The couple purchased a saltbox-style home, with wraparound windows and wooden shutters, hoping to fully embrace their new chapter with a “traditional East Coast” setting. As part of this fresh start, Smith partnered with One Kings Lane and designer Jess Hutchinson to bring timeless-yet-playful coastal style to each room—which was a particular challenge in the one she planned on being for guests. “The room is tiny!” she says. “Prior to moving into this house, it was used as a playroom for kids. But with all of our future visitors, we needed a guest room.” Once the toys and furniture were moved out, the original butter-yellow walls were covered in a coat of white paint. Smith and Hutchinson decided that the room’s many windows and water views made it an ideal space for her favorite shade, blue, to be prominently featured. And to keep the palette from feeling too on-the-nose for the location, there would be lots of fun patterns and warm textures to give the space a layered personality. “We wallpapered the room in a blue stripe from Farrow and Ball, which played on the calming coastal element we were hoping to achieve,” she says. The stripes coordinate with the beadboard on the lower half of the walls, and lightly contrast with the subtle prints on the headboard and pillows. “We couldn’t fit a queen bed in while still having enough room to walk around, so we went with a double,” Smith notes. “On the opposite side of the bed, there’s a window nook, and we were able to squeeze a settee in there—luckily it fit perfectly!” The settee’s floral fabric matches the other blooms in the room, while the taupe shade of the rug, nightstand, and accessories adds in some casual dimension. The guest room refresh was completed in a couple of months last summer, making it ready for friends and family to come as soon as possible. And once they are welcomed here, Smith wouldn’t be surprised if they have trouble leaving. The partially-covered shutters and beautiful view of Charleston Harbor make it especially difficult to leave.
