Southern Style

Hillsdale Furniture was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. This, however, isn’t particularly reflected in our offerings, considering how much pride we take in presenting a great breadth of furniture styles. We dabble in just about everything, but our heart does sing just a bit when we see southern hallmarks like Spanish moss, wicker and wide porches with painted ceilings at the homes of our friends and family.

Here are our Top 10 favorite hallmarks of Southern home style. Do you have any of them in your home?

10.  Formal fabrics and tassels. 

Photo Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

9. A touch of country antique store chic.

Photo Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

8. Toile fabric in unexpected places.

Photo credit: housebeautiful.com

7. Classic, hardwood-built 4 post beds.

Photo credit: housebeautiful.com

6. Travertine marble bathrooms (and porcelain, clawed tubs).

Photo credit: housebeautiful.com

5. Large windows and long, luscious drapes.

Photo Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

4. Welcoming foyers always outfitted in fresh flowers.

Photo Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

3. An always bright and distinctive color palette.

Photo credit: southerndistinctions.com

2. An appreciation for architecture and natural exposed beams.

Photo credit: southerndistinctions.com

1. Beautiful,comfortable porches perfect for Sunday afternoon laziness.

Photo Credit: apartmenttherapy.com

Loving the Laundry

The weekly, daily, or even at times hourly laundry routine can be one of the most tedious in our regular housekeeping. It is repetitive, often messy, and always time consuming. And yet, beautiful, organized laundry rooms and nooks can often turn this chore into a pleasant respite from harried home routines. Check out a few of these spaces that we love.

(Images from Apartment Therapy and HGTV.com) 

Do you have a beautiful, or beautifully organized laundry room? Share it with us on Facebook! 

Moments in Marble

Marble is one of our favorite materials used in modern home design and décor. This isn’t exactly a groundbreaking preference or opinion—marble has been mined for its inherent beauty for centuries—used for everything from sculpture to kitchen countertops. It has a way of adding a touch of lux to any room it’s found in (even in its faux varieties), and as such we have gone a bit crazy for it at Hillsdale Furniture.

We especially love it mixed and paired with other lovely materials, and here are a few of our particular favorites:

Marble + Copper

While we love marble in both its black and white hues, nothing can really compare to a beautiful white marble offset by the sheen in brass or copper. The two materials become infinitely fancier together than they ever were apart. 

Photo credit: caitlinandcaitlin.com

Photo Credit: Apartmenttherapy.com

Photo Credit: Apartmenttherapy.com

Marble + Oak

Pairing these two beautiful fair hues in a bathroom or kitchen will bring in the light like you wouldn’t believe. Together they make spaces feel clean, clear and bright, and have the added bonus of looking quite sleek and stylish, and seemingly straight out of “Real Simple” magazine.

Photo Credit: Apartmenttherapy.com

Photo Credit: Apartmenttherapy.com

Marble + Dark Wood

This one is an equal opportunity style for all hues of marble. Darker hues of wood—either painted or of the cherry variety—bring out the best in marble. These design blends tend to look bold, classic and sophisticated in an upscale antique kind of way. Hillsdale’s own Monaco Collection captures this aesthetic, and is a quick and easy way to introduce the look to your home.

Do you have marble in your home? How do you decorate around (or more appropriately, with) it? 

No Shrinking Violet

We feel like we’ve been saying this a lot lately, but it’s snowing again in Louisville, Kentucky (home base for Hillsdale HQ). We desperately need some spring inspiration to overcome our winter fatigue, and we have a definite winner in the 2014 Pantone Color the Year—Radiant Orchid!

From the original announcement: 

Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health.

“Magical warmth,” “embracing purple”? We’re all in. Here’s how we’re going to incorporate this lovely hue into our homes this season.

Creative Accents

Lighter purple hues can be tricky when overdone outside of a little girl’s bedroom, but can really brighten up a room when used sparingly, as an accent color. We like the idea of painting it on to a single stool, end table or accent baskets for a quick pick-me-up. 

Photo credit: decor8blog.com

Textbook Textiles

Textiles make for an easily swapped in and out way to give Radiant Orchid a quick try out in your home. We love the idea of using it in bedding, throw blankets, pillows and seat cushions (particularly those for outdoor furniture). It pairs lovely with yellows and hunter greens, and textiles are a great way to play around with interesting pairings and placements. 

Photo credit: houzz.com

Festive Florals

We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog talking about floral prints and arrangements, but we have to reiterate how lovely a fresh arrangement of REAL purple orchids would feel on a dining or coffee table. We can practically smell springtime at the very thought.

Photo credit: decor8blog.com

Are you a fan of this year’s Pantone Color of the Year? Do you like Radiant Orchid more or less than last year’s hue—Emerald?