Ep. 87: designer Holly Hollingsworth Phillips

Holly Hollingsworth Phillips is a designer and owner of The English Room in Charlotte, North Carolina. We love her bold, colorful, and elegant style and how she mixes tradition of the past with the modern style of today. She talks with us today about how The English Room began, the different projects she has done ranging from super modern to traditional, her love of color, patterns, and layering, and why it’s more than okay to break the rules.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• Her work in the world of design from an early age, and how her mother inspired her to develop a passion for all things antique.
• Ways we can be confident about mixing it up with colors and patterns in our homes.
• Using art as an accent, and why what’s popular and trendy in the moment isn’t always right for us.
• How she loves to take antiques and make them modern with a playful twist.
• How Holly renovated her own home and even got to keep what’s known as “the naughty chair.”
• Advice on when to shop for antiques, and where to begin bringing them in the home.
• How she came to be the brand ambassador for Florence Broadhurst.
• Her opportunity in the fall to do a room in a showhouse as Florence Broadhurst using her new rug collection, furniture, fabric and wallpaper.
• Her personal use of “crazy” pattern and color.
• The importance of looking at measurements before you buy anything.
• How to balance finding great antiques with longevity, even though you know it may not be your forever home.
• Why a great sofa could (and should) last you several decades. 
• It’s okay to change up your color, and realize it’s the layers and the mix that makes it interesting, rather than matching everything and achieving perfection.
• How Holly decides what spaces call for drapery vs. Roman shades, and her love of a blackout curtains.
• Why you may want to rethink painting your nursery yellow.