A Lesson in Interior Design – The Phoebe Howard Showroom in Charlotte, NC
During my recent trip to Highpoint, NC for the International Furniture Market, it was recommended that I also visit the Phoebe Howard (aka Mrs. Howard or Max & Co.) showroom in Charlotte. Furniture stores and showrooms from all over the country send their merchandisers to see a Phoebe Howard creation to learn how it should really be done. However, there is nothing like seeing the beautiful interior design of the original.
A designer friend and I spent several hours in a home that was built as a high society women’s club, converted into a furniture store/showroom. To call this place a store should almost be blasphemy. This is not a store by any stretch of the imagination. This beautifully and tastefully designed/decorated home is a lesson in interior design. Every room has it’s own individual aesthetic and color story, yet the flow from one space to another is seamless. And, the lighting design throughout the space is nearly perfect. While the look is not really the JBi look, there are still individual design elements that speak to me. If you’re ever in the Charlotte area and have an afternoon to kill, take a walk through this fabulous space.
In case you never get a chance to see this in person, here’s just a taste (I snapped all these with my iPhone, by the way).
Sitting room off the main entrance invites visitors to hang out for a while
Hallway vignette – love the dark wall color and dramatic painting
Beautiful bedroom setting
Layers and layers of colors, texture, shape
Amazingly beautiful hand painted walls create pure drama
The view from the dining room into the adjoining hall – perfect symmetry
Deep tone on the walls set the stage in this sitting room
Dining room with upholstered walls and intricate nail head details
Upstairs sitting room with a soft, romantic palette
Seeing a space like this reminds me how we all want to be surrounded by beauty, in one form or another.