For the last seven years, designer Lisa Sherry lived in a circa-1926 classic Georgian home in High Point. After splitting her interior design business between High Point and Charlotte for several years, Sherry was ready to head south to the Queen City fulltime. Only this time, she wanted a major change. “I have always toyed with renovating and modernizing a home over the years,” she says. “So I thought being in a home that’s more modern and fresh and new would be a fun change, something completely different.”
Sherry settled on a new construction three-story flat with a spacious rooftop in Third Ward. Located within walking distance of Bank of America Stadium and Uptown, not to mention the surrounding design district in Third Ward, the condo did not need a renovation, but it did check all of the modern boxes that Sherry was looking for. “I love that living here is walkable and close to the greenway,” she says. “I’ve always loved modern homes, but never had the opportunity to live in one until now.”
Though Sherry’s previous residence was traditional, the interiors were decidedly transitional and modern. “I love to mix things up,” explains Sherry of her design philosophy. “In my Georgian house, it was important for me to add more modern pieces. Otherwise, it just felt very one-note. If you have a modern space, you want to make it more classic. If it’s more classic, you want to make it more modern. Now I have this modern space, so I want the interior design to lean more classic.”
Bathed in natural sunlight—a feature Sherry was immediately drawn to—the 2,200-square-foot flat’s clean, architectural details were the ideal blank canvas. Sherry’s signature aesthetic is neutral and tone-on-tone, so to create interest, she looks to texture over vibrant hues and bold patterns to make a space look and feel sophisticated yet comfortable.
Sherry’s home is her creative lab, where she can experiment with various design elements before incorporating them into her clients’ homes. “I can test things out and see what works and take a few design risks, so I get to have more fun and play a bit more,” she says. “I’m always a little more eclectic in my own home than I am with my clients’. I feel like I can layer a lot more and create a more collected look in my own space versus in my clients’ homes.”
On the second floor, which consists of the living and dining rooms and kitchen in one large, seamless space, Sherry put that layered aesthetic to work by adding carefully curated collections of design books in the living room while in the downstairs foyer, hats are stacked atop a goathead statue. “Sometimes it scares clients to be too eclectic or to have too many things,” she says of her collections. “But homeowners come to us because they love that clean, openair, serene feeling, and if it becomes too cluttered, they feel like they’re going to lose that. So I love to showcase in my own home how that’s not the case if it’s done thoughtfully and purposefully.”
For Sherry, it’s all about juxtaposition, as well—the marrying of two opposing styles to create an interesting and cohesive design. “I love that mix of European pieces with modern items,” she says, noting the Ralph Lauren French bergère chair in the living room opposite the charcoal mohair sofa by Verellen. In the nearby dining space, the modern lines of the Mr. Brown dining table pair beautifully with the vintage 1970s dining chairs—yet another coupling of opposing styles Sherry loves to weave into her designs.
To create sophisticated, livable, and ultimately comfortable spaces for herself and her clients, Sherry designs with function in mind. The downstairs bedroom office was transformed into an at-home workout space, which left the dining table to double as a workstation. “With the quarantine, we worked remotely, so that became my go-to work area,” she says. “I love that I can also nestle up to the island in the cozy linen bench and work from there, too.” On the third floor, Sherry transformed a basic guest bedroom into a media sitting room by adding two daybeds upholstered in a cream, brushed cotton, which turn into twin beds when guests are in town. “When I have my girlfriends over or when visitors come to stay, they easily switch into beds,” she explains.
The transition for Sherry from suburban Georgian home to modern urban condo has been one the designer has looked forward to for quite some time. “This was exactly what I was looking for at the right time in my life,” she says.