WHEN A YOUNG FAMILY DECIDED TO BUILD A SECOND HOME in South Carolina’s prestigious Palmetto Bluff community, they knew they wanted something different from the predictable coastal aesthetic. Their search for an innovative, cosmopolitan approach led them to Atlanta-based interior designer Stephanie Williamson, whose expertise with coastal projects and skill in working with out-of-state clients proved to be the perfect match for their vision.
Williamson’s path to interior design began early, shaped by her father’s work as a builder and her mother’s creative boldness. “I grew up on jobsites, and I still love going to jobsites and the construction process,” she says. “I get so excited on demo day.” After earning a business degree from the University of Georgia, Williamson worked for the Ritz-Carlton hotel company before following her instincts to a high-end furniture store and design studio, where she spent two years. Then, a chance meeting in Atlanta with a Buckhead interior designer launched her career in interior design, and soon she established her own firm.
Over the years, Williamson has developed a particular affinity for coastal projects, drawn to the unique challenges and opportunities they present. “There’s something special about designing for coastal living,” she explains. “You’re working with incredible natural light, spectacular views and the need to create spaces that feel connected to the water and landscape.”
Williamson’s success stems not just from her design acumen but from being an excellent listener. She carefully attends to what clients want, considering their lifestyle and often reading between the lines to expand on their vision. “Clients hire us to make their homes better than what they can do on their own but still have it feel personalized,” she explains. “If it were me, I would want a designer to create a home that felt like me but leveled up.”
Palmetto Bluff is a 20,000-acre, sustainability-focused community located along the May River in Bluffton. Neighborhood amenities include restaurants and a variety of outdoor activities, including golf, kayaking and horseback riding. The clients, a couple with young children, had previously lived in this exceptional community before relocating to build their primary residence on riverfront property, also in Bluffton. While they loved their new home, they found themselves longing for the exceptional amenities and community atmosphere they had left behind at Palmetto Bluff.
“You are in another world when you’re there,” Williamson says. “There’s so much nature and quiet. The kids can ride their bikes and scooters, go to the pool, kayak and enjoy many other activities. It’s a pretty dreamy place to grow up. There’s even a fish camp and a tree house in an enormous live oak tree near their house. From the top, the view is breathtaking.”
Determined to have the best of both worlds, the family decided to build a weekend house in their former neighborhood. However, they wanted their retreat to reflect a more polished design perspective than is traditional in coastal homes. “Bluffton is a wonderful small town, but they didn’t want it to look typical for the area,” Williamson says. “My job was to make the home stand out and fit in at the same time.” Connected through a mutual friend in Hilton Head, the clients approached Williamson seeking a cleaner aesthetic that would feel both current and classic, with crisp lines and unexpected design elements.
The project brought together a talented team, with Ben Kennedy of Brighton Builders handling construction and Pearce Scott Architects of Bluffton managing the architectural design. Williamson credits the project’s success to a collaborative approach. “The entire team is very talented and very experienced,” Williamson says. “Brighton’s office is right there in the quaint Bluffton village, but they’re ahead of the curve. They were able to pick up on what the client wanted. Everyone listened very carefully to the clients and was very deliberate with the design.”
Upon entering, this four-bedroom, five-bathroom residence instantly conveys an atmosphere of effortless elegance. Visitors step directly into the main living area, which includes an open dining and kitchen space. Williamson describes the aesthetic as “easy and soft modern, a design that simply encourages you to put your feet up.” Every detail was carefully selected for ultimate comfort, creating a loungy weekend vibe throughout that feels both refined and casual.
The dining space reflects Williamson’s intentional design for family-centered living. The custom-made dining table and bench feature a strong, matte finish with texture, allowing the family to work on crafts and puzzles and place drinks without worry. It’s decidedly kid-friendly while maintaining a casually polished, clean-lined aesthetic. “I wanted this space to feel relaxed and effortless,” Williamson explains. “Relaxed in the way that it’s unexpected. It’s less structured, just like a weekend. Nothing looks forced.”
The seating arrangement reflects practical family needs: chairs with curved backs and side chairs with arms ensure comfort during puzzle and game sessions while a long bench accommodates friends when the children have them over. When weather permits, doors to the porch open completely, dissolving the boundary between indoor and outdoor living.
In the kitchen, Williamson balanced freshness with warmth through her material choices. Soft white walls create brightness while charcoal-colored cabinets and a slab backsplash add refined contrast. White oak floors flow consistently throughout the home, and practical quartz countertops ensure this room remains a low-maintenance family retreat.
The adjacent laundry room transforms utility into luxury, featuring the same cabinetry as the kitchen while housing a pantry with a wine fridge and specialty storage with refrigerator drawers for snacks. “It was nice to keep kid-friendly items in this huge space and not in the main area,” Williamson says.
The living area showcases Williamson’s skill with material juxtaposition. Caramel leather seating warms the white and charcoal palette while a concrete floor lamp creates an unconventional textural dialogue. Custom-made end tables feature hidden storage drawers for magazines and remotes, an elegant solution that eliminates clutter. Overhead, industrial trusses complement Lowcountry brick elements around the fireplace, which features a contemporary surround, a combination that keeps the space from feeling too sterile or contemporary.
Durability remains paramount throughout, from the performance fabrics on the charcoal sofa to the cowhide ottomans that only improve with age. Moody oil paintings by a local artist add personality and an anchor for the lighter colors.
In the primary bedroom, Williamson fully embraced creative risk-taking. “I knew as a designer that this client was reaching out to me because they’re looking for something different and striking,” she says. “From the beginning, I knew the bedroom couldn’t be white or neutral. It had to be wow.” She painted the trim, walls and interior doors the same color. Drawing inspiration from bluestone tile in the adjoining bathroom, she developed a palette of blues and greens, with lamps and artwork echoing the natural landscape visible outside. A caramel leather bench provides warmth, and the walls, trim and interior doors share the same bold color for visual continuity.
The primary bathroom features marble walls, bluestone flooring and a magnificent zero-entry shower. Taking advantage of the high ceilings, Williamson chose pendant lighting over traditional sconces, allowing mirrors to be mounted higher for a cleaner aesthetic.
The upstairs guest room presented a unique challenge with a window positioned on the bed wall. Williamson’s solution features custom millwork with an unusual pattern that creates visual interest while feeling layered and contemporary. Dark wall colors add necessary warmth to the space.
To create a distinctive element in the powder room, she opted for tiling the wall. The custom vanity features reclaimed wood construction topped with bluestone, which is complemented by a wall-mounted brass faucet and coordinating exposed drain. The design includes a lower shelf for built-in storage space.
Throughout the home, Williamson prioritized materials that would age gracefully while maintaining their appeal. All bedding is machine-washable cotton; nothing requires dry cleaning. Fabrics combine comfort with user-friendliness and low maintenance requirements. “As a designer, you want it to look great on install day, but down the road, you want all the materials to wear in a way that it still looks good years later,” she explains.
Working in Bluffton provided Williamson with delightful surprises, from shopping for tile in historic Savannah buildings to collaborating with local vendors in a tight-knit design community. Her experience with out-of-state projects proved invaluable in navigating the logistics of remote collaboration. “It was fun working with local vendors,” she says. “Everyone is nearby, with a small-town vibe, and everyone knows the builder, the architect and each other. But they were also eager for the kind of innovative perspective I could bring from Atlanta.”
This collaborative spirit extended beyond professional relationships to influence the design itself. The local artisan network provided unique opportunities for custom pieces that couldn’t be sourced elsewhere. The reclaimed wood vanity in the powder room, for instance, was created by a local craftsman who understood both the material’s history and how to work with its natural imperfections to create something stunning and functional.
The designer notes that working within such an established community required sensitivity to tradition while still pushing boundaries. “You want to respect what makes a place exceptional while bringing something innovative to it,” she says. This balance between innovation and respect for place is particularly important in a community like Palmetto Bluff, where environmental stewardship and architectural harmony are core values. The project delivered professional satisfaction that reached far beyond the completed design. Today, seeing Instagram photos of the family enjoying games and drinks on the dining table she designed provides ongoing satisfaction that she delivered exactly what the clients envisioned.
“This is one of my favorite projects,” Williamson says. “I felt like there were no restrictions. They weren’t hesitant about the art, color or any of the decisions we made. We were on the same page, which is a big reason the project was so successful.”
The result is a home that feels both rooted in its Lowcountry setting and refreshingly contemporary, proving that small-town living doesn’t have to mean sacrificing polished design. “If you don’t take the time to understand the client and what they want, it becomes a cookie-cutter house,” Williamson says. “But this home feels very considered. It’s still Lowcountry, but it doesn’t look like the typical interiors. Palmetto Bluff is very remarkable; it’s very natural. When I think back on it, over-furnishing the house or overdoing it would have felt wrong. The house feels easy and effortless. It doesn’t look like it tries too hard. Weekends are sacred time. The fact that they trusted me with their quality time and let me help create that living space for them feels very humbling,” she says. *
Robin Howard is a freelance writer in Charleston. See more of her work at robinhowardwrites.com.
Every detail was carefully selected for ultimate comfort, creating a loungy weekend vibe throughout that feels both refined and casual.
