easy does it

Florida-based designer Caitlin Kah gives a sunny spin to a home with a decidedly Southern accent

- By Patricia Shannon

Palm Beach, but make it Charleston. That was the order for designer Caitlin Kah when she took on a project for a young family of four in the Queen City suburb of Mount Pleasant. While she admits it's not always easy to design a new build where the plans are already set, that was anything but the case when it came to working with architect Beau Clowney and the plans he had already laid out for the home. "Beau is so talented that there was nothing that I would have ever changed," Kah says. "It was so refreshing and made it easier for us because we were designing into the space instead of fighting against it." The decorating process began with a palette that took inspiration from her home base of Palm Beach, but with a softer, more muted edge that the family would be happy with for the long term. "Charleston definitely has some Palm Beach inspiration, but it's a little more refined and feels a little freer in a way than Palm Beach," the designer says. She let go of the crisp whites typically preferred by her Sunshine State clientele, opting for more muted, creamier shades to serve as the backdrop to the home's pattern plays. The tonal exterior and the moody color splash in the home bar (p. 93) create a color story that's effortlessly classic yet not without a few surprises. Thoughtful pacing, Charleston-inspired touches, and family-friendly materials punctuate the living spaces to create a home that's steeped in easy-to-live-with details that will never get old.

Consider the neighborhood.