Southern Living Inspired Home Design: What We Learned at the 60th Anniversary Summit

Some trips are just trips. And then some trips remind you exactly why you do what you do.

I have been reading Southern Living since I was a little girl.

The first magazine I would pick up on my grandmother’s dining room table.  I flipped through the pages, reading about the homes, the stories, the gardens, the way Southern life was captured on every single page. I did not know it then, but those quiet afternoons at my granny’s table were planting something in me.

So when Daron and I got the opportunity to attend the Southern Living Home Summit in Savannah, Georgia to celebrate the magazine’s 60th anniversary as part of the Southern Living Builder Network, I could not get there fast enough.

We Loved Every Minute on the Riverwalk

We stayed at the JW Marriott Plant Riverside District right on the riverwalk and honestly it was one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever walked into. The kind of place where you drop your bags and immediately feel like you are somewhere really special. We spent time just wandering up and down the riverwalk, popping into the sweetest little shops, and starting every single morning with an espresso from Rifle Coffee. Y’all, if you have not been, write it down. It is the perfect little spot and we went back more than once.

We also made our way through the city and I have to say that what SCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, has done for that city is something else entirely. The architecture, the design, the way creativity just lives on every street corner. There is a beauty to Savannah that gets into your soul a little bit. For dinner one evening we made our way to Vic’s on the River, housed in a gorgeous old cotton warehouse right on the Savannah River, and it was exactly the kind of meal that a Southern city deserves to serve you. Fresh, soulful, and so completely memorable. If you ever find yourself on River Street, please go.

What We Learned about Southern Living Inspired Home Design
The days were packed with sessions and I came home with pages of notes and a head full of ideas. Here are some of the highlights:

GE Monogram reminded us why they are our preferred luxury appliance brand. The innovation they continue to bring to kitchen and home design genuinely excites me, and seeing what is coming next only made us more eager to incorporate their appliances into the Beechwood Revival.

Sherwin Williams always delivers and this session was no different. Color, texture, the way paint choices can completely transform a space. We came away with fresh inspiration and a few ideas already quietly making their way into our plans.

James Hardie Siding was especially meaningful for us because we will be using their product on the Beechwood Revival. Knowing we are working with the best gives us real confidence as we move into the exterior design phase.

Southern Living Plants did the table arrangements for the entire event and they were absolutely gorgeous. Natural, layered, full of life. The kind of floral and greenery work that makes you want to bring the outside in absolutely everywhere.

The landscape and intentional outdoor design session was one I did not expect to love as much as I did. Thinking about the exterior of a home with the same intention and personality you bring to the interior completely shifted something in the way I am approaching our outdoor plans for Beechwood. It was so good.

And then there was the AI session. Honestly my favorite of the entire summit and the most important conversation happening in our industry right now. How do we embrace AI as a real tool in our everyday work while still protecting the integrity of our personal voice, our style, and everything that makes our design ours? It is something Daron and I are actively working through together. We are leaning in, we are learning, and we are committed to using it in a way that enhances who we are rather than replacing it. So much to think about here and I loved every minute of that conversation.

What Makes a Home Feel Like Southern Living

Between all the sessions and the conversations and the beautiful spaces we moved through all weekend, something kept coming into focus for me. There are four things that consistently show up in Southern Living Inspired Home Design.  Four things we try to intentionally build into all of our projects from day one.

1. The Front Porch Is Non Negotiable

A Southern Living home without a front porch is just a house. The front porch is where Southern life actually happens. It is where you sit with your neighbors, watch the seasons change, and pour that second cup of coffee and just breathe for a minute.

For many of the projects we do, we try to build large front porches that become one of the signature features of the entire project. Generous enough to actually live on, not just look at. Rocking chairs, a porch swing, space to gather. We want it to feel like an invitation the moment you pull into the driveway.

2. Indoor Outdoor Living Done with Intention

The homes I love most blur the line between inside and outside in the most beautiful way. Large doors that open up and connect your living space to the outdoors, covered porches and patios that feel like real rooms, landscaping that draws your eye and your feet right outside.

For many of our projects, creating a large and intentional indoor outdoor living space is one of our biggest goals. We want that transition from inside to outside to feel completely seamless, like the house was always designed to breathe that way.

3. Natural Light in Every Single Room

Southern Living homes are filled with light and that is not an accident. Big windows, thoughtful placement, rooms that feel open and alive because the sun is actually invited in. Natural light does something to a space that no fixture can replicate. It makes everything feel warmer, more alive, and more like home.

Most design decision we make in our homes is being made with light in mind. Where does the morning sun come in? Where does the afternoon glow land? How do we make sure every single room feels like it was made for it?

4. Curated Rooms with Layers and Personality

This is the one that separates a home you love from one you just admire. It is not about perfection. It is about personality. Rooms that feel like they were put together with love and intention over time, collecting pieces that actually mean something. Layered textures, unexpected details, cozy nooks that invite you to settle in and stay a while.

Warm. Personal. Like someone really lives there and loves every inch of it. That is the feeling we chase at all of our projects and I cannot wait for you to see many of them come together, including our newest project, the Beechwood Revival.

More You Will Love:

Our Experience at the Southern Living Home Summit

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9 Ways to Improve Family Bonding and Create a Happy Home Atmosphere

The 60th Anniversary Party and the Moment That Said It All

I have to tell you about the last night because I do not want to skip over it.

The 60th anniversary celebration was everything. A gorgeous dinner, wonderful people all around us, and then a live band took the stage. Y’all, that was it for us. Daron’s eyes lit up the way they always do when live music starts. Music is his first love, even before building, and watching him come alive like that genuinely never gets old for me.

And we danced. Right there on that dance floor, even when nobody else was out there yet. We sang every single word. We laughed. We were completely and fully present in that moment and I am so grateful for it.

It was one of those sweet unexpected moments that reminds you why you are so grateful for the life you have built together. Good work, good friends, a beautiful city, a magazine that has meant something to me since I was a little girl at my grandmother’s table, and the man I get to do all of it with right there beside me on a dance floor in Savannah.

That is a really good reason to keep showing up and building something beautiful.

The Beechwood Revival is coming. And after this weekend, we have never been more ready to start this new project.

XO,