It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – and nowhere is that more apparent than in your home’s impressive display of holiday décor. From the beautifully trimmed trees to the carefully placed Christmas villages, the holidays are a time to really show out!

We’d like to give you some design tips for decorating for the holidays this year with one spot in particular - your fireplace mantel! 

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1. Symmetry is key! Try mirroring or balancing the weight of décor on either side of the fireplace and mantel.

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2. Overlap artwork and pieces. The key here is layering pieces of varying size. This adds depth to the space.

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3. Mix in non-holiday pieces. Add items that you already have such as lanterns and candles. These help keep the space looking effortless and ties the décor into the rest of your home’s more permanent décor.

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4. Fill your fireplace with more than just logs. If you are like most southern families who don’t always use your fireplace in this warm climate, you can add a lovely stack of candles or some other touch of décor for a nice feature!

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We hope this helps and inspires you while you pull out your holiday décor this year.

We wish you a very merry season! 

We designed this home renovation & addition with natural light in mind throughout the entire design process. This home was once dark and divided and it’s now much brighter, more open, with more space to use! We kept the kitchen, living room, and dining room all in their existing locations but opened up each space to each other to let the light flow in.

Repose Gray (SW) walls and 50/50 Jacobean & Special Walnut hardwood stain.

We incorporated unique details into this kitchen by request of the homeowners and the results are beautiful! Our client found a photo with this accent tile online and Clayton Tile was able to help us find the exact match!

Featuring Monogram appliances and Walker Zanger mosaic tile from Clayton Tile Design.

Our homeowners also have a very sweet & large dog that needed a discreet space for her bowls now that they had an open kitchen. What better than to hide the bowls right in the custom kitchen island it self?

Custom island painted Dorian Gray (SW).

We also rearranged the former bedroom spaces for a larger laundry room, new powder room, new staircase to the new second story, and new larger master suite.

Poised Taupe (SW) walls and Landmark Ceramic floor tile from Clayton Tile Design.

Polished nickel hardware and fixtures.

On top of all of that we added a large second story for new bedrooms, bathrooms, and bonus space. We added dormers around this addition to bring in the bright natural light on this floor just like in the renovated main floor.

Finally, we replaced their smaller deck with a larger and more open screened in deck for better use while entertaining in their large backyard!

What more could you need??

When you think of your dream forever home, what do you imagine? For these homeowners it was a large, open & unique kitchen, open screened deck with a cozy fireplace, nice new master suite, and plenty of space upstairs for the family and guests.

Their old house ended where their new kitchen begins. We opened up their main floor, relocated their master suite, added a new kitchen, deck, pantry, laundry, and large garage out back and lifted their roof a bit to give them more space above on the second story.

We gave them a new, large master suite with open master bathroom layout. This new bathroom features a freestanding tub below a large window, open walk-in shower, and open, large master closet.

Their new living room now is open to their dining room which serves as a threshold to the new large kitchen. We added a small bar behind the kitchen peninsula that divides the kitchen and the dining room spaces, while keeping the flow of view. This serves as an extra conversation placeholder while also giving the dining room a more formal feel apart from the kitchen.

The kitchen features a beautiful, vaulted ceiling with stained cedar beams. This vaulted ceiling continues from the back of the kitchen out to the new screened-in deck. The only thing dividing the kitchen from the deck is a large, sliding glass door that you can completely open up in the warmer months.

We also completely rearranged the upstairs, taking what used to be two small bedrooms with one small bath, and gave them a new guest suite with extra bath and playroom.

This renovation allowed this family to stay in the neighborhood that they loved while giving them the space and quality of home that they desperately needed.

Every year, we like to reflect on our design work from the past 12 months and predict what the next 12 will look like in our clients’ homes. We love dreaming up future ideas and designs and we’re anxious to start putting them to work in our upcoming projects. We’ve crafted a list of what décor and home design trends we love and hope to see this year!

1.     Mixed Metals. We’ve come across the dilemma where a client has found some beautiful antique brass detailed light fixtures but wanted chrome plumbing fixtures. Today, everyone’s forgetting the old rules here in the fashion industry, so why not follow suit in our homes?

Photo example from one of our projects in Greenville where the light fixtures installed were antique brass and the plumbing was chrome.

Photo of the powder bath in our custom home project on Tallulah with beautiful deep navy walls.

2.     Dark Jewel Tone Walls and Bold Wallpaper. Lately, everyone has been moving towards painting their homes in light, bright, and airy hues. These are always beautiful, but we also love to see some richer color and we expect to see more and more of it in the near future. Jewel tone or even bold wallpaper covered walls add depth, character, and whimsy to a space. Try featuring these daring walls in your powder room or dining room for just the right bit of wow.

A home renovation in Augusta Rd. neighborhood. Wallpaper designed and handprinted by Greenville’s very own Jean Wilson Freeman.

This is an example photo pulled from a project on Home Bunch featuring beautiful wide plank, matte, light wood floors.

3.     Light Stained Hardwood Floors. Dark floors have become very sought after lately, but if you have a pet who tends to shed you’ll be vacuuming almost every day. We see a rise in light, natural stained floors in the future. This trend can be paired with any rustic home design or also work beautifully for a more sleek and modern home.

This is an example from one of our past projects on Stone Hollow showcasing lovely honey toned floors.

4.     High-End Appliances. We have seen more and more of an emphasis on appliances with our clients when deciding where to focus their budget. It makes sense- these are the tools you use to truly cook a great meal. Your countertops can be durable and beautiful, but they won’t brown that turkey for you. Today, appliance companies are reinventing their products every year to top their predecessor’s performance and innovating new appliances that can do something your old oven never could before. On top of it all, they have some truly beautiful models out there that not only cook well, but look amazing in your kitchen.

This is another photo from one of our projects in Greenville showcasing their DCS range and Sub Zero fridge.

This kitchen features a Wolf range top complete with Wolf double ovens and panel-ready Sub-Zero refrigeration.

5.     Traditional Trim and Wainscoting. We are obsessed with some well crafted trim or wainscoting in an older home. We see this coming back more than ever along with a more traditional décor movement. Shiplap and the farmhouse craze has taken over everyone’s hearts lately, but we see this staying more relevant in coastal and rural locations moving forward.

This is another example photo from our custom home project on Tallulah.

Horizontal plank reclaimed wood as an accent behind the master vanity.

We are excited to see what this year unfolds in new designs and projects! What trends do you see for the New Year? Comment below!

-DfD