Written by Andrea Fanning | Photography by Dustin Peck
Tree-lined streets and curved driveways border the route through the historic Myers Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the residence of Beth and Kevin Smith. From the drive, the view of the front facade suggests a 1920s home with substantial character. Once inside, the notion is underscored by a traditional floor plan filled with vibrant hues and captivating patterns.
These eye-catching attributes are the calling cards of a home designed by Holly Hollingsworth Phillips, co-owner of The English Room. And while these features often garner first attention, the designer’s ability to combine and layer old and new ensures the spaces will be both inviting and interesting for years to come. “I’m always on the hunt for new and exciting patterns, but most of the things I’m drawn to have a nod to the past,” says Phillips, who worked for and trained with Sotheby’s before launching her career in interior design. For this particular project, the designer drew from her archival research at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum to help set the tone.
The Smith family was already familiar with Phillips’s brand of pop and panache. They had teamed up several years prior to work on a different home. So when the Smiths acquired the Myers Park residence that had long been on their wish list, they asked the designer to help them transform it into a dream abode. Says Phillips, “When they bought the house, it was more neutral and quiet. They did some slight renovations, but mostly we worked on updates with paint and furnishings, using as much as we could from their existing collection. Beth loves design and color, and she isn’t afraid to try daring things.”
In the living room, they opted to keep the walls neutral and go for the gusto in other ways. “This room was largely moved from their prior home, keeping many of the pieces the same and adding new elements with the bright green linen curtains and the hot pink custom velvet banquette,” explains Phillips. “It’s the perfect balance of old and new.”
To outfit the dining room, the designer used the table that had been in the family for years and then adorned the walls and windows with new treatments. “Bold wallpaper is where we started, and we pulled in as many colors as we could,” she says. “And the added touch of chocolate velvet from Victoria Hagan on the chairs provides a place of calm in a busy space.”
Throughout the design process, Beth worked alongside Phillips to ensure the designs were strong and well executed. “She’s into the little details,” says Phillips of her client. “She would bring in a light fixture and say, ‘Let’s do the whole room around this.’ When you have someone who knows what they like and they also trust you to show them the best things, that makes the project come together.”
Five years after they started the updating process, the two are still working on rooms. Patience is the overarching word for the dynamic duo and their colorful room concoctions. Says Phillips, “Beth wants the designs to be big and bold, and she’s not afraid to wait. She would rather leave the room empty until it can be done right.” And so the story continues, with each fabric swatch and every paint sample carefully taken into consideration until the entire home is eventually filled with personalized, exuberant style that equates to some kind of wonderful.
