This Vibrant South Carolina Cottage Is Packed with Personality & Vintage Flair

Text by Katie Ellis

After nearly 10 years of living in their charming 1950s home in Greenville, South Carolina, Heather and Jim Storey found that their midcentury floor plan was not conducive for life with young children, and entertaining guests in the original kitchen was less than ideal. So, they called on interior designer Amanda Louise Campbell of Greenville’s Amanda Louise Interiors to help refresh their existing décor and renovate the entire back half of the home, a plan which included adding a powder bath and a keeping room, extending the kitchen, and completely revamping the dining room and living area.

“We didn’t want a fully open concept; rather, the goal was to create an effortless flow between rooms,” Amanda Louise says, noting they also worked with a contractor to add outdoor spaces, including a large deck, a patio, and a front porch. “It was a fun challenge to work with the contractor on how to execute the addition of the front porch in a way that totally transformed the style of the home but also looked as if it could have been original. There was a lot of back and forth on how to make this happen, but it just made it all the more satisfying to see it come together.”

The newly added front porch now exudes a relaxed cottage charm, and the vibrant green door alludes to the colorful character that awaits within. “Working with the Storeys for years before the renovation began in a decorating capacity helped us really have a pulse on what the family loved and what kind of space would make them comfortable. Through working on other projects, we knew that color was important but in ways that still felt soft and approachable,” Amanda Louise says.

It only takes a few steps inside the family’s living room to find yourself fully immersed in a space packed with personality. Amanda Louise describes the Storeys’ renovation to be a blend of eclectic, modern, and traditional styles. “Fresh and approachable was the goal of this room,” she says. “We wanted it to feel like a new space from the previous living room even though its footprint wasn’t exactly changing.” They brought in an energetic green colorway, which established a rich, anchoring hue for the space. And they created a harmony of stylish artwork by using small pieces and larger statement pieces, resulting in a living area that is dappled with visual delights.

When reworking or refreshing a room’s décor, the designer emphasizes the importance of incorporating vintage elements. “Vintage pieces add a level of originality that is not always attainable with new items alone, a way to insert personality or something that hearkens back to your childhood,” Amanda Louise says. “We were so fortunate to have clients that trusted us to buy vintage pieces along the way—way before construction was complete—to ensure that the finished product was collected and storied rather than looking like a furniture showroom.”

The inviting living area leads into the open-concept kitchen and dining room. To help give the dining room its own personality while still flowing seamlessly into the kitchen, the design team added creative wall treatments. “The millwork was a great way to add layers and add a storied element to the room to make it feel less new,” Amanda Louise says. “Adding millwork is also a great way to anchor wallpaper above.”

The designer snagged the adorable dining room hutch for the homeowners from Facebook Marketplace and painted it in Benjamin Moore’s Golden Cherry before adding a wallpaper backing for extra texture. “What started as a built-in piece that our cabinetmaker was going to handle took a serendipitous turn when we found a piece with the right dimensions that would add a more collected look to the space and help balance the budget,” Amanda Louise shares. The table and buffet are from Furniture Classics, and while the chairs were bought new, they have an obvious vintage influence, having been recovered in a velvet that gives them an aged flair.

The hutch color and the kitchen cabinet color were among the very first things selected for this renovation and served as the jumping-off points for the entire project. “Spacious and bright with a bit of personality were the main objectives in this happy kitchen [renovation],” Amanda Louise says. “More natural light was a must and an island that could seat the whole crew!” Selecting a striking cabinet color and a backsplash tile that stretches to the ceiling made this cottage kitchen a showstopper. The periwinkle lanterns above the island offer a timeless but playful element, and the window treatment adds a vintage feel. The shallow shelf expands across the entire window to display collected trinkets. The design team re-covered the counter stools from Phillips Scott with a retro plaid from Romo.

“Another high point in this space is the opportunity for art—something you don’t always get in kitchens,” Amanda Louise says. “The watermelons are from local artist Annie Koelle; she had this displayed at a fantastic vintage shop in Greenville called Artifacts, and it was love at first sight! On the other side of the window is a small gallery with a landscape from Jessica Leitko Fields and the smaller florals from Jean Wilson Freeman.”

The Storeys’ renovation incorporated a bright and airy keeping room. “We really wanted this space to feel original to the house,” Amanda Louise says. “With this goal in mind, we included brick hexagon tiles and V-groove paneling. We’ve called this space a ‘room for Mom’ because Heather really wanted a space to curl up in the morning with coffee and get away from the TV and other morning noise to start the day in a quiet space. It feels like you’re in a tree house, the way it’s situated at the corner of the house.”

No space was left untouched. The design team also paid special attention to the outdoor areas. “Lots of seating was needed for a family that loves to host family and friends, and [the back patio] is positioned perfectly just off the kitchen,” Amanda Louise says. “We wanted there to be options as far as a place for a larger group to dine or just for Mom and Dad to relax at the end of the day.” They also added a smattering of tables to have ample areas for setting down drinks, displaying plants, or serving food.

For every newly renovated space in the Storeys’ home, the design team thoughtfully considered vintage elements to help add personality and balance. “I just can’t emphasize enough how much life styling with vintage or secondhand pieces brings to a space,” Amanda Louise says. “The key is balance—too many vintage pieces may start to look unpolished, and too many new pieces can fall flat.”