Peek inside the swoon-worthy closets of 3 of the city’s most chic women: Part III

This is Part III of our three-part closet series. Read Part I here. And read Part II here.

Three Charlotte women let us inside their closets—and sartorial sensibilities—to show that it’s possible for one of the most overlooked rooms of the home to also be one of the most glamorous.

Holly Phillips

It took a popular blogger challenge for interior designer Holly Phillips of The English Room (theenglishroom.biz) to commit to giving her own bedroom and closet an overhaul. For the biannual “One Room Challenge,” 20 design bloggers each redo a room in six weeks, sharing their progress online with weekly updates and, ultimately, a big reveal.

Phillips participated in May 2017, and it was just the call the action the 46-year-old needed to organize and reconfigure how she organizes her stunning collection of clothing and accessories at her home in Deering Oaks.

“More is more,” says Phillips, quoting her style icon, Iris Apfel. “I like everything embroidered, embellished, or overdone.”

Phillips’ closet-design inspiration started with wallpaper on the ceiling, ordered from NewWall (newwall.com). She loved that the hue tied into the glossy pink of her bedroom, and the little dashes of color were an added bonus.

Your closet doesn’t have to be white on white,” says Phillips. After she picked her color palette, Phillips bought a new light fixture, a sisal rug and a hooked runner for impact. She ordered the earring and bracelet displays from Amazon.

Phillips has always been drawn to shoes, accessories, and bags for their timelessness—the more distinctive, the better. She bought the gilded étagère from Wisteria to offer more storage and highlight some of her favorite items. “I wanted to be able to display them like art,” she says.

Among the many covetable accessories on display is Phillips’ collection of wicker baskets, including her mother-in-law’s Nantucket basket from about 30 years ago. The camel, Volkswagen, and elephant baskets are all from Kate Spade.

Phillips’ closet overhaul turned out to be less about design and more about editing and organization. She brought in professional organizer Jennifer Burnham of Pure and Simple Carolinas (pureandsimplecarolinas.com) to help. After organizing her wares by color and like items, Phillips used a double rod to create more space for her long, hanging dresses, and she recommends hanging necklaces from the inside of the shelving. “You have to be able to see it in order to wear it,” says Phillips.

This story first ran in SouthPark Magazine.

Written by: Whitley Adkins Hamlin

Portrait photo by Julia Fay Photography

Closet photos by: EA Decker Photography

This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 9:00 PM.