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Text: Alice Welsh Doyle Photos: Kip Dawkins For years, longtime clients of interior designer Carolyn Kendall, the owner and lead designer of Alcott Interiors, pined for a particular house in Boca Grande, where they already owned a condo. The appeal of the property was undeniable—a beautiful beach, incredible panoramic views of the water, and plenty of acreage. When the house was...

Text: Tiffany Adams Photos: John O’Hagan When Gretchen and Jason Black were dating and in college, Sunday afternoons were spent driving around to admire architecture and attend open houses. They didn’t realize at the time that they were creating a love of homes that would last a lifetime. After marrying, Jason, who received his MBA, and Gretchen, who went on to...

Text: Tiffany Adams Photos: Chris Luker Sit down with Ann Wolf, and the Texas-based designer will tell you she was greatly influenced by her East Coast upbringing. Raised in Manhattan, she and her husband have lived in the Lone Star State for three decades, but her roots remain evident in her designs. “I think I bring an East Coast sensibility to...

Text: Jennifer Boles Across between mobile architecture and a wall ornament, brackets are one of those rare design forms with a distinctly dual nature. Conceived for the purpose of displaying objects against a wall, they are immensely practical with their shelf-like tops. And yet, the bases that support them often incorporate such decorative, high-style flourishes that they have become pieces...

Text: Lydia Somerville Photos: John O’Hagan When PJ and Winn Harris decided to build their dream house, they didn’t have to look far for a designer. Lifelong friend Mark Kennamer stepped up to the task, which wasn’t much of a challenge at all. “PJ and Winn didn’t really give much guidance,” says Kennamer. “They just wanted it done.” The friends grew...

Text: Lydia Somerville Photos: Michael Blevins When clients asked designer Mark Phelps and architect Matt Benson to build them a house in the mountains of Linville, North Carolina, they sought a contrast to their house in Charlotte, which Phelps had also designed. “Their house in town is dressy and formal, with lots of DeGournay wallpaper,” says Phelps. “For this house, the...

Text: Lydia Somerville Photos: Emily Jenkins Followill Our clients wanted a house convenient to friends and with enough room for entertaining inside and out, as well as bedrooms for their growing family of grandchildren,” says designer Carter Kay. Empty nesters eager for change, the couple found a 1940s Craftsman bungalow that offered the perfect setting for their next phase of life....

Text: Lauren Gentry Walker Photos: Jean Allsopp When it was time for a longtime vacation home to be put up for sale, the son of the original owners decided he wanted to keep the beloved property in the family and give it a new start. Many childhood memories were spent in the house on Smith Lake in Alabama, and he, along...

Text: Emily Jackson Photos: Kelli Boyd You never know who you’ll meet on Sea Island. It could be a foreign dignitary, a sitting president, or the executive whose home you are secretly renovating. Such was the case for principal Chad Goehring of Harrison Design (@harrisondesign), who was executing a study addition for homeowner Lori Nicholson as a gift to her husband...

Text: Tiffany Adams Photos: Sara Essex Bradley Having spent her childhood in Bay St. Louis, Nancy McDonald has a special appreciation for the beauty and charm of the Mississippi coastline. “I grew up just a block from this property, which has been in my family since 1904, and I had a cottage here later in life,” she says. However, as her family...