Tour a Dreamy Coastal Savannah Mansion Filled With Design Inspiration

Garden designer Holley Jaakkola's Isle of Hope home is a unique blend of old South and a decidedly cool, modern sensibility equal parts ABC Carpet & Home and Anthropologie.

By: Felicia Feaster

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Photo By: Tomas Espinoza

A Peaceful, Gracious Setting

Garden designer Holley Jaakkola's gorgeous home in Savannah's coastal Isle of Hope community 15 minutes from downtown can often suggest a film set. This beautifully manicured, idyllic, old-fashioned 1850 home sits on a quiet country road where children in bathing suits ride bikes and the pace is calm and removed from the fracas of modern life. The home is separated from the water by that narrow road and the entire Isle of Hope community has a sleepy, lost-in-time attitude.

Setting the Stage

A dramatic foyer with an arresting light fixture and a supersized mushroom sculpture in the distance instantly lets visitors know they have entered a special, enchanted home.

Wow Factor

Perhaps the most festive, glittering, magical room in a home filled with such inspired moments, Jaakkola's kitchen is defined by a custom-made, enormous island, a mirrored bar filled with beautiful glassware and a generous marble sink. "I think that you should make life really fun," says Holley Jaakkola of the playful spirit she has brought to her home design.

Raising the Bar

The perfect place, when you think of it, to mix up a killer cocktail is the kitchen. This drinks station tucked into Jaakkola's kitchen ups the glam quotient of an already very fancy kitchen.

It's Always Party Time

Festive paper bunting lends a party-time air to this elegant-meets-fun kitchen. Glass pendant lights and chandeliers in multiple styles lend an element of grandeur.

Southern Citrus

Calamondin fruit makes a beautiful edible arrangement in small vases on Jaakkola's kitchen island.

Inspired Details

Artful details abound in Holley Jaakkola's historic Savannah home including a concrete squirrel that most would place in the garden but Jaakkola perches on her marble kitchen sink. Inspired, unexpected details like this give the home its strong sense of style and personality.

Elegant Guest Bath

A gorgeously spare downstairs guest bathroom off the kitchen benefits from mixed metals in the light fixture, hardware and various accessories.

Epic Kitchen

This keeping room brings a relaxing feel to the large kitchen and allows plenty of room for guests and family to hang out in this always-social space.

Keeping Room

Botanical and floral artwork and objects are a consistent visual theme in this Savannah home including this keeping room right off the kitchen.

Antelope As Art

A taxidermy antelope draped in a scarf, necklace and star garland ramps up the wittiness in this home's keeping room.

Dine In

A gorgeous vintage shade of green defines this elegantly old world dining room filled with antiques and linen dining chairs monogrammed with the initials of Jaakkola's family members. Jaakkola's home is a favorite destination for her daughters' friends and she makes sure her home feels welcoming to children. "I love having them around" says Jaakkola and so, "people can break things" she notes of a beautiful home where nothing is too precious that an accident would unnerve her.

Historic Details

Ground level windows that reach to the floor and can even be passed through for access to the porch are one of the unique features that define this historic Savannah home. The original window glass in the home featured musket holes left over from the Civil War.

Artsy Arrangement

An arrangement of art: contemporary black and white photography, work on paper and vintage bird illustrations give this mantelscape its eclectic sense of style.

Light It Up

Twinkly fairy lights fill the fireplace for a quirky touch in this neutral living room whose cool, modern feel comes courtesy of a large painting. Most homes in Savannah feature original artwork, a distinct advantage of living in a town where the Savannah College of Art and Design turns out a constant stream of talented artists. Though great style is obviously a part of this home, Southern hospitality is critical too. "I want people to feel comfortable," says Jaakkola.

Songbirds

A living room filled with antiques and quirky, modern touches features a row of guitars and, in the background, an oversized bird cage.

Cheerful Brights

Jaakkola's two daughters benefit from a mother with a very elevated design sense and a strong sense of whimsy and wit in her choices. Holley Jaakkola's love of color and her quirky sensibility are in full effect in this bedroom where acid-bright colors jump out against the soaring white ceiling and neutral bed linens.

Work-Play Space

The bright colors continue on the other side of this bedroom where a long work table is perfect for art and homework projects and eye-popping electric yellow features lend attitude to the look. The overall effect is of a hip designer's atelier just right for sparking a young girl's creativity.

Bunny Hutch

A bevy of pets including dogs, chickens and this sweet black and white bunny give this charming Savannah home the feel of a very modern farm.

World of Whimsy

The landing at the top of the second floor stairs is a tribute to all things flora and fauna and includes a charming vignette featuring two stuffed animals.

Collectibles

A fascinating collection of seashells, coral, turtle shells and other elements from the natural world enliven this hallway display in Jaakkola's creatively decorated Savannah home.

More Animal Friends

A collection of paper mache animal heads are one of the charming touches in this story book Savannah home with a surprise around every corner.

Welcoming Gate

A custom metal gate from renowned Savannah blacksmith Ivan Bailey marks the entrance to Holley Jaakkola's garden, which features so many unique Southern plant and tree species it has been documented by Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution.

Home Office

An atmospherically weathered outbuilding functions as Jaakkola's home office where she can meet with clients and express her garden design style.

Garden Gear

Floor to ceiling shelves house all of Jaakkola's garden supplies in her Savannah home.

Night Watchman

A stuffed raccoon keeps a lookout in Jaakkola's office outbuilding.

Garden Collage

Even Jaakkola's work space has the curated feel of a New York shop window. Here a vintage scarecrow, pitchforks and research tools create an appealing tableau in her outbuilding/home office.

Fungi Art

A cool spin on the usual garden art, these concrete mushrooms are a great conversation piece.

Group Chat

Weathered wooden chairs in the garden lend a casual, rustic air to the outside space of this Savannah home.

Inspiration Board

A cork board in a vintage frame serves as Jaakkola's inspiration board for her garden design.

Heritage Chickens

A variety of heritage chicken breeds populate the family chicken coop.

Chicken Digs

An assortment of heritage chicken breeds call this backyard coop home.

Handsome Hen

One of the good-looking chicks in Jaakkola's coop.

Beach Vibe

A dolphin skeleton provides eccentric decor in Jaakkola's guest cottage living room.

Bespoke Bath

An antique Italian sink takes center stage in this luxurious guest bathroom in the guest cottage on Jaakkola's property.