Paula Deen's Savannah Style

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Paula

Deen’s

Savannah

Style

with

Brandon Branch

Photographs by

Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn

SIMON & SCHUSTER

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright © 2010 by Paula Deen

Photographs by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department,

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition April 2010

SIMON & SCHUSTER and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.

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Designed by Pinafore Press / Janice Shay

Manufactured in the United States of America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Deen, Paula H. Paula Deen’s Savannah style / by Paula Deen with Brandon Branch; with photographs by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn.

p. cm.

1. Interior decoration—Georgia—Savannah. I. Branch, Brandon. II. Llewellyn, Deborah Whitlaw. III. Title. IV. Title: Savannah style. NK2011.S38 D44 747—dc22 2009038256

ISBN 978-1-4165-5224-6

eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-9988-6

This book is dedicated with love to Savannah, Georgia, my home. Savannah gave me a second chance at life, and the beauty, history, and hospitality of the city continue to inspire and sustain me.

—Paula Deen

This book is a living testament to all that my grandmother, Patsy Forbes, taught me about plants and flowers as a child. She passed on to me her passion for horticulture, as well as an appreciation for the finer things in life. Thank you, Mawmaw!

I thank my parents, Phillip and Sandra Branch, for making me milk the cows, which inspired me to go to college and get an education, and for instilling in me a hard-work ethic that serves me well.

Thanks also to my partner, Jim Johnston, for putting up with me at the end of many long days, and for taking good care of our four-legged children. Jim, you are my strength and my soul mate.

My heartfelt thanks to Paula Deen for believing in me and allowing me to be a part of her family. Paula, I am eternally grateful for all that you’ve taught me.

—Brandon Branch

Acknowledgments

I was blessed to be able to work with a wonderful team of people on this book—quite a few cooks stirred the pot!

Thanks to Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn and Janice Shay for their creative guidance and our shared love of Savannah; thanks also to Jamie Cribbs, my hairdressing genius; to Courtney Fix, my makeup goddess; to interior designer Carolyn Hultman, for her great taste and for sometimes knowing me as well as I know myself; to Christie Smith, for her lovely painted furniture; and special thanks and hugs to my wonderful assistant and coauthor, Brandon Branch.

To all the people who gave freely of their time and their beautiful homes, I want to thank Jane Coslick, Sarah Mieghen, Kelley and Greg Parker, Ellen Bolch, James Morton, Cathy Jarman, Paula Danyluk, Cynthia Hanks, Stephanie Lindley, Charlie Brown, Mary and Howard Morrison, Jeannie Sims, Mo Darden, Donna Foltz, and my own sweet boys, Jamie and Bobby Deen.

Thanks to our editor, Sydny Miner, a Yankee who appreciates Savannah style. And thanks to Michelle Rorke, Sybil Pincus, Nancy Singer, Jackie Seow, and everybody at Simon & Schuster, especially publisher David Rosenthal.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Paula Deen

Foreword by Brandon Branch

Spring

Rockin’ on the Water

Porch Livin’

Screened Porches

Porch Views

Courtyard Gardens & More

Wrought Iron

Wicker

Summer

Dock vs. Deck

Eat-in Kitchens

Slipcovers

Sleeping Porches

Tybee Colors

She Sells Seashells

Cool Parlors

Family Memories

Autumn

Y’all Come On In!

Comfort Rooms

Music Rooms

Going Formal

Book Nooks

Collecting

Silver & Savannahians

Taxidermy

The Art of Faux

Powder Rooms

Winter

Live-in Kitchens

My Walk-in Pantry

Holiday Tables

Holiday Decorating

Flea Market Treasures

Cozy Bedrooms

Southern Hospitality

Source Guide

Index

Introduction

Hi, y’all!

Savannah is a very special place to me and my family. For years I have brought the flavors of my kitchen to you; now it’s time you got to know my hometown the way I do. I was born in Albany, Georgia, but Savannah became my forever home when I moved here in 1987. The wonderful old buildings and timeless Southern traditions just clicked with me, and I’ve never wanted to leave. When I went into the restaurant business in 1991, Savannah opened its arms and heart (as well as its pocketbooks!) and helped my restaurants and me become a success. Savannah is a place where traditional Southern cookin’ fits right in. For that, I am truly grateful.

Savannah is where I raised my boys, found my true love, and welcomed my first grandbaby into this world, so I feel the city is a big part of my family life. I’m so happy to be able to show you my Savannah in this book—my own home, lots of my friends’ beautifully decorated houses, and some of my favorite places and the things that are special to me, and I hope will be special for you. Don’tcha just love to peep into other people’s houses and see how they live? I know I do! When I’m at home there’s always a crowd of people there—friends, business associates who come to meet with me, television crews, either setting up or shutting down production for a show, and, of course, my menagerie of dogs and birds. Thank goodness my house is built to hold a load of people! It’s not terribly big, but there are lots of tables, chairs, porches, outdoor seating areas, and nooks where we can gather and talk, eat or while away some time watchin’ the water. I even have couches in my kitchen—why bother to leave my favorite room if I just need to rest a spell? And for that matter, why make my friends and family gather in another room while I’m fixin’ dinner? I want them there with me, so my kitchen is obviously one of the most important rooms in my house and I’ll be showing you why it’s so special in the pages of this book.

Historic Savannah is a three-hundred-year-old city and the homes here have lots of things about them that make them different from houses in other Southern cities. It’s a city that honors tradition and history and it’s an old-fashioned walking city. When I lived downtown, there were days I did not have to get into my car all day long; I could walk to work at the Lady & Sons! I moved to Wilmington Island in 2001 to be closer to the water. The marshes, water, rivers, creeks, and salt-sea air around here are invigorating, and my new condo felt like a retreat from all the work at the restaurant. The new development had been designed to look like the town houses in the downtown historic district, so I felt I had the best of both worlds.

Savannah and I are a lot alike. I know it sounds odd, but we do have lots of things in common. Consider this: Savannah embraces quirky characters (thank the Lord!), likes things with a little bit of age to them, and loves its Southern traditions. Sound familiar? Honey, I was home the moment I arrived.

I hope you enjoy the special homes I show you in this book. I love them and I think you will, too. My wonderful, amazing assistant and designer, Brandon Branch, will tell you how you can use these Savannah lifestyle ideas for your own home, so you can bring a little Savannah into your life, too.

Lots of love from my home to yours, y’all!

Foreword

It makes me so happy to bring Savannah style to you with this book. In each of the chapters, I will