Text by Bethany Adams
Prior to moving into her current home, Mary Lee Braswell would have struggled to define her decorating style. An admitted follower of design trends, it wasn’t until she found herself spending more time on social media during 2020 that the world of antiques was opened to her. “I feel like I’ve always been interested in them,” says Mary Lee, who not only fills her cottage with timeworn finds but also sells them through her online business, White Elephant Refined. “It was just the time everything lined up.”
While Mary Lee doesn’t have a professional background in decorating, her interest in it goes back to childhood, and the state of her home now shows off her eye for the work. Upon entrance, the formal living space showcases a set of vivid blue wingback chairs that, while new, demonstrate the charm of marrying classic elements with contemporary flair. Nearby, a selection of antique oil paintings surrounds a piece she inherited when her parents downsized. “It hung in the house that I grew up in…so, I knew I wanted to use it somewhere,” she says.
While the home’s open floor plan doesn’t leave much wall space in the kitchen, Mary Lee made the most of what she had, repurposing a bookcase that’s been in the family for years as a china cabinet that shows off both collected vintage pieces and the family’s everyday dishes. “I love flow blue,” Mary Lee notes, and she scoured online auction sites to create the wall display that makes the spot really shine.
Not far away, the breakfast nook holds one of the home’s most sentimental details. After watching her grandmother work on needlepoint roses for her chair’s cushions as a child, Mary Lee inherited those very chairs, and the stitched designs were later transplanted onto a more practical dining set. “She influenced me so much in loving pretty things, and I feel like she was probably a lot of my inspiration for liking antiques,” Mary Lee says, noting that she thinks of her grandmother every time she looks at the hand-stitched florals. “That’s a really special thing to have.”
The feminine motifs of the living and dining spaces give way to a vibrant mid-century-inspired aesthetic in the upstairs den, where block prints join geometric patterns and rattan chairs offset a vintage brass-and-glass coffee table. Echoing the gallery walls downstairs, this collection of prints and paintings lacks the uniformity of its floral counterparts—but it more than makes up for it in eclectic appeal. “That was probably nine months to a year of collecting different pictures,” Mary Lee says.
While Mary Lee’s days are largely spent working at the dining table nearby, which is backed by built-ins that her husband, Charlie, created, the couple spend their nights in a bedroom that leans more traditional in style. That influence was built off a four-poster bed that was one of the Braswells’ earliest purchases as newlyweds. “I still love it, so that’s why I wanted to stick with a traditional look,” says Mary Lee, who got the help of a local decorator to select fabrics and other details.
Alongside more recent finds, such as an antique cricket table from England and a figurine lamp found at an estate sale, Mary Lee displays precious heirlooms like Charlie’s grandfather’s desk turned nightstand and a Victorian milk glass glove box that came to the United States with her great-great-grandparents.
Despite her relatively recent foray into treasure hunting, Mary Lee has quickly carved out her own niche in the world of vintage charm. “I love making my house into a place for family and guests to come and enjoy,” she says—and, while she says there’s more work to be done, these days, she has a clear vision for her home and her future.
