1 of 6
2 of 6
3 of 6
4 of 6
5 of 6
6 of 6
Mounted on the freshly painted blue walls of fashion designer Kayce Hughes's living room are two simple yet striking paintings.
'Those are both mine,” she points out. 'I'm a maker. I love making things. I love painting. I was a studio art major in college, and I'm always doing something.”
Always doing something is an understatement: Hughes is a mother of seven and the owner of three eponymous boutiques in Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville. The longtime designer, who comes from fashion royaltyher aunt was Lilly Pulitzerstarted out in her native New York working for Ralph Lauren. Once her first child was born (the kids now range in age from 9 to 21), she became a stay-at-home mom; a year later, she found herself moving the family to Nashville for her husband Scott's marketing job.
During those early days, with small children at home, Hughes began making things. She started with wooden boxes and moved onto nightshirts for the kids. Eventually, she created an entire line of clothing, which was carried in several shops around the country. In 2010, she opened her first store in Chattanooga.
'I'm definitely a fan of color. I gravitate toward things that are classic and timeless but also with a fun sort of vintage element to them,” she explains. 'And I think my customer is someone who wants to look pretty but doesn't want to have a freakout when their kid wipes their chocolate mouth on [the clothes].”
Her design mantra mimics how she lives at home. The Hughes' five-bedroom house, built in the 1940s, is always evolving with the family's needs. (Currently, three of their children are living in New Yorktwo are in college, and one is training to be a ballerina.) It's also always changing colors. Beds that used to be green are now blue, nightstands that were once bright yellow are now white. Last fall, Hughes transformed the kitchen and living room from green and red to blue.
She and Scott, who is also a professional photographer, are self-proclaimed thrifters, saying they've spent many date nights scouring stores before dinner at their favorite local spot, Caffé Nonna. Beyond her love of objects from the past, Hughes also has an eye for potentialshe is a big fan of spray paint. As a result, their home is decorated with antique lamps, chipped metal chairs from the 1950s (that's exactly how she likes them), and a huge round pine table that seats nine.
'I love filling the house with pieces and things that I find that I like and mixing old and new. Often, it will all start with color. It's been really fun changing [the] kitchen to blue. Now I'm out there finding blue stuff,” Hughes says.
The busy mom notes that while it is hard to maintain balance between work and family, she sometimes lets go of the small stuff. 'There is no woman that is Superwoman. Our house is messy a lot. It's not perfect,” she says. 'We do what matters most and what makes us the most happy. I love having a big family. I love kids.” Looking ahead, Hughes hopes to start showing her art publicly and will continue designing for her stores. One thing is for sure: She will be living her life colorfully.