Southern Style Defined

If you read my profile you know that I am from the South and incorporate my heritage into my work and point of view. Recently I found an article from Southern Accents touching on this very subject. The magazine interviewed several top designers and architects about what it is that makes our region unique. I decided to share some of the article with you along with some random photos I compiled which convey the feeling of Southern design and architecture.

What do you think are the attributes that define Southern Style?

Southern style is unpretentious and extremely comfortable with an air of informality and relaxed elegance. Josie McCarthy

A sense of one's heritage and the importance of making a home welcome to family and friends. J.R. Miller

A sense of gracious invitation. Warm, personal colors. Respect and reverence of our past. Subtle intelligence. Barry Dixon

Southern style speaks of gracious living, hospitality, and restrained taste. Betty Lou Phillips

Gracious and eclectic with a strong architectural basis. John Chrestia

True "Southern style" has a subliminal sense of theatre and joie de vivre, complimented by a definite bend toward elegance. Joseph Paul Davis

Are there elements in your own work that are uniquely Southern?


I would like to think that like most Southerners, my work exudes quality and consistency with style and grace. Charles Gandy






Painting the porch ceilings sky blue. Using fine things in a relaxed way, say silver julep cups for water every night at supper. Suzanne Rheinstein

Wood floors, especially heart pine. A "generational" feel to new design; incorporating the look and feel of grandma's back porch that was enclosed to enlarge the kitchen once electricity became available in the area or to incorporate a growing family. High ceilings. Great detail on the front door. Jim Strickland

A not-too-perfect mix of new, antique, primitive, and found objects with some traditional values to create a very personal and timeless space. Never be a slave to perfection and rules. You need a little attitude! J.R. Miller






How has Southern style changed in the past 25 years?



Southern style is much more relaxed and less formal but still embraces its traditional nature. Jackye Lanham

With a clientele that has exposure, travel, and communication with Europe, Southerners have reconnected with our past. We have allowed ourselves to borrow what we feel a connection with Europe and our homes are showing a diverse, eclectic look. Cindy Smith

Southern style has been "distilled" over the last quarter century, reduced to its purist, most individual form. But it has remained warm, witty, and personal. Barry Dixon







Sparser, more pared down, and eclectic. John Chrestia





Southern style is as unique as the area. I feel it can't be reproduced anywhere else. Our heritage brings something special to the our way of living, and it shows in our homes and gardens. Several words and themes were repeated over and over in these interviews; gracious, welcoming, hospitality, refined taste, and relaxed elegance. Southern designers are adept at interpreting these qualities; combining old and new, low and high, and rustic and refined. Researching this post made me proud all over again of Southern heritage and design!

My Southern/French Point of View

As you can see from my profile, I am in love with what I call a Southern/French look in design. This look is one that is a combination of the elegance found in grand French palaces and chateaux combined with the family heirloom, down-to-earth comfort of the American South.

I am always drawn to rooms in which the grand and the humble co-exist. In many Southern families, this look was prevalent because ancestors several generations back may have owned some nicer things, such as family silver or a few good textiles, but later generations who suffered through the Great Depression weren't able to acquire many of these finer things. Their houses were furnished more for function than finery. Therefore, it was common to see a silver tea service displayed in a room with simple farm tables and straight back chairs. To me, this kind of juxtaposition that evolved through people's real lives and histories is absolutely fascinating. My own maternal grandmother's life was similar to this. Her father was a store owner and land owner who employed many people. She and her siblings lived in a large farmhouse sitting high on a hill above the river. But the Depression changed fortunes for many people, and surviving was the top priority. These people worked hard and raised large families, while still retaining their pride.

As do most families , my family has European roots; Irish, French, German. So vestiges of this heritage are there as well. I feel that your heritage speaks to you in an almost subconscious way. We are often drawn to things and images for reasons we may not understand. My heart is always drawn to the humble Southern home with touches of the finer European things mixed in. I feel very blessed to have my affinity for fine French furniture tempered with with my East Tennessee heritage. As I go further with my blog, I will attempt to illustrate this special look.







From my Tennessee home,

Carol