I rarely pick up Southern Accents magazine, but in an especially slow line at Publix the other day the March/April issue caught my eye. Usually I’d be scanning the tabloid headlines, but if I hear one more thing about Suri’s favorite restaurant or Britney’s meltdown I don’t know what I’ll do. So, I used to think of Southern Accents as froufy and matchy-matchy and full of doilies or pictures of Robert E. Lee. I was totally wrong. Well, almost totally, there are a few way over the top window treatments full of billowing pleats, trim, tassels, etc. but that’s about it. Of course, I have noticed lately that a lot of the most chic designers in all the glossies are coming out of Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans and Alabama; these towns are not just about the Sugarbakers. While the magazine has roots in traditional looks, most of the homes featured are uncluttered, modern, have a great mix of styles and eras and were quite fresh. I especially enjoyed the feature on Madison Spencer’s Rabbit Run transformation which has a lot of TJ, Palladio, and on the back, perhaps a hint of Graves attitude thrown in? It’s brilliant – I love that he used triple-sash windows like TJ used at Monticello:

An Atlanta home by designer Betty Burgess. She has mad art and book arranging skillz, though she does do that backwards book thing, which I think is rather absurd unless you have a secret Dewey decimal system going on in invisible ink or something:

Finally, make sure to check out “New Orleans: Rediscovering Senses and Sensibility.” I just love this shack and its funky gate:

However, in regards to the frou-frou barfy cutesy baby shower feature, no thanks! I pray that I will never have to attend one of those torturous events ever again, especially one of those where they have the nerve not to serve alcohol, and/or make you play the smell the chocolate bar in the diaper game, or any game for that matter. All in all, Southern Accents was worth the cover price. For a free trial, click here.