When designer and innkeeper Candace DeLoach moved to Charlottesville from New York City in 1992, she immediately went to work, opening an antiques shop and interior design business with her brother, Michael, and the Eighteen Seventeen Historic Bed & Breakfast located on Court Square. When she acquired a second building in 1999, she opened The Inn at Court Square in downtown’s oldest building, built in 1785, and moved the rest of her endeavors downtown four years later. The area is her home base for everything—she even lives in the inn! We asked her to tell us what a homeowner should never scrimp on, why small art is better on the bottom and who her favorite designer is (hint: They’re related!).—Caite White
Antique or modern?
I love antiques and modern furniture, but I’m most passionate about mixing in midcentury modern pieces. Midcentury pieces keep traditional interiors from being boring and soften modern interiors. My midcentury modern collection was featured in Architectural Digest.
What is your favorite interior design-related word? Ultra. As in ultra shiny, ultra modern, ultra chic…
Does your home look like the one you grew up in? It looks like the home in Savannah I grew up in. My parents were both interior designers and we were always redecorating. Growing up, decorating decisions were always done by a committee and they are still being done that way today with my brother, Michael, and my 87-year-old mother, who lives in the inn.
Favorite designer? Michael DeLoach, my brother and design partner, who I have been working with for over 25 years, has great sense of color and materials. I love the way he handles architectural details. I can’t imagine having a better design partner.
Décor-wise, what should a homeowner never scrimp on? I see more people make mistakes on draperies. Draperies need to be simple and hung as high as possible and touching the floor. Draperies also need to be really full, at least two widths per panel, or don’t do draperies at all. I have been doing wall-to-wall draperies that are track mounted on the ceiling. Wooden blinds or simple shades are better than doing skimpy draperies.
Design rule you like to break? I like to hang bigger pictures above smaller ones instead of vice versa, which creates tension.
What is your most treasured possession? A large abstract painting that I bought when I was 16 from a doctor’s estate in Savannah.
Have you ever had a change of heart about an object or a style? Yes, I painted a room in the inn a yellow-green color and thought it was too bright, but after furniture was installed, it wasn’t. Years later, I realized it wasn’t bright enough and repainted it a more intense color.
If you could live in one historical figure’s house, whose would it be? Coco Chanel’s Paris apartment was stylish, chic and comfortable. Another side of me loves the architecture of Ernest Hemingway’s home in Key West.
On what movie set would you like to live? Breakfast at Tiffany’s for its whimsy and Auntie Mame for its style.
What is your first design memory? When Michael was 9, he decorated his bedroom, complete with mylar wallpaper with giant peacock feathers, but I wasn’t allowed to design my own bedroom—probably because I was only 6! I was in awe of his 1960s groovy room because my parents had done my entire bedroom in powder blue walls, powder blue carpet, powder blue raw silk draperies and headboard and painted French furniture. It was a perfect little girl’s room, but I hated it.
Want to know more about Candace? Visit online at deloachdesign.com or in person at 400 E. Jefferson St.
