Charleston Style with Jackye Lanham

One of my best friends in grad school (we’re still good friends) was actually a professor. He lived in a fantastic historic home on the main street of my little college town with a wide front porch, where all my friends would gather for what we thought were smart conversations (increasingly less smart as the wine flowed). He traveled a lot during breaks, so I often house sat for him taking care of the plants and the pets.

Bill came from Virginia and I always admired his apartment’s look. He inherited a few great antiques from his mom back home, who was an artist and illustrator… and his apartment always a wonderful ‘collected’ feel to it. Historic, but not too fussy.

Anyway, I’ve been saving the December 2006 edition of Southern Accents magazine for quite a while now… and I come back to one article over and over again. Atlanta interior designer Jackye Lanham’s second home in a Charleston townhouse. At first, I just admired the drapes:

Boy, I love this room.

And the slipcover. And the chair. And the secretary.

But back to drapes. I’m blessed (or plagued) by 14 foot ceilings and 12 foot windows along the front of my house. There is nothing ready-made that will fit them, not even sheers.

I admire these drapes for their simplicity and  very approachable fabric.  Jackye uses a ‘ticking’ fabric here–a fairly commonplace commodity–and has elevated this simple material with a elegant treatment. The shirred valence and double cording along the edge (properly cut on the bias)… throw in a tassel and hey! That looks great! The fabric is repeated for the sofa slipcover as well – it all looks like understated, easy elegance to me.

Another thing I learned from Bill’s place was that you need to have a few ‘specimen’ chairs in your living area. He had a great Chippendale piece that elevated his contemporary sofa and coffee table. I especially admire this black and gilt specimen Jackye has chosen here. Love it, in fact. The scale is perfect for this small sitting room.

There is much more to love in this designer’s house, which was tastefully attired for the Christmas holidays at the time of the photo shoot. I love the whimsy of this little bird lamp:

Check out the wreath on this chick. Adorable.

And I know the trend is for sprawling white on white  kitchens these days with acres of Calcutta marble but Jackye (May I call you Jackye?) has made a tidy and tasty little kitchen in this home. I adore the color – sometime dark really works – and absolutely covet those glass demi-johns and her ironstone collection displayed on that wonderful open shelving:

I just want to pinch it's cheeks.

I could go on and on about this little house. There’s an etherial light-filled bedroom and wonderful silvery white dressing room… but maybe I’ll save those for another post. In the meantime, I’m still tracking down that ticking fabric and thinking about my front windows.

P.S. I need photo credits (sorry Southern Accents!) I’ll give ‘er the old update when I get home.