For designer Carin Elle Mead, a home should reflect the story and traditions of those who dwell there. “Telling someone’s story is a trust my clients place in me. When I leave a project, I want to know I have brought their story to life through design that translates practically and personally into their lifestyle. A peer of mine walked into the house my husband and I renovated and described it as being ‘Comfortable, but luxurious. It’s just calm.’ Quiet luxury describes what I create. At the end of the day, you want your home to feel like ‘Yes, there’s luxury, but it’s comfortable and soft; you can take a breath, wrap yourself up and relax.’”
Mead says she is grateful for having grown up in a big family in Knoxville. “I was extremely close to my grandmother and grandfather, my mom’s parents, and spent a lot of time in their home. They were everything to me. I want my grandkids to feel welcome in my home, where we carry on traditions and create new ones. My family knows they can come in, take off their shoes and just relax. You can have wonderful things, but if no one can enjoy it, what’s the purpose?”
With homes in Knoxville and Stuart, Florida, Mead has built a flourishing full-service interior design firm with clients in both states. Like many interior designers, Mead started C. Elle Design Studio and worked with clients from her home. “It took a long time to find the perfect spot for our studio and showroom,” Mead says. In September, she opened House of C. Elle, her flagship design studio, showroom and boutique, in Downtown Stuart. Mead currently offers design services to her Tennessee clients from her home in Knoxville. She plans to open a second House of C. Elle in 2027 in her hometown, where her grown children and grandchildren live.
Mead is the founder and lead designer of Carin Elle Mead Enterprises, which includes a showroom and design room, House of C. Elle, as well as an online shopping site for high-end décor, furnishings and accessories. Her first love is working directly with homeowners, but she welcomes collaborating with other designers, who often bring their clients to her showroom. “I’m very grateful for the success we have achieved in a short amount of time—and I love being able to help other designers.”
Mead graduated from the University of Tennessee and started her professional career as a buyer for Proffitt’s/Saks Fifth Avenue. “As much as I loved travel to New York and Los Angeles markets, it was too much with two small children, and I ‘retired’ to raise them.” Later, after earning her master’s in educational psychology, she became director of the UT College of Nursing. “I moved to Florida to become director of the Scripps Research Graduate program, and a year later had almost finished my doctorate in higher education leadership when the research program transitioned to another university.”
With that role ending, and after remarrying a Florida resident, she decided to do what she enjoys most—design and working with people. “I started my own design business, and outside of raising my children, this entrepreneurial chapter is the most satisfying of my life.”
Completing her Interior Design certification through the New York Institute of Art and Design, Mead embarked on bringing her vision of a full-service design practice to life. Her design philosophy leads homeowners through a smooth, seamless process from concept to completion, guiding them to a room refresh or whole-home renovation aligned with the way they live. “Stuart is a quiet, sweet old Florida beach town. Many homeowners with older homes look to us for turnkey renovation, which I love.”
Mead holds a passionate perspective on the role of lighting, which she believes can make or break a design. “When you walk into a house, you can tell if the designer or homeowner truly finished the project just by looking at the lighting. To me, lighting is the jewelry of the house. In our showroom, we feature a Utah-based lighting studio who are true artisans. All pieces are hand-blown, designed around a concept or around a whole room … chandeliers, pendants, lamps or outdoor lighting … each piece is artwork.”
C. Elle Home (CElleHome.com) was created as a curated online destination for high-end selections in lighting, luxury furniture, décor and finishing touches. Mead has purposefully elevated the online shopping experience to be “as client-friendly as our in-person service, even offering complimentary design services.” Clients can reach out if they can’t find what they’re looking for, just as if they were in the showroom. “I curate décor, lighting and furnishings clients won’t see on other websites. We partner with some of the more exclusive names to offer custom fine furnishings, distinctive pieces and unique accessories.”
For the cover photo of this issue, Mead incorporated a handcrafted accessory from one of her exclusive brands. “We recently introduced an artisan alpaca line featuring blankets and ruanas, which are draped garments or long scarves. Proceeds support the handweavers’ communities in Peru, where the pieces are created.”
“For these photos, we collaborated with Knoxville florist Always in Bloom on the stunning flower arrangements. I always enjoy working with them. They are incredibly creative. They take my initial ideas to create custom designs, and they allow you to bring your own containers.”
“The tableside arrangement is a tribute to my sweet, supportive husband, Justin, who always sends holiday flowers to remind me to take care of myself. Whoever in the family is doing all the running, wrapping and cooking for the holidays needs to practice self-care before taking care of others—something my mom taught me.”
Describing how very special holidays were growing up with her Tennessee family, Mead says, “Thanksgiving and Christmas were always at my grandparents’ house. Holiday mornings were a quiet time, sitting at their breakfast table with my mom, grandmother and great-grandmother—having coffee and pound cake or quiche, chit-chatting before cooking the holiday meal together. As my grandmother got older, we transitioned to my house.”
Mead now creates a blended family tradition that carries their holiday dinners forward.“Both my mother and grandmother are gone. For a couple of years, I couldn’t do those holidays the same way. It was too hard, especially after suddenly losing my mom, who was my best friend. It’s taken a lot of prayer and faith to overcome that loss, but now I can look around and see so many ‘thankfuls’ in my life.”
“I am so thankful that my niece and I can pass on these treasured traditions, as my mother and grandmother would have us do, to the next generations in my home. To be able to continue celebrating together is truly a blessing of quiet luxury for our family.” CarinElleMead.com
Mead enjoys sharing family recipes, both those handed down, like her grandmother’s oyster dressing, as well as new ones, like her smoked turkey recipe, on her blog. CarinElleMead.com/blog.
Carin’s Grandmother’s Oyster Dressing
Oyster dressing was one of the dishes I looked forward to every Thanksgiving. My grandmother made it every year, and it became one of those special recipes that belonged on our family table. My granddaddy loved it most of all—so much that it became his favorite at Thanksgiving. I can still picture him waiting for that dish to make its way to the table.
Today, making my grandmother’s oyster dressing brings those memories to mind. I now have the joy of sharing this tradition with our family, carrying a little piece of my grandmother and granddaddy forward each year.
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided, plus additional butter for greasing the baking dish
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic, from about 3 large cloves
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
- 8 cups loosely packed cubed day-old white bread
- 1 cup crumbled day-old cornbread
- 1 ¼ to 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup fresh oysters, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus additional parsley for garnish
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Hot sauce, for serving
- Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 x 10-inch or 2-quart baking dish and set aside.
Melt ¼ cup of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion and celery. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the poultry seasoning. Stir.
Pour in 1 ¼ cups chicken broth, stirring and scraping up any flavorful browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.
Add the cubed white bread and crumbled cornbread, stirring until moistened. Add more chicken broth if needed.
In a separate bowl, combine the chopped oysters, lemon juice, parsley and remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
Add the oyster mixture and lightly beaten egg to the bread mixture. Gently fold until combined.
Transfer the dressing to the prepared baking dish.
Cut the remaining ¼ cup butter into pieces and scatter over the dressing.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until the dressing is set and the top is golden brown.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm. Serve with lemon wedges and hot sauce, if desired.
From My Family Table
There are certain dishes that become part of the story of a family—my grandmother’s oyster dressing is one of them. Every Thanksgiving when I prepare it, I think of my grandmother in the kitchen and my granddaddy eagerly waiting. Sharing it now with our family keeps those memories close while passing a beloved tradition to the next generation.
From Carin’s Family Kitchen
In loving memory of Grandmother and Granddaddy, Bob and Shirley Roach
“Quiet luxury describes what I create. Yes, there’s luxury, but it’s comfortable; you can take a breath, wrap yourself up and relax.”—Carin Elle Mead.