Greenville’s outpost of Ballard Designs brings its stylish catalog to life
Exquisite details and lasting craftsmanship. Fun fresh hues and must-touch textures. Classic, contemporary designs with a distinctive European influence. For many of us, these descriptions call to mind a famous catalog that was a joy to discover in the mailbox, brimming with whimsical inspiration for more than 40 years: Ballard Designs.
Those crisp, colorful pages are now a multi-sensory experience in downtown Greenville. “Ballard Designs opened their first brick-and-mortar store 20 years ago and opened their 19th store in Greenville’s historic Army-Navy building this spring,” reveals Gretchen Morin, the store’s manager, who notes the enthusiasm Ballard has already seen from the community.
“So many people who come through our doors say, ‘I had no idea you were a brick and mortar. I’ve gotten your catalog for years!’ They take pictures outside, pointing up to the sign. The space is bright. It’s bustling. It’s fun. And people now have the opportunity to come in and truly feel the quality that they perceived when looking through the pages. It is an honor and a pleasure to bring the catalog to life in such an exciting way.”
Morin loves when nostalgic community members drift in, recalling stories of their childhood, only to discover the Ballard brand for the first time. “They want to see what’s changed. It feels different . . . and because we’ve kept it a historic building, we’ve stayed true to a lot of things [they loved]—the Army-Navy store sign is still there, along with the Ballard sign. We preserved as much of the hardwood floors as we could and matched them where we couldn’t. There is a tin ceiling on the first floor that was restored, as well as the original open beam work on the second floor. That history is part of our journey now.”
The product curation reflects the shop’s new home, too. “We feature a South Carolina artist out of Charleston, Rick Reinert, who paints Southern oaks in a contemporary impressionist style,” adds Morin. “You’ll also notice colors of the regional landscape throughout many of our fabrics, pillows, lamps . . . we use a lot of cornflower blue, a Ballard signature color that you also see in homes throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. These designs are very true to South Carolina, whether you’re in the Lowcountry or the Upstate.”
Much like the catalog, the store is fully equipped to customize almost any item to a homeowner’s vision—from curating entire rooms to taking fabric from your grandmother’s wedding dress and reimagining it as a vanity stool. The store employs several interior designers with decades of experience between them and more than 300 fabrics at hand, and the team uses proprietary 3D rendering technology to help visualize the end result in your space.
“For the person who says, ‘I have no idea where to start. I just moved to the area and bought a house, please help me,’ we can do it all,” Morin says with a smile. “We can meet with you in the store. We can go to your home. We can even do measurements for you and figure out what exactly it is that you’re looking for.”
Just Out: Fall Trends to Fall For
Twice a year, Ballard releases a new design collection that embraces current trends in interior design. The new fall collection has just arrived, and it features:
- Deep, rich jewel tones like emerald, ruby, and sapphire
- Whimsical floral prints, bows, and scalloped edgings
- Antelope and cheetah prints as unexpected neutrals
- Textural highlights like bouclé, linen, and thick cottons
The trends reflected in the collection are balanced by a strong nod to the brand’s history, incorporating classical details inspired by Helen Ballard’s first iconic designs, such as blue-and-white chinoiserie and the company’s first bestseller, the Dolphin Table.
