Warm, beautifully designed living room with layered textiles and natural light

Interior Design · Charleston, SC

Rooms that remember you.

Interior design for Charleston homes and the people who live in them. Thoughtful, layered, and built to last beyond the trends.

Charleston · Lowcountry · Coastal Georgia

Selected Work

Elegant South of Broad living room with antique details and warm plaster walls

The Rutledge Residence · South of Broad

Sullivan's Island cottage interior with coastal textures and natural light

Sullivan's Island Cottage · Lowcountry

Downtown Charleston loft with modern restraint and historical character

The Wraggborough Loft · Downtown Charleston

Sea Island kitchen with custom cabinetry and warm stone countertops

A Sea Island Kitchen · Dataw Island

Historic district townhouse primary bedroom with layered linens

The Battery Townhouse · Historic District

Aiken guest house with collected antiques and warm layered palette

Aiken Guest House · Lowcountry

I believe a well-designed room should feel collected, not decorated. It should hold your grandmother’s silver and your kids’ art without apology. It should have one thing that makes you smile every time you walk in.

Good design isn’t about following rules — it’s about knowing which ones to break, and when. My rooms tend toward restraint: a palette pulled from what the light does in the afternoon, a sofa that’s firm enough for reading, walls that feel like they’ve been there longer than they have.

I’ve been designing Charleston homes for nine years. The house always wins in the end. My job is to help you hear what yours is asking for.

— Isabelle Graham, Principal, Ember & Oak

Services

How we work together

Full-Home Design

from $45,000

Complete design services from concept through installation. Includes space planning, custom furniture sourcing, material and finish selection, contractor coordination, and installation day management. Most full-home projects take 9–14 months.

Single-Room Design

from $8,000

One room, treated with the same intention as a full home. Ideal for a primary bedroom, kitchen refresh, or the dining room that's been 'almost right' for five years. Includes 3D rendering and a complete shopping list.

Design Consultation

$450 for 90 minutes

An in-home session for the homeowner who wants a professional eye, not full-service design. You'll leave with a clear plan, sourcing recommendations, and answers to the questions you've been circling. Available in the Charleston metro only.

The Process

From first call to final reveal

01

Discovery

We meet in your home. I listen more than I talk. I learn how you actually live.

02

Concept

A full concept presentation: mood boards, material samples, space plans. One direction, done completely.

03

Sourcing

Custom orders, antique hunting, trade vendors. I source across price points to hit your budget without compromise.

04

Installation

One installation day (sometimes two). You hand me the keys; I handle everything.

05

Reveal

The day you walk back in. My favorite part of the job.

Isabelle Graham, principal designer of Ember & Oak Interiors

About

About Isabelle

I grew up between Virginia and South Carolina, and the Lowcountry always felt like home — the particular quality of late-afternoon light here, the way houses hold their history without trying.

I studied Interior Architecture at SCAD Savannah, worked for a decade at a residential firm in Atlanta, and opened Ember & Oak in 2015 after realizing that the work I loved most — the deep, long-relationship kind — didn’t require a team of fifteen.

My clients tend to be people who have good taste and don’t quite trust it yet. They want a partner who will fight for the details and tell them the honest truth about their floor plan. That’s what I try to be.

I live in the historic district with my husband, two children, and a dog who has strong opinions about upholstery.

Southern LivingGarden & GunDominoLuxe InteriorsHouse Beautiful

Kind Words

Izzy has a rare ability to understand what you want before you can articulate it. Our house has always been good-looking. After working with her, it finally feels right.

Sarah & Tom B. · The Rutledge Residence

We hired Izzy for 'just one room' and ended up doing the whole house over three years. That's not an accident — once you experience working with her, you don't want to stop.

Margaret F. · Sullivan's Island

She found an antique mirror at an estate sale in Savannah that cost $200 and is the best thing in our living room. That’s the eye she brings.

James & Claire W. · South of Broad, Charleston

Questions

Things people ask

Yes — I regularly work in coastal Georgia (Savannah, Sea Island, Kiawah) and occasionally beyond. Travel is billed at cost above a 60-mile radius.

Between 9 and 18 months, depending on scope and custom order lead times. Single-room projects typically run 3–5 months. I'll give you a realistic timeline during our discovery call.

Single-room design starts at $8,000 in design fees. Full-home projects start at $45,000. Consultations are $450 and require no minimum commitment.

My natural voice is collected and layered — but I've designed everything from spare Scandinavian-influenced spaces to rooms that feel genuinely old. I follow the house and the client, not a signature style.

Design fees cover concept development, presentations, sourcing, and project management. Furniture and materials are invoiced separately at retail. I don't mark up vendor pricing beyond standard industry practice, and I'm transparent about how I'm compensated.

Get in Touch

Begin a project

I take on a limited number of projects each year. Tell me a little about yours.