What Is Southern Style?

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

Like most traditional Southern houses, I want the houses we design to be closely related to exterior spaces, celebrate morning and midday sunlight, and, at the same time, shield themselves from the cruel afternoon sun. -- Norman Askins

Our work incorporates a honed quality into even our most contemporary of projects. This ever-so-slightly worn quality suggests history and timelessness. This appreciation for aged beauty is inherent to Southern style. Southerners have long frowned upon the nouveau while showing an appreciation for their rich and proud history. -- Jose Solis Betancourt

Yes, I love old portraits for their funny faces and outfits. I also love antiques that are a bit wacky mixed with very comfortable overstuffed upholstery, which is clearly more casual. The North, until recently, was always very stiff and uncompromising; it is that whole Puritan thing. -- Joseph Paul Davis

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

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

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 old 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 accommodate a growing family. High ceilings. Great detail on the front door. -- Jim Strickland

For whatever reason--heredity, the water, or just plain stubbornness--when I design something, while automatically keeping in mind universal laws and objective ideals, I'm afraid that "Southern thing" seems to always emerge. Call it quirky, eccentric, charming, witty, whatever it is, it seems to always be hiding in the camellia bushes. I'm not ashamed of this but rather think it gives character and depth to my work--but I will leave that final opinion to my critics. -- Ken Tate

We published our first issue in 1977. How has Southern style changed in the past 25 years? How has it changed since Gone With the Wind?

In the past 25 years we have seen the neutral whites, off-whites, and pastels take command. The park bench greens, mauves, and burgundies have vanished. The heavy upholstery was replaced with lighter linens, cottons, and lots of slipcovers. Now I see a trend moving toward formal fabrics, silks, and brocades with more color. But different colors -- stronger, vibrant and more suited to our climate in New Orleans. -- Gerrie Bremermann

The South for me has outgrown a number of its stigmas. There is an emergence of eclecticism socially and certainly from a design perspective. Things just aren't as staid and conservative as they once might have been. -- Darryl Carter

Sparser, more pared down, and eclectic. -- John Chrestia

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. Since Scarlet, Southerners have come full circle, again confident of our innate ability to drape our widows or shoulders with classic verve. We've beckoned for a fresh crop of Southern minds and talents, a revised concept on the notion of "separate, but equal". -- Barry Dixon

The one thing that remains constant (instead of changing) since Gone With the Wind, at least for me, is that I have lived all over the world for the past 20 years and I find myself back here. It's home, and the air, the sky, and the earth act like a homing beacon, drawing one back, eventually. -- David Feld

There is no question that Southern interiors have grown richer and fuller over the years. There is also no question that Southern interiors have "gone with the wind"? Southern interiors are not cliché. Instead, though based in tradition, they speak of modern times. New technologies coupled with new attitudes have firmly placed Southerners in the new century. -- Charles Gandy

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

Today we want for nothing. Indeed air-conditioning helps us deal with the South's heat, which stubbornly refuses to budge from high settings many months of the year. But some things never change. We are still searching for sun-loving plants. And, in truth, there is still a bit of Scarlet in most of us that compels us to put off until tomorrow what we would rather not think about today, such as changing those air-conditioning filters. -- Betty Lou Phillips

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 to Europe and our homes are showing a diverse, eclectic look. -- Cindy Smith

Since 1977, Southern style now has more confidence. Southern designers are more nationally recognized now as legitimate voices (i.e., Holden & Dupuy, Mary Drysdale, Ben Page, Sam Mockbee, or yours truly, just to name a few). Since Gone With the Wind, the South has gone from a very closed society to one that is very aware of the broader design world, including fashion, architecture, and furniture design. Southern designers are incorporating these more global ideas into their work, while still maintaining a uniquely Southern vision. -- Ken Tate

Sources:
Norman Askins, Atlanta, 404/233-6565; José Solís Betancourt, Solis Betancourt, Washington, D.C., 202/659-8734; Gerrie Bremermann, Bremermann Designs, 3943 Magazine St., New Orleans, 504/891-7763; Dan Carithers, Dan Carithers Design Consultant, Atlanta, 404/355-8661; Darryl Carter, Washington, D.C., 202/234-5926; John Chrestia, Chrestia Staub Pierce, 7219 Perrier St., New Orleans, 504/866-6677; Joseph Paul Davis; Washington, D.C., 202/328-1717; Barry Dixon, Warrenton, VA, 540/341-8501; Ann Dupuy, Holden and Dupuy, New Orleans, 504/568-1101; Charles Gandy, Atlanta, 404/249-1502; Jimmy Graham, Jimmy Graham Interiors, Memphis, 901/323-2322; Amelia Handegan; Charleston, 843/722-9373; Cathy Kincaid, Cathy Kincaid Interiors, Dallas, 214/522-0856; Jackye Lanham, Jacquelinne Lanham Designs, Atlanta, 404/364-0472; Josie McCarthy, Josie McCarthy Associates, Dallas, 214/954-0888; Celerie Kemble, Kemble Interiors, New York: 212/675-9576, Palm Beach: 561/659-5556; J.R. Miller, J.R. Miller Design , Bluemont, VA, 540/554-8400; Betty Lou Phillips, Interiors by BLP, Dallas, 214/599-0191; Suzanne Rheinstein, Suzanne Rheinstein & Associates, West Hollywood, CA, 310/550-8900; Cindy Smith, Circa Interiors & Antiques, 2321 Crescent Ave., Charlotte, 704/332-1668; Jim Strickland, Historical Concepts, Peachtree City, GA, 770/487-8041; Ken Tate, Ken Tate Architect, Madisonville, LA, 985/845-8181.