In Southern-style homes, heritage and home life are never far apart. Every piece has a story, every texture carries a memory, and every space reflects both the people who live there and the place they’ve chosen to call home. As Lance Griffith, owner and lead designer at CHD Interiors, explains, “Southern design is best showcased when it is like Southern history: layer upon layer of interesting parts and pieces.”
Throughout this series, we’ve explored how core Southern values shape Southern-style interior design. Now, in the final installment, we turn our attention to a force behind many well-loved interiors: the sense of place and heritage that gives Southern homes their character.
Let’s begin with the idea of an acquired home, and why that layered feeling matters so much in home design.
The Layered Charm of Southern-Style Interior Design
Homes feel more welcoming when the design shows signs of life, memory, and change. As Lance explains, “The most important way to achieve that relaxed, comfortable, friendly ambience is through the mixing of styles, periods, and textures. I don’t think Southern interior design is defined by colors or styles, but by how well we can make a home feel acquired.”
Historically, many Southern homes developed this way out of necessity and culture. Family members passed down furniture, fine china, silver, and other heirlooms over time, and homes developed a personality through what was inherited. Nothing matched perfectly, but everything had a place.
Today, that same layered Southern charm is something many homeowners actively seek out. There’s comfort in living among pieces with a past, whether your own or someone else’s, and beauty in rooms that feel collected.
Instead of reflecting a single purchase moment or one cohesive showroom vision, it reflects time. Pieces come from different seasons of life — some inherited, some discovered while traveling, some purchased for a specific need, and others kept for sentimental reasons.
Elements That Make Southern-Style Homes Feel Collected Over Time
What makes a space feel like it came together naturally, rather than all at once? Let’s look at a few of the elements that bring that feeling to life.
Decorating with Family Heirlooms for a Home with Heritage
Decorating with family heirlooms is a deeply ingrained tradition in Southern-style interior design. As CHD interior designer Megan Sandefur explains, “Southerners, in general, often seem to have very sentimental feelings towards the things that make them happy, whether that’s grandmother’s oyster plate collection, old family pictures framed to design beautiful gallery walls, and all the little things that have special meaning to someone.”
That sentiment often comes with a desire to blend the old with the new in thoughtful ways. “I think Southerners want to keep their traditional keepsakes while still having a modern space,” says CHD interior designer Julie Schettig. The goal isn’t to preserve objects in glass cases, but to let them live in the room, giving a sense of history to daily life.
At CHD, that process begins with listening. “We never ask a client to get rid of everything and start with a clean slate,” Megan says. “We like to incorporate clients’ collected items that allow them to go back in time to special memories throughout their lives. Those are the very things that make every space unique, special, and provide that elevated warmth the South embodies.”
Tips for Decorating with Family Heirlooms
- Mix heirlooms with modern pieces. This keeps the space feeling fresh while letting older items anchor the design.
- Let sentimental objects lead the story. Build around items that hold personal meaning. They often carry more design impact than expected.
- Display with intention. Group similar pieces together or create focal points to highlight their significance, rather than spreading them randomly.
Accessorizing Southern-Style Homes with Hobbies and Personal Interests
Heirlooms aren’t the only meaningful pieces that bring depth to a home. Collections, hobbies, and personal interests also add layers of character. Whether it’s a lifelong passion or a growing collection, incorporating these details into your interior design can make your space feel more like you — and over time, they may become heirlooms themselves.
“I worked on a project where the client’s hobby was antiquing and collecting, and it was so fun to incorporate their findings in their space,” says CHD designer Julie Schettig. The upstairs of the home had been underused, but with her client’s antique collection in mind, Julie helped transform it into a pub-style lounge with an old English feel, perfect for entertaining, relaxing, and showcasing the things they’d gathered over time.
Decorating with collections is as much about balance as it is about personality. As Lance notes, “When the pieces our clients want to incorporate truly exemplify the personality of the room, they take center stage. When they are an outlier, they lurk in shadows. But either way, we make those things work or let them set a mood.”
Southern Decorating Tips for Hobbies, Collections, and Interests
- Give collections a dedicated space. A defined area helps them feel intentional and integrated, not scattered.
- Think about mood and function. Let your interests guide not just the objects, but the tone of the room.
- Edit with care. You don’t have to display everything. Choose favorite pieces that connect visually or emotionally, and rotate as needed.
Drawing Design Inspiration from the Landscape and Location
Southern-style interior design often draws its strength from more than just what’s inside the home; it also responds to what’s just outside. A true sense of place comes from acknowledging the landscape, honoring the setting, and allowing the surrounding environment to shape the feeling of the space.
“Most of our clients were brought to our area because of our fabulous location,” says Julie. “So when designing their new Southern home, keeping their new view in mind is key. We want window treatments to frame the window and not block out any of the beautiful view that they were in search of when they moved to the Lowcountry.”
Designing with the landscape in mind helps each home feel in tune with its surroundings visually, emotionally, and even seasonally. Whether it’s a marsh view, a grove of oaks, or the soft light of a coastal afternoon, the landscape should inform the design, not compete with it.
Tips for Reflecting the Landscape Through Southern-Style Interior Design
- Let local color inspire your palette. Pull tones from your surroundings—sky, trees, water, grasses—for a natural sense of harmony.
- Choose materials that make sense for the climate. Light, breathable fabrics and finishes that weather well can enhance both comfort and longevity.
- Think beyond the walls. Consider how indoor rooms flow into outdoor spaces to create one continuous experience.
Celebrating Heritage, Family, and Sense of Place with Interior Design
Southern-style homes speak through layers of memory, meaning, and place. Whether it’s a family heirloom in the hallway, a collection that tells your story, or a window that frames the view you moved here for, each choice adds to the feeling that a home truly belongs.
At CHD Interiors, this is the heart of the work. “Southern style is just good design,” says Lance. “We don’t try to create along the lines of Southern design. We create well-designed rooms that are place-appropriate.” Every space is shaped with care and intention, grounded in where it is and who it’s for.
If you’re ready to bring that same thoughtfulness to your own space, CHD Interiors would love to help. Our designers work closely with you to create beautiful, livable rooms with lasting character. Contact our team of interior designers to begin your design journey.
Through this series, we’ve explored how key Southern values like hospitality, comfort, and heritage shape modern Southern-style interior design. We hope it’s given you fresh ways to think about what makes a home feel both beautiful and meaningful.
While the series is coming to a close, it’s just the beginning of what we have to share. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in touch, get inspiring interior design ideas delivered to your inbox, and learn more about the CHD approach to Southern living. And if you’d like to catch up on earlier installments in this series, you can find them here:
