Southern Charm Meets The Midwest

Summer 2025

Southern Charm Meets The Midwest

June 4, 2025

Words by Katy Schamberger | Photos by Laurie Kilgore

A young home evolves from a basic farmhouse to a sophisticated belle.

hen two of Stephanie Stroud’s previous clients bought a recently built home on acreage in Stilwell, Kansas, they contacted Stroud, founder of Stephanie Stroud Interiors, to help oversee a transition from farmhouse style to Southern elegance.

Where’s the best place to start such a transformation? A mood board with elements that clients can touch and feel, Stroud says.

“I already knew she loved blues, greens and colors from nature,” Stroud recalls. “There weren’t many revisions or trial and error because we’ve worked together before and had this shared vision of what the home could be.”

With the preferred color palette in mind, Stroud headed to North Carolina’s High Point Market and discovered two deep navy chests with gold hardware topped with white marble.

“I texted my client a photo of the chests and said these have to flank the fireplace—and that was the jumping-off point for the living room,” Stroud recalls.

Sculptural rock ledges create an eye-catching backdrop while also serving as functional retaining walls, a necessary addition due to the land’s existing contours.

Steps away from a rocky outcropping, the midnight-blue water of the pool draws the family outside. The poolscape feels secluded surrounded by mature trees and the addition of new landscaping.

The large backyard allowed ample space for a multifaceted outdoor living area but also required extensive reconfiguration, including regrading of a sloped contour to accommodate the creative vision.

Mature trees form a natural privacy hedge to the outdoor oasis.

A lower terrace hosts a fire pit area.

The upper-level screened-in porch shelters comfortable, casual seating below.

When it comes to art, Stroud’s client typically prefers landscapes, yet also willingly embraced her suggestion to use large-print photographs, including this party scene, to add an appealing mix of energy and visual interest.

Colors, textures, furnishings, fixtures—these are indispensable elements of a thoughtful and well-executed aesthetic. To Stroud, what’s equally essential in any home is the flow.

“We want your home to feel like it makes sense as you walk through it, even if that realization is subconscious,” she says. “The colors and ambiance should transition from room to room.”

To Stroud’s delight, her client greenlit a high-gloss ceiling in her main-floor home office, a shimmering pale blue that pops against two key, existing pieces: a dark wood sideboard used as a sophisticated storage solution and a remarkable gold Tiffany lamp topped with softly iridescent, flower-shaped shades.

“What a gift to work with a client who owns such a unique Tiffany lamp—that became the inspiration for everything we did in the home office,” Stroud says.

A nearby dog room features a Dutch door painted the same light blue as the office ceiling (without the high-gloss finish), creating a subtle continuity that unites the nearly 7,000-square-foot home.

For Stroud and her team, how a home functions is equally important to flow. This transformation has been two years in the making, and it’s not done yet (more on that in a moment).

The house had been built for around three years before Stroud’s clients bought it, but the lower level remained unfinished. After assessing the current floor plan and combining that with an assessment of how her clients would use and live in their home, Stroud introduced a project list that included a full basement finish with a bedroom, family living room and wet bar, a dance studio and facilities to enhance the new, fully outfitted outdoor living space like a pool bathroom and a laundry room. Outside, a tree-backed oasis came to life: an expansive space with a swimming pool, fire pit, hot tub and inviting seating areas to lounge, converse or simply be.

As the living room design emerged around the deep navy chests and gilt-framed mirrors that Stroud discovered at High Point Market, she opted to redo the fireplace’s surround, adding warm metal sconces and TV wiring for prime viewing. The living room flows into the dining room, where black-trimmed cane chairs flank a dark wooden dining table.

Thoughtful interior design is about more than beauty; it helps reinforce a home’s flow, a concept that guides each of Stroud’s projects. “Everything we do is to make our clients’ homes function better,” she says. Here, an elegant living area instantly morphs into a relaxing space to watch a favorite show or movie, while the outdoor expanse is just steps away.

Stroud says all-white kitchens aren’t used as frequently right now, yet this is a perfect reminder that creative vision and client preference often matter more than trends. The bright, open floor plan simply needed updated light fixtures, fabrics and cabinet hardware to exude timeless Southern style.

Previously a small, enclosed kitchen pantry, this stylish yet functional pass-through now shortens trips from the garage to the kitchen. Additional built-ins and marble countertops extend prep space for entertaining, while grasscloth wallpaper adds quiet luxury that’s especially appreciated in a more utilitarian space.

Another example of whole-home flow is this clever Dutch door that opens into a dog room, complete with a pet-level water filler.

From the home office to a bedroom, a soft palette of light blue, white, cream and a touch of gilt welcome reflection and relaxation. The home office ceiling was an exciting milestone for Stroud: her first high-gloss ceiling, chosen to balance with the client’s heirloom Tiffany lamp (pictured at top right).

Grasscloth wallpaper infuses pattern and elegantly understated texture to several rooms in the home, including an airy, light-filled primary bedroom that features all new furniture.

Remember Stroud’s focus on flow? The newly finished lower level offers another stunning example. A deep, moody green sets off a full bar in a relaxed, family-friendly living area accented with finishing touches of high-performance luxury like leather club chairs, acrylic-topped bar stools and ample built-ins for a library-esque aesthetic.

Other areas of the home didn’t need a complete overhaul and instead were improved with strategic updates. Stroud opted to open a wall of a small kitchen pantry, creating a convenient (and larger) pass-through that shortens trips from the garage to the kitchen. New built-ins and marble countertops replaced an already-dated black and white tile floor, reinforcing the elegant functionality now omnipresent throughout the home.

“Most of our business is extensively remodeling with full-service design and furniture,” Stroud says. “Any adjustments we make are to help our clients’ homes function better. Designers who can do this add so much value, and that’s what brings clients back. Your life changes, and how you live in your home changes, so that space should evolve along with you.”

As the transformation continues, Stroud has her sights set on two projects. The powder room and the primary bathroom both need an infusion of Southern style and understated elegance. Details are still in progress, but it’s a likely bet that at least one of the rooms will feature richly textured or patterned wallpaper. Stroud says she’s used wallpaper in five rooms to date, and “we still have more to do!”

One eye-catching example of effective wallpaper selection and installation is the primary bedroom, which, at the outset, represented a “simple white box.” New furniture, including a wooden four-poster bed, flanks an accent wall covered in grasscloth paper patterned with a soothing mix of flora, fauna and birds in the client’s beloved blues and greens, a restful palette perfect for a bedroom. Sweet dreams, indeed.

Designer: Stephanie Stroud Interiors, @stephaniestroudinteriors

Outdoor Contractor: EPIC Landscape Productions, @epiclandscapekc

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.

Above: Elegance comes alive in the details, and this stately Southern-inspired estate is no exception. Past, present, texture, pattern, color—they all unite to tell a story of a remarkable home designed not just to function, but also to cherish.