Home Features

Having explored exotic locales around the globe, this spirited and cosmopolitan homeowner was ready to return to her Southern roots. A fine artist by trade, the Mississippi native said she wanted to literally “trade in her snow boots for flip-flops” when she moved from Denver to Charleston. Although she was brand new to the coastal Carolina mecca, she’d lived...

Text: Alice Welsh Doyle | Photography: Colleen Duffley Not everyone would consider purchasing a spec beach house in the middle of construction—not even one of very high quality in picturesque Seagrove, Florida. But when the proverbial phrases “location is everything” and “timing is everything” joined, it was an irresistible combination for one buyer. “I made an offer without even seeing...

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...

Written by Alice Welsh Doyle | Photography by Julie Soefer Instead of seeing a bland spec house languishing on the market and passing on it like many before her, one homeowner saw something else—a well-built blank slate to make her own. In addition, the home was in a very desirable location in the River Oaks neighborhood of Houston near her...

Written by Tiffany Adams | Photography by Erica George Dines “Sophisticated, functional, and comfortable.” That’s how Amy Morris describes the home she designed for a young Atlanta family. “There are a lot of nice pieces, but they’re all very welcoming,” she says. The home, nestled in the centrally located Buckhead area of town, underwent an extensive renovation, including floor plan...

By Kate Abney| Photography by Michael Hunter From the blueprints phase of the project, McBrearty teamed up with Austin architect Ryan Street of Ryan Street & Associates, allowing her to weigh in on the full gamut of finishes and architectural flourishes—from the white oak paneling to the turquoise-glazed terra-cotta tile to the Venetian plaster, which adds luminosity to nearly every...

By Frances MacDougall | Photography by Marcy Black Simpson Mark and Sissy Simmons had a grand French Regency house in Nashville’s tony Belle Meade neighborhood where they raised four children. But once the children had grown and moved away, the time seemed right to feather another nest—perhaps something a little less formal that would still welcome their vast collections of...

by Eleanor Lynn Nesmith | Photography by Kip Dawkins Although patience might be a virtue, sometimes a little prodding from a close friend yields its own rewards. Kim Gottwald had been perfectly content in her late 19th-century Colonial Revival home in Richmond’s historic Three Chopt Road neighborhood, but the interior décor was never quite to her liking. For this single...

by Margaret Zainey Roux | Photography by Jean Allsopp Sand, sun, and simplicity. That’s what attracted Kathy and Craig Johnson to Gasparilla Island in 2006—and that’s exactly what keeps their family coming back no matter the reason or season. “We fell in love with the island the very first time we visited it,” says Kathy, a Houston-based interior designer. “Golf...

Photography by Joe Bernado & John Mago With its charming fanlight, double front doors, and slate driveway, the brick Georgian was a familiar fixture in designer Susan Jamieson’s childhood. She’d grown up around the corner in Richmond’s Windsor Farms neighborhood. So when her clients called to describe their new house, she couldn’t help but be surprised. “Their taste was modern,”...