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Matt Terry (left) and Jason Baker at Canvas Tattoo & Art Gallery in NoDa.

Fresh Start Kitchen

Interior designer Melissa Lee renovated her kitchen to work for her family

BY LEILA WILHELM

MELISSA LEE’S light- lled, quartz-clad kitchen wasn’t always this catalog-worthy. When the interior designer bought her Matthews home in 2006, the room was dark and closed o . Without a sight line to the living room, she says, it was di cult to keep an eye on her growing children while she cooked.

She craved a new kitchen for ve years before completing a two-month renovation in 2018, which increased the kitchen’s functionality and incorporated Lee’s love for Southern style.

As owner of the Matthews-based interior design company New South Home, Lee works with clients to create stylish yet comfortable spaces. Transforming a room in her own home, however, proved more di cult. “It’s harder to make decisions for myself because I am very aware that I will not be able to change it,” Lee says, noting that she looked at “a thousand” light xtures before she chose the trio of gold pendants that hang above the island.

One design element that did come easily was the color scheme. Lee says she has always been drawn to navy and white, and loves the idea of warming these cooler shades with brass accents.

Classic white kitchens, she says, dominate Pinterest boards and design catalogs for a reason. “I always tell my clients, ‘Martha Stewart had a white kitchen 20 years ago, and it’s still in style because it is timeless.’”

In contrast with her pristine white cabinets and countertop, Lee integrated pops of cobalt blue throughout the kitchen—like her beloved KitchenAid stand mixer, which she received for her wedding and still uses to bake pies for the holidays.

Southern design is unique in that way—it preserves traditional style while showcasing sentimental pieces. In the adjacent dining room, 16 china plates adorn the walls—the same plates that hung in Lee’s childhood home. (Originally, there were 28, one for each year her parents were married.) “It’s those details and special touches that de ne Southern homes,” she says. “They are never stark, and that’s what draws me to them.”

The focal point of the kitchen is a painting titled "Up in Smoke," which hangs above the stove top in place of a range hood. Though the piece is intended to hang horizontally, Lee chose to display it on its side to mimic smoke rising from the stove. She also installed a sconce above to act as a range hood light.

Designer Melissa Lee in her renovated kitchen.