Thoughtfully Designed Interiors Rooted in Southern Hospitality

Melissa Lee is a respected voice in the Southern design community, known for creating homes that reflect both quiet luxury and personal meaning. As the founder and principal designer of New South Home, she brings over fifteen years of experience crafting family-centered homes that feel gracious, collected, and distinctly personal.

With an early career as a fashion retail buyer, Melissa developed a keen sense for anticipating trends while staying rooted in timeless design. This eye for balance — between classic and current, function and beauty — became the foundation for her full-service interior design firm, launched in 2011. Since then, Melissa and her team have completed hundreds of residential projects across the Southeast, earning a reputation for designs that are elegant yet livable, tailored yet welcoming.

Melissa’s design philosophy is deeply personal. Influenced by her Virginia upbringing and the values instilled by her parents — a father who taught her the importance of craftsmanship and a mother who showed her the art of entertaining — Melissa approaches each home as a reflection of the family within. Her signature interiors are warm, layered, and thoughtfully curated to support the way her clients live, gather, and recharge.

New South Home’s award-winning work has been featured in Elle Décor, The Washington Post, Cottages & Bungalows, Home Design & Décor, Charlotte Magazine, and SouthPark Magazine, among others. Her full-service approach and client-centered process have become a model for other design firms, praised by clients, vendors, and peers alike for its clarity, efficiency, and graciousness.

Melissa lives in South Charlotte with her husband, two teenage children, and their beloved French Bulldog, Penelope. A passionate traveler and lifelong entertainer, she draws inspiration from family heirlooms, European architecture, and the everyday elegance of Southern living.