Southern Lady Southern Style Decorating 2020

Designer Debi Davis was thrilled when clients she’d worked with a decade ago found their dream home and enlisted her help for a fresh start in the light-filled dwelling teeming with architectural character. “They said, ‘We want everything different—color, style, a whole new approach,’” Debi recalls. “They were fortunate enough to find a house with really great bones. Starting with a home that’s already beautiful on the inside and out is when the fun begins.” Debi took her marching orders and set out to create a look she calls “livable elegance,” placing importance on the former for the family that now had two young boys and a beloved Boston terrier. “Fabulous and functional always seem to work together best,” Debi says. “Good design should make your lifestyle function very easily.” Without…

Interior designer Maggie Griffin was excited when close friends bought an empty lot with intentions to build in her neighborhood. But she was over the moon when the family of four had a change of heart and instead moved into a home only two doors down, giving her an opportunity to help them revamp. “After living there for about a year, they decided to undergo a renovation that in the beginning was going to be a kitchen and a few tweaks, and then it turned into a full-blown, five-month, move-out reno, as it happens sometimes,” says Maggie, based in Gainesville, Georgia. The first priority was replacing all the floors. After decades of sanding and refinishing, the original heart pine was worn beyond salvaging. “The kids were getting splinters in their feet,” says…

After years of globe-trotting and high-rise living, a family of four came to interior designer Marie Flanigan for their foray into suburban life. “They had never owned a single-family home,” says Marie. “He is from India; she’s from Connecticut. He was attracted to contemporary style; she was attracted to traditional Northern Colonial. Their desire was to mix those styles, and as a designer, I wanted it to feel layered and collected.” Marie worked closely with her Houston firm’s design director, Melanie Hamel, and the late architect Reagan Miller to realize the homeowners’ vision for a mingling of clean, modern lines and classic finery. Pulling out all the stops, the team considered the clients’ affinity for entertaining and preference for privacy as they planned for each tailor-made facet of this sprawling estate. “The…

Jen Fancher has long held an interest in decorating and making a room shine. Even as a child, she loved to play house and set up spaces for living. She remembers moving the furniture around in her room at least once a month. Today she’s the face behind Noting Grace, a blog dedicated to budget-friendly home décor and DIY design. Jen began this journey into blogging after her sons were born. She had been a professional vocalist and knew she’d need a way to remain creative. As she started decorating with vintage and thrifted pieces, often enlisting her husband, Trent, to help with larger DIY projects, she realized that others were looking to craft the same types of environments she was creating. Her blog became a way to catalog her projects…

When Elizabeth Lee and her husband bought their home—a small 1950s build with three bedrooms and one bathroom—they immediately fell in love with the community around them. “Our street is a very ‘front yard street,’” says Elizabeth. “In the afternoons, you’ll find all the neighbors visiting while the kids play. It’s like Grand Central Station.” The couple knew they wanted to stay in the idyllic neighborhood, but with three young sons growing up in the abode, they also knew they needed more space. The Lees began renovations after living in the house for several years, so they knew exactly what they wanted. Keeping the original footprint, the couple drew plans to add a second level with a low profile to keep it cohesive with the rest of the street. Elizabeth grew…

Content in their suburban cottage but ready for a design update, a Birmingham family opted for a renovation to repurpose many spaces in their home. This included moving the original living room to create a dining area with plenty of space for entertaining an abundance of family. With a mutual penchant for timeless style imbued with both aged appeal and contemporary comforts, the homeowners enlisted the help of designer Liz Hand Woods to achieve the desired look in their new dining room. Liz embarked on the project with an array of structural embellishments to bring distinction to what she describes as “a rather architecturally insignificant space.” The redesign began with the addition of white oak planks across the ceiling with a waxed and lime-washed finish that enriches the room. “The ceiling…