Paint and a collection of treasures transformed this quirky Lowcountry home

While shiny and new often rule in this day and age, Charleston, South Carolinadesigner Taylor Hill prefers to stick with more historic items—including the 1950s ranch she and her husband bought when they moved from Greenville back to the Holy City, where she first began her design career. She was immediately drawn to this delicious old place under the live oaks of James Island. “I thought, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this anywhere.’ It’s super weird, and at first it was pretty scary, but I knew that – beyond the mess – I could make it work,” says Taylor. “It was hot pink on the outside with lots of white shades inside and lots of material that patted together in a way that reminded me of Swiss family Robinson.”

The designer was enthusiastic about the creative challenge, including a 45-foot-long main room, anchored by a room height bookshelf built of old wooden posts, a wall of windows, ceilings ranging from 9 to 25 feet high, concrete floors and a host of other unique features.

When the couple bought the house in October 2022, the couple weren’t quite ready to handle the full scale renovation that the property called for, so they chose low budget cosmetic upgrades instead. “I knew I could decorate it and make it our own space. But I also had to figure out how to make it feel more cohesive, because the house was so wild and all over the place with different materials and textures,” says Taylor. “I decided to wipe everything with paint and figure it out as time went on.” For her blank slate, she covered the interior – including the floor – with Sherwin-Williams’ Oyster White (SW 7637) and then reintroduced color and personality through her artwork and interior design.

She leaned into the house’s eclectic appeal and didn’t hesitate to mix genres – especially in the non-traditional entry she refers to as the lobby (designer Mallory Mathison Glenn fills this Albany, Georgia farmhouse with timeless finds and lots of blues and greens. (155kB) above), where European, American and Asian pieces sit side by side. “It’s just a bunch of random furniture I’ve collected,” says Taylor, whose approach to the space began with two Rush House rugs topped with an antique kilim. “I love putting things together that you wouldn’t necessarily (think about) pairing because it’s more interesting to look at.”

In the lobby, she used an antique English jewelry bench as a center table (which doubles as an overflow dining area when entertaining) and a comfortable striped sofa for a cozy place to curl up. “This space was a design problem because it’s the foyer but I didn’t want any room to not have a purpose, so I added seating to make it more versatile,” she says. Sticking primarily to muted tones, Taylor covered the roof and draped with Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue (No. 22) for a little contrast and chose a vivid painting from her middle school years to really bring in color. “I love the piece because it’s bright red and makes such a statement,” says the artist. “I wanted it to have its moment in the room, so most of the furniture is in shades of brown.”

To differentiate the living and dining rooms while maintaining a sense of cohesion, Taylor grounded each with a matching jute rug, separated them with a large sectional, then brought in mismatched chairs to “keep it from feeling echoey,” she says .

“I didn’t want (it dining room) to feel feminine and wanted to keep things a bit more edgy without it being too stark,” notes the designer of her slightly more modern selection – elegant vintage leather chairs paired with a heavy antique wooden table.

When it came to navigating the living rooms astonishingly large bookcase wall, which Taylor named the library, she turned to her many collections and smaller-scale artworks. “This wall was overwhelming for me because the previous homeowners had (the shelves) completely full. I didn’t want it to seem as busy but not empty either,” she says of the treasure trove of shells, books, black-and-white family photos, dinner glasses, framed art and postcards and other beloved trinkets. “I have all my shells organized by location, which is kind of creepy, but I have memories associated with each collection and know where they came from.”

She also hung some larger framed pieces, creating some negative space in the life of the stacked shelves. “For the most part, everything else is pretty neutral to let the coolest stuff shine and let the furniture be a little more understated,” says Taylor, who applied the same philosophy to the rest of the home. “The windows make it feel very peaceful, so I didn’t want a rainbow of colors inside to take away from that.”

Continuing to embrace quirky architectural elements, Taylor reimagined the attached greenhouse-like space into a comfortable lounge, with a fireplace surrounded by patio furniture at one end and a breakfast table and games area at the other.