This Is How a Fashionista Curates a Perfectly Edited Home

We all look to fashion icons for advice on style, but when we get a peek inside their homes, it's obvious their fashion sense extends to interior design as well.

Take Amanda Greeley, the founder and CEO of luxury loafer brand THELMA, for example. Her charming apartment in the historic district of Charleston, South Carolina, features a mix of vintage finds and modern pieces, similar to a well-curated closet. And though the apartment is only 1100 square feet, it boasts a large bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen, and porch.

"It is small and spacious at the same time," Greeley tells MyDomaine. "Because it is a one bedroom and none of the rooms need much ‘stuff’ per se, the challenge is in the edit: having enough things to make everything feel considered and like a home, but at the same time, free of clutter."

Keep scrolling to see how Greeley brought sophistication and style to her Charleston rental.

When designing her home, Greeley focused on "balancing the old with the new." The building was erected in the Greek Revival style in the 1830s and includes decorative fireplaces, lots of crown molding, and dreamy 12-foot ceilings.

"I love this building’s old bones, high ceilings, crown molding with coats and coats of paint, and wide wood floors," Greeley says. "It’s got its imperfections, but I like the way the patina of an old home balances newer, more modern furniture. Because it’s small, I wanted to keep the color palette limited. I think it helps to make the space feel a bit larger."

When you enter Greeley's apartment, you are immediately met with the cozy, but pared down living room.

"To balance the dark floors and fireplace, I chose to keep a lot of the furniture light," Greeley explains. "A large, long, and low linen couch is the largest piece in the room. The caned chair feels both traditional and modern. Everything sits on top of a soft taupe hand-knotted rug."

Though Greeley's home is well-edited, there are plenty of places for personal touches like these sweet family photos and trinkets on her mantelpiece.

"I feel like the smaller accents are what make up my best finds... the ship painting over the bedroom fireplace, the small oil painting of pears in the kitchen, a handful of ceramics pieces, antique brass candlesticks," Greeley says.

The living room also boasts a white console filled with coffee table books and two leather stools stowed smartly underneath, a great trick for when you need extra seating for guests.

"The room doesn’t need much furniture, but I tried to create small decorative nooks to display coffee table books, to add plants to the space, etc," Greeley says.

Though the apartment square footage would be considered on the smaller size, the bedroom is larger than most.

"The bedroom is the best part of this apartment," Greeley says. "I’ve never had a bedroom this large, and I suspect we never will again after we move."

Most of the color in this room comes from the hand-dyed indigo blanket from Mali in West Africa and Greeley's collection of books, as she opted to keep the space soothing.

"I wanted this room to feel calming," she explains. "The palette is simple; soft greys, white, and some hints of blue. I love the softness of the slipcovered bed against some of the room’s harder details."

Older homes come with a lot of personality and the occasional challenge, which sometimes require a little creativity to solve. Luckily, Greeley doesn't shy away from a little DIY.

"The ceilings are so high that the curtain length we needed exceeded what is standard," Greeley tells us. "Rather than have something custom made (it is a rental after all), I bought the longest sheer linen drapes from Restoration Hardware and sewed on a footlong silvery grey fringe trim I found on Etsy." 

Though older homes can require a little more love, the character and accents that come with them make it all worth it.

"A big part of the reason I sought out the apartment we live in now was due to its amazing bones and architectural details," Greeley admits. "The 12-foot ceilings, French doors, and fireplaces that date back to the late 1800s feel like a little dose of Paris in Charleston."

Though the home has a French feel, Greeley made sure to add some breezy coastal elements to balance out the formality of the architecture. She chose linen sheets, wicker sconces, and rattan accents for a more laid-back look.

Though it can be tempting to try and decorate an entire home right after move-in day, Greeley advises that it's best to take it slow.

"Take your time," Greeley says. "Don’t try to do it all at once. This can be challenging when you’ve got a new space you need to fill, but I find that spaces that have been lived in, that have layers and depth are the best."