While Charleston is known for being home to many iconic landmarks and historic homes, one its most famous properties is the Aiken-Rhett House located at 48 Elizabeth Street. This striking estate is considered to be one of the best-preserved townhouses in the nation and J. Grahame Long, Historic Charleston Foundation’s (HCF) director of museums, says it’s an important legacy to the city as the house remains practically unaltered after 200 years. Additionally, it’s one of the few historic homes left in the city that still has its “dependency outbuildings” such as the original kitchen, carriage house and stables, which Long says “dramatically humanizes the inner workings of what was once a grand estate.” By contrast, the outbuildings where the enslaved men and women lived had none of the comforts or grandeur of the main house. Today, visitors can view the Aiken-Rhett slave quarters—which have been virtually untouched since the 1850s and still have the original paint, flooring and fixtures—to better understand the harsh everyday realities of the enslaved Africans who lived and worked there.
While the home was first built in 1820 by a merchant named John Robinson, it became known as the Aiken-Rhett House after the prominent Mr. and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. inherited the property from Willam’s father in 1827. William and his wife Harriet were responsible for transforming the home into the spectacular manse it’s known as today, modeling the interiors after the Greek Revival style that was becoming the hallmark of American southern architecture at the time, according to Long. The couple completely overhauled the property’s floor plan, which is still intact today, to make it more suitable for large gatherings and grand welcome. This was of the utmost importance for Aiken, as he eventually became the state’s most prominent merchant and the governor of South Carolina and desired a grand home base for entertaining and conducting business.
For the last few years, HCF has celebrated its mission of preservation and the holiday season with Illumination Charleston, a series of events centered around history, architecture, and design, with the Aiken-Rhett House as the centerpiece. It is the site of the event’s opening night party and gets decked out by a carefully curated selection of local designers, artists, and tastemakers for the holiday season.
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“Designers and vignettes must compliment the space and pay homage to the delicate history and fragile physical environment in which they will be stated,” says HCF’s Roualeyn de Haas. “With preservation as inspiration, the vignettes are a reinterpretation of a preserved and historical space using contemporary design.”
Not only do they have to keep the historic architecture and interiors in mind, but the selected designers also have to bear in mind that there is no climate control, the house has a decades-old electrical system, and the space hasn’t been restored in decades while outfitting a particular room with high design at the forefront. Thankfully, this home is in great hands, as this year’s list of creatives include: events designer Blake Sams, Stephanie Summerson Hall of Estelle Colored Glass, and interior designer Cortney Bishop.
Aiken-Rhett Holiday 2022 House Tour
While these holiday decorations offer stunning inspiration for the contemporary home, they also feel appropriate for this spectacular 19th-century property. Nearly all of the designers found some sort of inspiration from nature, as the interiors and exterior are decked out with festive greenery, flowers, and seasonal fruits that enliven the grand architecture and period furnishings. Dani Motley of Salt + Stem was responsible for the elegantly festive floral design of the courtyard and entrance of the Aiken-Rhett House, while Blake Sams created a striking yellow and orange floral fete in the dining room—peppered with the finest holiday fruits, such as oranges and persimmons—which also features stemware provided by Stephanie Summerson Hall.
Several of the creatives responsible for this year’s holiday takeover were also united in their desire to fill the space with various artworks that would bring some contemporary flair to these historic spaces. Bishop brought in abstract art and artisanal decor into the double parlor, while Elizabeth Stuart’s Muffie Faith modernized the courtyard entrance with paintings, florals, and a tablescape complete with cabbageware and mushroom lamps. Artist Chris Wyrick is responsible for the main courtyard’s interior art installation. The teams at McLaurin Parker and Maresca Textiles played up both their zest for nature and art with their decoration of the home's cozy library that brings a touch of comfortable, feminine elegance to this room of retreat.
Historic Charleston Foundation is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and you can learn more about the organization's history of preserving the legacy and landscape of both Charleston and the Lowcountry as a whole at HistoricCharleston.org.
Lauren Wicks is a Birmingham-based writer covering design trends, must-have products, travel inspiration, and entertaining. She’s obsessed with globally inspired textiles, hosting dinner parties, and French cocktails.
