Blogger Emily Clark recently used Sunbrella to help style the Southern Living Idea House for the holidays. Emily has written a Charlotte-based design blog for 11 years. After so much time, her style (and family) has changed and grown immensely. Today, Emily is a wife and mother of five, a fact that definitely impacts her style and decorating decisions. Emily’s goal is to share easy design ideas with her readers that can be achieved without a major room overhaul or budget.
Emily Clark decorates the Southern Living Idea House for the holidays.
“My personal design process is more of an evolving experiment,” said Clark. “I love to move things around and reuse what I have in different ways. I’m always open to a great find at a thrift store or an online marketplace. And I love the impact of painting a room a strong color.”
Emily’s traditional style is accentuated with bold colors and modern touches in every space. “I like a collected look with lots of layers—and functionality is key. We are hard on our house and everything has to be durable and useable!” she said. “More than anything else, I want my home to feel comfortable and inviting.” It’s no surprise, then, that Sunbrella accents fit the bill when it came to decorating the Southern Living Idea House for the holidays.
This year’s house is located in Asheville, North Carolina, providing a beautiful mountain locale that was easy to play off of in terms of choosing a color palette. “When I began planning, I knew I wanted lots of fresh greenery and a touch of orange/rust that I incorporated with fruit, magnolia leaves and berries,” explained Clark. “To keep the overall look simple and cozy, I used lots of natural textures and shades of winter white on the tree and throughout the room.”
Clark used Sunbrella to keep the holiday look simple and cozy.
For the living room, Clark focused on creating the cozy seating area around the stone fireplace. She kept the accessories simple, adding a large fresh wreath and a few oversized pinecones on the mantel. On the tree, she used a neutral palette with lots of winter white ornaments, magnolia branches and more pinecones. “When you keep the overall palette neutral, it allows you to add small touches of color, like a bowl of fresh oranges and patterned Sunbrella pillows on the sofa,” said Clark. “Your updates can last long beyond Christmas and into the winter season by bringing in cozy textures with chunky throws and soft pillows.”
The Southern Living Idea House is located in Asheville, North Carolina, this year.
The front porch presented a fun moment to add a colorful holiday palette with bright coral and green Sunbrella pillows on the benches. “Don’t feel stuck with a traditional holiday color palette,” Clark advised. “For example, you can still use red, but experiment with different shades. Everything from corals to deep crimson can be paired with shades of green, white, and blue and still feel very festive.”
Clark repeated the fresh greenery and magnolia leaves that were used inside by hanging wreaths on the windows and sticking magnolia branches in small potted evergreen trees. “You can instantly make a room feel ‘Christmasy’ by just adding a wreath on a mirror, a bowl of seasonal fruit on a coffee table or a vase of fresh greenery,” said Clark.
“The white Sunbrella sofas and chairs on the back porch provided a perfect winter backdrop,” said Clark. She used cool blues and grays on the sofa pillows and simple evergreen plants, potted in black and gray planters. She also used simple, fresh swags on the outdoor lights and another fresh wreath between the windows for a focal point.
Are you using Sunbrella to lend holiday spirit to your home décor this year? Tag us using @Sunbrella and #SunbrellaMoments to show us your holiday style!
