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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Casual Elegance in Charleston

I discovered a new magazine today, while in the checkout line of the grocery store. It is called Charleston Home, and it is filled with lovely and gracious interiors. The article that really caught my eye was called "The Luxe (and Lived-In) Life", and featured designer Jenny Miller's beautiful 70 year old Georgian home in the heart of Charleston.

Photograph by Brie Williams

I love the idea of lived-in luxe. To me, it speaks of high quality and luxury, but also of comfort and practicality. Can these all coexist in one house? I think that Jenny Miller's house shows that they can. It is a place of beautiful design and quality workmanship, but also a place where three young boys can grow up. The house is filled with antiques, luxury lighting, beautiful floors, and high end fabrics. Yet, it has a comfortable and casually elegant feel, and is defined as a family home first and foremost. Jenny describes her philosophy as 'keep it simple and clean', which helps her achieve the balance between practicality and style.

Photograph by Brie Williams

I love the look of a bench in the front hall (this one is antique reproduction upholstered in white linen), with a beautiful distressed mirror above, flanked by sconces. The dining room is casual, with a standout chandelier and more lovely sconces. It is clear that top notch lighting is a priority in this home. The window treatments (fabric from Raoul Textiles) provide a nice infusion of color and pattern in the otherwise neutral palette of the home.

Photograph by Brie Williams

The floor is described as hardworking, as Jenny likes to be able to hose the floor off when the dog or the kids make a mess. The magazine does not specify whether the floor tiles are antique stone in this room, but the running bond pattern is particularly effective in the space.

Photograph by Brie Williams

The doors in this light-filled sunroom are beautiful. The architect on the home renovations was Randolph Martz, who is described as 'a master of windows and light'. Many of the chairs in this house are slipcovered, which allows for washing and bleaching on a regular basis. Note the lovely sconce. The floors are terra cotta made from reclaimed French tiles.

Photograph by Brie Williams

The bedroom has a new cane bed, with Manuel Canovas toile on the accent pillows. Particularly effective are the wrought iron scroll sconces with the brown shades.

Although the design style of this house is not typical of those that usually catch my eye, I think that the 'lived-in luxe' that was achieved with a neutral palette and exquisite quality details provides a great source for inspiration. This will definitely be one that I save for the files!

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13 comments:

  1. I completely agree about "lived in luxe"- not an easy thing to achieve! This is a beautiful and gracious home. (I picked up a copy of this mag last Christmas and I loved it, but I never could find it again. I need to look for this issue!)

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  2. Oh! I love this house! The clean, uncluttered quality realy makes it current by American standards, but I think the Europeans have been decorating this way for a long time.

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  3. Things like this make me want to live in the South.
    Lovely!

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  4. this is just gorgeous. I'm a big fan of tile...but there's so much more going on here.

    It absolutely has a saladino vibe with it's plush pillows and sofot fabrics, but it's the vast windows and overall 'lightness' of the space that win me over.

    what a lovely home to feature.

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  5. Yes, this house has a truly timeless quality to it, doesn't it? Here is a little background on the designer: she lived in Atlanta, and got into decorating by copying what she saw in magazines in her own home and through house flipping, then she branched out into doing childrens rooms. Word spread, and she starting doing 'grown up rooms' and whole houses. She moved to Charleston and spent years on this house, with the renovation and design. She was able to use much of the furniture that she already had, and only needed to buy a few pieces. So interesting!

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  6. Oh, wish I could have seen your comment about Robert Adam's staircase before I returned home from Scotland! Would have been amazing to see in person, I'm sure.

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  7. So fresh and pretty. I love Charleston.

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  8. I really love the class and well-bred quality of these SC homes. I love the traditional architecture; red brick is stunning.

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  9. What a beautiful house. You have given it a wonderful tribue in this post. And an interesting bit of background info contributed by Sarah Jennings.

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  10. It's a beautiful, restful house. I love it too!

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  11. What a beautiful home, thanks for sharing!

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  12. I love those stone tile floors! {swoon!} Lovely home.

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  13. I love the green printed drapery panels in dining room. Any idea where to buy them or something similar?

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