Home Features

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,”...

Charleston entertaining and etiquette expert Suzanne Pollak says it best: “We are wallflowers and proud of it.” Those words open a chapter in her book about gracious living, The Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits: A Handbook of Etiquette with Recipes. She’s talking about (or from the perspective of) sideboards, the iconic pieces of dining room furniture that preside over a formal...

Photography by Emily Jenkins Followill Often, a new house in proximity to the beach takes on a predictable sameness— think blue-and-white striped upholstery and wicker furnishings. The challenge for a designer lies in bringing layers of personality and a collected look to the freshly built residence, creating rooms that speak to the full range of the owners’ lives, not just...

Step inside the colonial home of Marc and Eileen Weller and see a soothing world of harmonious greens and blues. Set in an idyllic community in Chevy Chase, Maryland, the home’s location is a dream come true. “I love where we live,” declares Eileen Weller. “In fact, this is our fourth house in the neighborhood. We’re able to walk...

Photography by Jean Allsopp and Chris Luker Every now and then an enlightened owner comes along who has a goal of hiring a design team with a vision and is willing to go with it. The owner of this North Carolina home did just that. For a piece of property in an established neighborhood and a prime spot overlooking the Chapel...

Photography by Erica George Dines Ambitious ideas, such as a striking rotunda like the one designed by Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia, defined the overarching vision for this 13,000- square-foot project in Georgia’s capital city. To translate such lofty concepts into comfortable living spaces, the homeowners already had architect Keith Summerour of Summerour and Associates on board. Now...

Photography by Erik Kvalsvik | Text by Andrea Fanning Vaucluse has been a fixture along the banks of Hungars Creek since the late 1700s. The floorplan has been adapted, the square footage expanded, and the wear and tear multiplied over the years, but the home still retains a rich sense of history. Architect Stephen Muse says, “In the main house,...