prioritizes shared spaces for hosting friends and neighbors without sacrificing secluded areas to retreat. “The house had to be flexible enough to easily accommodate a family of four as well as any guests who might join them,” says architect Tim Brown. Two nearly identical, spacious bedrooms sit at the rear of the first floor, beyond a multipurpose utility room. On the second level, the master suite offers a quiet escape from the communal areas below. THE WOW FACTOR “With a vaulted ceiling and windows on three sides, the dining area has a formal feel while remaining humbly accessible to the open-concept space,” says Brown. Tall windows allow natural light to pour…

BRIGHTEN A BLANK patio wall with a vertical garden. Choose a matching set of planters (we like Metal Flat Back S/3, $156; peacockretail.com). Drill drainage holes in the bottoms of the containers. Make three additional holes in the front of each, and then use tin snips to cut out triangular openings that are large enough to fit one plant. Fill containers with potting soil and plants before mounting. The following picks will withstand late-summer heat with regular water in part to full shade. Left container: shrimp plant, ‘Aqua Marine’ pilea, variegated pteris fern, selaginella, sword fern, arrowhead vine Middle container: asparagus fern, ‘Triostar’ stromanthe, ‘Neon’ pothos Right container: ‘Neon’ pothos, arrowhead vine, selaginella ROBBIE CAPONETTO; PROP STYLING: BUFFY HARGETT MILLER…

KNOW-HOW Front Door Refresh Boost your home’s curb appeal with a project that can be done in a day SURVEY YOUR SURROUNDINGS “Before choosing a color for your front door, take your home’s existing palette into consideration—the siding, trim, shutters, etc. You’ll want a shade that creates a cohesive look,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams. For inspiration, just turn to the landscape: “If you have a backdrop of trees, consider colors that complement nature, such as navy or black,” she says. TEST THE FRONT-RUNNERS “Sample your options before making a final decision,” says Wadden. “I recommend crossing the street to see what they look like from your neighbor’s perspective.” PREP BEFORE PAINTING “Preparation is the key to a job well done,” says Rick Watson, director of product information and technical services at Sherwin-Williams. First,…

AS LONGTIME FANS OF OLD HOMES and small towns, Renee and Charles Bullock always dreamed of owning one of Edenton, North Carolina’s famed Cotton Mill Village houses, which were originally built for workers at the now-closed textile plant. “We loved the neighborhood’s sense of community,” recalls Renee, and after 10 years, they got lucky and nabbed a foreclosure in 2017. Built in 1916, this 1,500-square-foot cottage used to be a duplex—notice the two front doors—and required lots of work, which the couple took on themselves. Learning as they went, the Bullocks devoted two years’ worth of weekends to fixing up the house. Renee (a quality auditor) and Charles (an electrical project supervisor) grappled with strict budgets of time and money, stringent covenants, and a small footprint. See how they pulled together…