Innovations Interior Design
Home is Where You Come Alive - Designer Tips, Tricks, & Trends
April 2012
In This Issue
Enchanting Charleston, South Carolina
Greetings!  

I've been meaning to write since my husband and I returned from our east coast trip a few weeks ago. I've been so busy catching up and getting started with new clients, but I didn't want to let another day go by without sending out this newsletter to you.    

 

It was so wonderful to get away and recharge.  We got to see family that we hadn't seen in awhile, walked along the beach in Florida and found some pretty shells, and then headed up the coast to Charleston, SC.  I'll be talking about enchanting Charleston in this issue.   

 

Then we headed north to NC to see more family. Our final stop was Asheville, NC and the Biltmore Estate (more of that to come), and then drove through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, walked a bit on the Appalachian Trail, and flew home from Knoxville, TN.    

 

If you've never been to Charleston and are planning a trip to the east coast, be sure to put it on your itinerary.  It's one of this country's great cities. 

 

We've recently added over 200 fabulous new accessory pieces - gorgeous lamps, artwork, clocks, and unique accessories - to our Innovations Home Decor Online Boutique for Home Accessories & Accent Furniture, many in the new spring colors.  Just click on "Look What's New". You can now zoom in and see all of the beautiful and intricate detail on every single piece.  Please take a look . . .And  please take advantage of our new lower prices and now free shipping!

 

Warmly,

 

Pamela Jaffke  

Innovations Interior Design  

 

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Enchanting Charleston, South Carolina 

I've been meaning to write about our east coast trip since we got back a few weeks ago.  I've been trying to catch up, but before anymore time goes by, I have to tell you about our time in Charleston, SC.  We spent two wonderful and busy days in Charleston.  There's so much to see there that we just kept moving - and eating! 

 

Charleston's downtown area is filled with historic architecture and there are strict preservation laws.  All of the homes and commercial buildings that have survived from colonial times have been preserved and well-kept.  Any new construction has to conform with the architecture from that time, as well.  We took a walking tour of the city our first morning there and enjoyed wandering through many residential streets and seeing many beautiful homes.  I loved the window boxes filled with flowers and the gas lit lamps that burn 24 hours a day.  Charleston is known for its wrought iron, and we saw many examples with beautiful, intricate designs.  We even saw the beautiful house where the movie "The Notebook" was filmed.

 

 

Most of the homes are stucco-covered brick, painted in neutral colors.  But on one street in downtown Charleston is a group of historic townhouses that are among the most famous and recognizable images of the city.  They are known as "Rainbow "Row".

  

 

Everything was in bloom while we were there.  We were really lucky, since normally the azaleas bloom in April, but due to the unseasonably warm weather on the east coast, everything bloomed early - just in time for our arrival! I've never seen such beautiful azaleas in every possible color. Wisteria grows wild there and it was also in bloom.  Also gorgeous dogwoods, cherry trees, camellias, and forsythia - all in glorious bloom!  And Spanish moss hangs from many trees which adds to the uniquely beautiful scenery.

 

We visited the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, just outside of Charleston, on our last day there.  They have the oldest estate garden in the western hemisphere, begun in 1680.  It's still owned by descendants of the original family and open to the public for tours.  The gardens contain beautiful reflecting ponds that enhance the natural beauty of Magnolia Gardens, as well as footpaths, wooden bridges and banks of flowers whose dimensions are doubled in the glassy surface of the water.  We also saw quite a few alligators who live peacefully in the swamps on the property. Cabins that were used to house slaves in pre-Civil War times have been restored and are also still on the property.

 

 

I had read that you shouldn't leave Charleston without trying their famous dish of shrimp and grits.  I had it twice in two days, and it was delicious. In fact all of the food there was amazingly good.  We enjoyed all of the fresh seafood and the interesting dishes that make up "Lowcountry/Southern" cuisine.  Our favorite restaurant was Poogan's Porch, which is located in a spacious home that was built in 1888.

 

If you ever get the chance, do visit Charleston.  There's so much history to learn about, and it's such a beautiful city.  And, of course, amazing flowers and gardens.

In my next blog post I'll write about our visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Think of it as the east coast's Hearst Castle.

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