
Photo Credit: Rough Southern Home
These days it’s hard to find home décor and furniture made in the U.S, let alone in your region. But over the past few years, makers and designers specializing in lighting, furniture and home accessories are popping up all over the South. Not only are they regionally made, they are all handcrafted using the highest quality of materials and the designs are exquisite.
Here are 8 Southern companies that are making waves in the home décor industry:
1. Holler Design: Home furnishings inspired and designed from traditions of the “South” with a modern, clean-line aesthetic. Each piece is locally sourced, designed and handcrafted on the family dairy farm of designer, Matt Alexander, in Tennessee.
Where in the South? Lascassas, TN
Favorite Home Goods? Beam Stool

2. Alabama Chanin: Founder Natalie Chanin, is a former NYC stylist, who left New York to return to her southern roots in Alabama. She now runs a textile manufacturing company, a café, a community center and is world-renowned fashion designer, textile designer and author. And! When she’s not too busy, she’s designing home goods that have the same richness as her textile lines. Decadent and yet, delightfully simple.
Where in the South? Florence, AL
Favorite Home Goods? Grapefruit + Watercress Candle and Facets Stripe Pillow

3. Southern Lights Electric: Vintage-industrial inspired light fixtures handcrafted by designer Adam Gatchel. Adam uses a combination of old and new techniques, as well as materials. His work can be seen in numerous restaurants and hotels across the country, including local establishments Pinewood Social, Barista Parlor, and Rolf & Daughters.
Where in the South? Nashville, TN
Favorite Home Goods? The Sputnik

4. Garza Marfa: Minimal, modern furniture with a subtle southwestern vibe. Designers, Jamey and Constance Garza, moved from LA to the creative Texan town Marfa and began designing contemporary furniture with leather and steel. Their designs are inspired from their surroundings of the high plains desert of the Trans-Pecos.
Where in the South? Marfa, TX
Favorite Home Goods? Saddle Leather Round Chair and Saddle Leather Cot

5. Rough South Home: A collection of handmade and one of a kind modern-rustic furniture, lighting and home accessories made from repurposed industrial finds. He has recently added small batch collections of tables and chairs made from local hardwoods and salvaged metals. Clark Titus is all about giving objects a second chance and designing furnishings that make a strong statement.
Where in the South? Atlanta, GA
Favorite Home Goods? Pullman Chair and Warehouse Light on Rope

6. Ann Ladson: Ann Ladson has been working with her hands for as long as she can remember. As a pastry chef, audio engineer, floral designer and metal worker, Ann has had a fascination of the material exploration of art and science. She designs jewelry, hardware, vessels and utensils – all made by hand with impeccable craftsmanship. Ladson has a beautiful understanding of composition, form and finish.
Where in the South? Charleston, SC
Favorite Home Goods? Brass Finishing Spoon

7. Moran Woodworked: A furniture company that cares about their environmental impact, as much as the design of each piece they create. They are committed to responsible selection of materials and a modern approach to design. Michael James Moran and Celia Gibson are interested in the balance of form and function, and honoring the natural beauty of wood through high quality craftsmanship.
Where in the South? Charleston, SC
Favorite Home Goods? Charred Conical Lamp

8. South of Urban: Modern, sustainable furniture designed by local designers in Atlanta. Most of the materials used are salvaged, reclaimed, and recycled. The rest of the materials are eco-conscious and within close proximity of the city. The furniture collections have a minimal, mid-century aesthetic.
Where in the South? Atlanta, GA
Favorite Home Goods? 1301 Z Lounger

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I rarely can find the color I imagine for a project on the shelf of any store. Everything I like is an in-between of something. I’m not sure if its the fact that I am complicated, or that I’m simply ahead of the game. Whatever it is, it keeps me on my toes. If I can’t find it, I make it my damn self.
When I bought hanging glass containers last summer for my air plants, I thought finding a coral pink sand for them would be easy. I thought “coral pink is popular, colored sand is popular, there should be plenty of choices”. Ummm, no. Every shade I came upon was too bright, too childish, or too muddy. I was determined to find this color to pair with the art on my living room walls. But after weeks of looking, I knew it was time to rethink my color choice. I either needed to go with a completely different color or dye the sand myself. Neither of which I wanted to do. This was supposed to be a simple project. And then a light bulb went on – mix pink and orange sand together. Voila! coral pink.


Perfect, right?! The color pops against the gray walls and pairs beautifully with my art collection. I could not be happier.
Just remember, there is always a way to bring your ideas to fruition. The key is to step back from the idea when you’ve hit a road block. The solution is likely staring you in the face and much simpler than you anticipated.
If you are in Nashville and looking for an excellent selection of air plants, glass containers and colored sand, head over to All Seasons on 8th Avenue. It’s hands down my favorite garden store.
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It’s time for a little Pin Crush. Today’s pins are all about natural light and daring windows. As the final bits of snow melt away, and the sun is shining bright, all I can think about is flooding my home with natural light.
Last night, I laid in bed (for more hours than I’d like to admit) dreaming about all the ways I could tear down an exterior wall of my home and replace with floor to ceiling windows. Some of my favorite design styles are from Australia and Sweden, where natural light is the essence of home design. They call it daylight-designs or daylighting. It is a design practice of illuminating the home with natural light by implementing abundant windows, skylights, high ceilings and reflective surfaces. It’s more than a window view, it’s an experience one feels throughout the home. No matter where you are, you are apart of the light coming in. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Today’s collection can be found in the Abode, Black & White, White on White, Dine with Me and In the Kitchen Pinterest boards. Enjoy and be inspired! XO



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This week has been full of mishaps, too many deadlines, client cancellations, schedule changes, inclement weather and….you get the point, it was a dumb week. Today seems to be the most obnoxious part of all. Whatever was put off to take care of other things earlier in the week is now due. ALL OF IT, RIGHT NOW. And then there is my darling blog whispering “um, you haven’t written for 3 days. Don’t you have some sort of 30 day writing challenge?”.
But hey, I’m not dying, living on the street, crying in a corner and people still love me. So I am doing pretty good. Just a bit of a stress ball and really tired. So I’m going to end this day a little early, drink some lovely libations and give this week the middle finger.
Enjoy the fun products below, and cheers to the weekend!

Fuck You Love Me Pillows by Said The King

I’m A Fucking Star chair by Jimmie Martin and Darling Just Fucking Own It by Damselfly

Fancy Bitch by Miss With It, Bullshit Mug by Nelle Design & Bitch Please by Koleson

Badass Loft photographed by the talented Patrick Cline
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If you missed my 12th & Broad post Valentines weekend, here’s a chance to catch up. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Photo via Glitter Guide
The famous bar cart – serving beautiful libations and serious style in the home and workplace for decades.
Popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s, this vintage gem is finding its way back into the home and office. The resurgence of mid-century décor, fashion and home bars began as AMC’s hit series Mad Men dazzled us each week on the television. This year, you will be seeing a plethora of modern and vintage bar carts in home décor. Accompanied with beautiful bar and glassware in stunning designs. The demand for this functional and swanky home accessory is at its peak once again, making it one of the hottest items for 2015.
From industrial to Hollywood regency, there are lots of styles this year for the bar cart. No longer are you limited to vintage shops and high dollars, the bar cart can be found in numerous stores in a wide range of prices. Whether you choose a simple or over the top design, this home décor accessory will bring a lot of style to any space. And if you are not sold on aesthetics alone, these beauties are very functional as well as stylish. Versatile, mobile, time savers that showcase your treasured high-balls and limited edition whiskies.
Bar Car Must-Haves:

1. Daphne $499 2. Luiza $310 3. Threshold Bar Cart $129

4. Wooden Bar Cart $498 5. Ivanna Bart Cart $325 6. Three Tier Cart $179

7. Josef Bar Cart $499 8. The Coleman Bar Cart $1,199.00 9. Workshop Bar Cart $699
Once you’ve chosen your bar cart, you’ll need to learn the art of stocking the bar. Otherwise you’ll end up with a haphazard liquor collection, mismatched glassware and a short supply of bar tools giving you an aesthetic reminiscent of a frat house. One of my favorite bloggers, Design Love Fest, has a gorgeous tutorial on “Setting Up Your Bar“. There is no point in purchasing a beautiful cart if you’re not going to set it up properly. If you desire the swankiness of the 60’s, you’ve got to dress up that cart and give it the attention it needs.
Glassware and Bar Accessory Must-Haves:
1. Orb Metallic Barware $9.95-49.95 2. Noctua Wing Corkscrew $28-32
3. Lusa Glassware $78 (set) 4. Hemingway Print Price TBD
5. Gold Cocktail Picks $18.95 6. Sculpters Glassware $16-78
*Psst! You can’t go wrong with Cocktail Kingdom. It’s an excellent one stop barware shop.
Now that you know where to buy and how to set-up a sexy bar, it’s time to make a damn good drink. Enjoy the Long Kiss Goodnight, a refreshing winter cocktail created by the talented Prairie Rose (author of Bit By A Fox ) for Design Sponge’s Behind the Bar .

Photo by Kristina Gill
The Long Kiss Goodnight by Prairie Rose
1 1/2 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Grand Marnier Liqueur
3/4 oz Blood Orange/mandarin/clementine juice
Sparkling wine
Pomegranate seeds for garnish
In an ice filled shaker, combine the first three ingredients. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a large, chilled coupe glass. Top with champagne and pomegranate seeds.
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