Layered, Livable, and Yours: The Indigo Alley Approach to Design

When we talk about "livable design," we're not just referring to stain-resistant fabrics or a well-placed storage bench. We mean spaces that are built for real life—comfortable, considered, and full of quiet character. At Indigo Alley, our interiors are shaped around how you live, not just how things look.

Design That Lives With You

A balance of old and new makes this living room feel both timeless and uniquely personal.

Your home isn’t a showroom. It’s where your kid drops their backpack, where friends gather for casual dinners, where the dog naps in a sun patch. So when we choose a rug, we’re thinking about how it feels underfoot and how it holds up. When we hang art, we think about how it connects to the space, the story, or the moment. Good design doesn’t just fill a room—it gives it purpose.

Layering With Intention

Layering is central to what we do. It brings depth and warmth to a space, but it also helps a home feel personal. That might mean mixing materials, periods, or patterns. A vintage table with modern chairs. A clean-lined sofa paired with handwoven pillows. It's about balance, not perfection. The goal isn’t to simply impress—it’s to reflect the people who live there.

How We Begin

Every project starts with listening. We want to understand what matters to you, what your day-to-day looks like, and how your space needs to function. From there, we build a design story through finishes, furnishings, and thoughtful details that support your lifestyle and feel authentic to you.

Layered neutrals, durable finishes, and generous island seating—this kitchen was designed to host, gather, and grow.

This family-friendly entryway balances function with calm, layered style

Keeping It Simple

Design can feel complicated. We work to make it easier. From the first meeting to final install, we keep things clear and collaborative. We’ll guide you through decisions, keep the moving parts organized, and make sure the process feels steady and supportive.

Final Thoughts

The most successful spaces aren’t just styled—they’re lived in, loved, and designed to evolve with you. If you value thoughtful details, natural textures, and a sense of ease in your home, we’d be excited to collaborate with you. Let’s make something lasting, together.

Ready to start your project? Reach out to us here or book a discovery call. Let’s design a space that feels like it was always meant to be yours.

Let's Talk Color!

Embracing Bold Patterns and Bright Colors in Interior Design

In a world where minimalism often takes center stage, embracing bold patterns and bright colors can be a refreshing way to bring personality and energy into a space. Whether you're looking to make a dramatic statement or add playful accents, incorporating vibrant hues and striking designs can transform your home into a reflection of your unique style. Here’s how to do it effectively.

The Power of Color

Color has a profound impact on mood and atmosphere. While neutral tones create a sense of calm, bright colors like deep blues, rich reds, and sunny yellows can evoke excitement, creativity, and warmth. When used thoughtfully, these hues can add vibrancy without overwhelming a space.

To get started, consider:

• Paint: One of the easiest and most transformative ways to introduce color into a space. A fresh coat of paint in a bold shade can dramatically shift the mood of a room. Consider color-blocking techniques, ombre effects, or even painted ceilings for a unique touch.

• Furniture Pieces: A brightly colored sofa or statement chair can become the focal point of a living space.

• Artwork and Accessories: Colorful artwork, rugs, and decorative pieces offer easy ways to introduce vibrancy without long-term commitment.

Mixing and Matching

Combining bold colors with striking patterns can seem daunting, but a few design principles can help maintain harmony:

• Stick to a Color Palette: Choose a few key colors and use them consistently throughout the space to create cohesion.

• Vary Scale: Mix large-scale patterns with smaller ones to avoid overwhelming the eye.

• Balance with Neutrals: If bold colors and patterns dominate, balance them with neutral furniture or accessories to create visual rest.

Playing with Patterns:

Patterns, whether geometric, floral, or abstract, add depth and interest to interiors. The key to successfully integrating patterns lies in balance and cohesion.

Some ways to incorporate patterns include:

• Wallpaper: A bold, patterned wallpaper can transform a room, making it feel dynamic and lively.

• Textiles: Mixing patterned throw pillows, curtains, and rugs can create a layered and cohesive look.

• Tiling: Intricate tiles in kitchens or bathrooms add personality and artistic flair.

Mixing and Matching:

Combining bold colors with striking patterns can seem daunting, but a few design principles can help maintain harmony:

• Stick to a Color Palette: Choose a few key colors and use them consistently throughout the space to create cohesion.

• Vary Scale: Mix large-scale patterns with smaller ones to avoid overwhelming the eye.

• Balance with Neutrals: If bold colors and patterns dominate, balance them with neutral furniture or accessories to create visual rest.

Making a Statement While Staying Timeless:

If you’re concerned about longevity, consider using bold colors and patterns in ways that can be easily updated. Statement pieces like patterned cushions and vibrant artwork allow you to experiment without a long-term commitment.

At Indigo Alley Interiors, we believe design can be playful and unique while still maintaining a sense of timelessness. Whether you’re ready for a complete transformation or just want to dip your toes into bold design, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way.

Are you ready to embrace the bold? Contact us today to start your journey toward a more vibrant and expressive home!

The Kitchen Island - Do I paint it a different color than my cabinets?

That is the question. We get asked this often, and it’s a good one. “Should I paint my kitchen island a different color than the rest of my kitchen cabinets?” 

There’s definitely no right or wrong answer for everyone. Personally, we love doing a contrast to the island. It can add a bit of color and warmth to your kitchen…and it doesn’t have to be anything drastic! 

Here are some of our recent projects where we have loved how the kitchen island differs from the rest of the cabinets. In these kitchens, the light (or dark!) contrast gives the kitchen some depth and an extra touch of character.

In this lovely kitchen, the medium gray island blends so nicely with the clean, neutral kitchen. The gray compliments the stainless steel appliances as well as the veining in the countertops.  This is a perfect pairing if you’re wanting to add a bit of contrast to the kitchen but you are wanting to keep things neutral. 

Photo by tripp smith

Kitchen Cabinets: Custom Color, NC White

Island: Custom Color, Flint

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Next, we love white cabinets set against a dark gray gothic tile backsplash. We chose a greige for the kitchen island…the almost stone color is a beautiful contrast on the island. It brings some earthy tones to an otherwise neutral kitchen, and we can’t get enough of that greige.

Photo by jess ballard

Kitchen Cabinets - BM Simply White

Island - SW Argos

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This serene coastal kitchen is so dreamy in its completion.

The kitchen cabinets are actually an off-white color. For the island, we chose a natural white oak wood finish to go with the rest of the house. It is such a soft neutral for this kitchen…the natural wood is the star of this kitchen and adds the perfect warmth to the space.

We are so happy with how this kitchen turned out!

photography by jess ballard

Kitchen Cabinets - Custom color, Divinity White

Island - Custom white oak finish

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Lastly, this darker transitional kitchen features pops of black in the windows, the hood, and hardware. The surrounding cabinets compliment those in a lovely earthy stone color. To contrast, the kitchen island shines in a black onyx finish.

It’s a bold choice and works perfectly in this kitchen. 

photo by callie cranford

Kitchen Cabinets - Custom color, Stone

Island - Custom color, Onyx

High Point Market, Fall 2022

Our team recently returned from a few days at High Point Market in North Carolina. It’s an amazing and creative (and a bit exhausting!) chance to meet current and new vendors, watch for trends, get inspired, and come home ready to tackle your client’s projects. There’s endless tours, speakers, treats and snacks, free bags for the loot, and inspiration everywhere you look.

“Market brought excitement about what’s to come which I am looking forward to sharing with our clients!”

— Michelle Beck

We certainly had a few clients and projects in mind as we walked through showrooms and booths of fabrics, finishings, wallpapers, furniture, lighting, etc. Market definitely gets your creative juices flowing! We tried to take note of things we loved like all the different pattern and textures, colors, burlwood, and as well some upholstery do’s and don’ts.

We are excited to share with you our trip to Market and look forward to continuing to design creative and livable spaces for you and your families!

COLOR AND PATTERN

First off, touring showroom after showroom, the most obvious design features that we couldn’t get enough of were COLOR and PATTERN! We aren’t saying that color is a new trend or ever went away, but there are some years that neutral, earth-tones tend to rule the color palettes. We were so excited to see color everywhere! In velvets galore, colored upholstery, contrast trim (love!), paint details on furniture, candy-colored lamps, pillows and more! Mix, don’t match, they say. See our video on Instagram for our favorites!

BURLWOOD

We also admired all of the beautiful burlwood furniture showcased. Sometimes a side table, a dresser, a dining table…burlwood has a beautiful unique quality to it, that invokes character and is highly sought after. Burlwood furniture is a great addition to any space…it doesn’t really fall into a specific “style” or design type. It makes a great accent piece that is a bit of a neutral but definitely brings depth to a space.

Did you know that the burl is actually a grain characteristic in wood? A burl is a large, knobby-looking growth on the base and trunk of the tree. Once burls are cleaned and cut at the processing facility, they are made into slabs for table tops, mantles or other furniture.

It’s hard not to be attracted to the beautiful shiny finish of burlwood. Below are some of our favorite pieces we came across at Market.

Aren’t they lovely?!

UPHOLSTERY DO’S AND DON’TS

We saw a couple pieces that made us scratch our heads a bit (and hey, that’s ok! We don’t have to all like the same things). Based on our past and current projects, we felt like we could offer a little advice to anyone considering custom upholstery for their space.

These two chairs were upholstered with the very trendy boucle fabric on one part of the furniture. While we are all for a comfy, warm snuggle in a boucle chair, we felt like the plain color of the boucle took away from the beautiful plaid and blue cheetah prints. In addition, the boucle fabric on the back on the chair in the first picture does sort of defeat the point of using boucle - it must be touched and snuggled with!

Below are some chairs that had multiple fabrics upholstered together that we loved! How fun are theses? The back of a chair is a great way to add contrast, color and pattern to a room. It can really make a chair stand out and bring something new to a space. Would you try it?

It was so great to be back at High Point after a few years. Though it was a fun, creative, bonding experience together, it was still after all, a business trip. We walked, we looked, we touched! We were there to accomplish goals, connect with vendors and reps we’ve only known online, and to most importantly, look out for our clients and future projects.

We leave you with one of our fierce leaders, Margaret Lee, who may have very well sat in every chair we saw at Market, you know, to really make sure they were suitable for our clients.

“It’s always exciting to be surrounded by people who really love design. It re-energizes you. It’s fun to see all of the latest designs and trends and to get a sense of which way design is headed. While Charleston does have some really great resources and vendors, it is not always possible to see the products we are specing for our clients in person before ordering. Visiting with our vendors and going to the showrooms in person brings another level of knowledge to our designs.”

— Margaret Lee Moniz

If anything catches your eye or would like to learn more about the design services we offer, please reach out to us. We’d love to work with you!