FURNISHING YOUR CHARLESTON HOME WITH PURPOSE AND STYLE

Attention to detail and design make Southeastern Galleries a standout

by CHRISTINA ANDREWS / photography by HOLGER OBENAUS

Southeastern Galleries has provided high-quality custom furnishings to generations of families in the Charleston area. No matter whether a client is looking for a single piece, to redecorate an entire room or to have a new home furnished from top to bottom, Southeastern is at the ready.

“‘Everyone should have the opportunity to work with an interior designer’ is the family motto at Southeastern Galleries,” says Trudie Cooper Krawcheck,

“Serenity” 24x24 oil who represents the third generation of this distinctive, fourgeneration home furnishings design center. Founded by Krawcheck’s father, William Thomas Cooper, and grandfather, Norman Lee Cannon, Southeastern Galleries is an institution in Charleston, a city renowned for its rich architectural history and its graceful and gentile lifestyle. Southeastern Galleries’ offerings knowingly reflect the elegant, idiosyncratic and time-tested beauty of this region in a way that chain furniture stores cannot.

Southeastern boasts a 30,000-square-foot showroom, plus an expansive warehouse and offices. Rather than leave customers to their own devices when roaming this vast facility, Southeastern Galleries provides a skilled interior designer to every client. Guests are encouraged to bring architectural plans and photos with them or to have store designers come to their property to assess furnishing needs, be it for specific rooms or larger areas of the house. Through these in-person consultations, customers can convey which furnishings and artwork will remain and which items are to be replaced. Southeastern’s designers then offer advice on the type of furnishings that can be artfully woven into the preexisting colors, patterns, layout and style of the home.

Southeastern’s storefront showcases a vast array of furniture, rugs and carpeting, light fixtures, window treatments, linens, accessories and décor, and provides an experience whereby customers can weigh options in three dimensions, testing comfort, touching fabrics, sizing-up the scale of the pieces and visualizing the effects of color and lighting. Once the designer has an idea of the client’s preferences, each piece is customized accordingly with the client’s choice of fabric, finish or stain, decorative hardware, etc. Rooms to be transformed are then rounded out with handwoven or custom-sized broadloom rugs, window treatments, decorative lighting and fine art elements, including archival-quality canvas and giclée prints. In bedroom vignettes, designers also assist in “dressing the bed,” offering custom linens, pillows and mattresses appropriate to the overall concept of the space.

For homeowners, architects and designers searching for a one-stop shop for the core components of interior design, Southeastern Galleries is the perfect choice. For nearly 70 years, Southeastern has curated exclusive brands that blend with the region’s rich heritage. Local architectural styles supported through its offerings include traditional Lowcountry, the varied coastal island aesthetics and transitional styles that are prevalent in remodels and new construction and blend historical architectural elements with features supportive of contemporary lifestyles.

Charleston’s historic architectural styles range from Colonial, Federal, Classical Revival and Italianate to Georgian, Victorian, Gothic Revival and Art Deco. With Southeastern Galleries’ expert designers, clients can rest assured that the furnishings they purchase will resonate with the bones of their unique property.

Another great service provided by Southeastern Galleries is the warehousing of each client’s custom furnishings. As custom-made items are completed and shipped from the manufacturers, they are held at the company’s warehouse until work on the client’s home is complete. At that time, Southeastern’s qualified and trusted staff bring the items to the home and with the oversight of the interior designer precisely place and install all furnishings per the schematics drawn up in the planning process. Staff ensure all items are carefully handled: window coverings are expertly hung, rugs properly laid and secured, decorative items arranged, and art prints hung with precision. It is this attention to detail and seeing the process through from start to finish that makes Southeastern Galleries stand out from its competitors, and it is the reason that customers return to Southeastern Galleries whenever there are new spaces to fill or a new home to fully furnish.

In working with Southeastern Galleries, clients have access to more than 200 top-quality manufacturers. Exclusive brands include Baker, Tommy Bahama, Lexington Home, Hickory White,

Lillian August, Hancock & Moore, Chelsea House, Tamarian and Samad Rugs, Woodbridge, Sligh, Chaddock, Barclay Butera, Summer Classics, Sherrill, Palecek, Dovetail and Currey & Company, to name a few. In addition to indoor furnishings, the highest-quality outdoor furnishings are also offered. Also of note is Southeastern’s huge inventory of handwoven rugs from Nepal and India, which is unsurpassed in the region.

Krawcheck and her team of skilled interior designers look forward to providing you with a fantastic experience. *

Christina Andrews is a freelance writer from the Napa Valley who specializes in personal and business bios, food and wine, visual arts, music, hospitality, the event industry, community interest stories, obituaries and political satire.

SOUTHEASTERN GALLERIES

1885 ASHLEY RIVER ROAD

CHARLESTON, SC 29407

846.556.4663

SOUTHEASTERNGALLERIES.COM