A Traveler's Aesthetic - Shelby Living Magazine

By Anna Grace Moore

Photos by Evelyn Adams

Sitting down with Kelsey and Craig Justice and their lively 2-year-old daughter, Windsor, one can tell their appreciation for culture and how this love inspires their tastes. Kelsey was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, but says her itch to see the world could only be satisfied through making memories in new places.

The two-time entrepreneur has not only decorated their home with aspects of her family’s adventures, but she has also created two businesses whose core purposes are to capture the beauty in people across the world. The pair owns their own marketing agency, Justice Creative Co., and their own photography business, Kelsey Justice Photography, in which they specialize in weddings and family portraiture. Both business ventures, Kelsey says, allows them to travel and to meet people outside of Birmingham.

After the couple married in a romantic elopement on the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, they settled down in a tiny abode near Montclair Road. After having their daughter in 2020, they realized more space and place for her play in a neighborhood was what they needed. They knew in their new home that they wanted it to be a place of fellowship, too.

“I am very much a person who likes change,” Kelsey explains. The idea of packing up her home and moving someplace unique excites her.

The bright eyed and bushy-tailed couple ended up moving near Kelsey’s stomping grounds of Brook Highland, specifically in Greystone. “I knew moving here would be really good,” Kelsey says, recalling the family atmosphere of the community. “The schools are great!”

Now in a white-walled two-story house, Kelsey and Craig say they faced a new challenge: turning their house into a home.

While others may look at the lack of color in a new home as an overwhelming hump to trudge over, Kelsey says she was definitive in her choices. She chose to start in the living room, basing the home’s hues off of her design choices there. She recalls her love of accent walls because dark colors can either make a room feel less open and cozy, but bright, vibrant colors can open a room to be more inviting. So much can happen with one, simple color.

Kelsey painted the black accent wall in the living room first, then added lighting fixtures, a framed TV, plants and family portraits to fill the room. One room’s projects turned into a whole home renovation that has years later likened the company of many.

Kelsey says her and Craig’s goals were to always “make it family-friendly but not compromise beauty and style.” Now, their beautiful home is not just gorgeously innate, but also welcoming to friends and family of all walks of life. Whether one is from Peru, England, the Caribbean or nearly anywhere in the Eastern hemisphere, he will likely find something from home in the Justices’ welcoming abode.

Perhaps if everyone could appreciate culture as they do, the world would be both a more understanding and aesthetically pleasing place. To the Justices, thank you for creating a home where all God’s people are welcome and appreciated.

A Life of Travels

Kelsey and Craig have traveled all over the world. Kelsey, herself, has traveled to five continents and nearly 20 countries. The adorable pair always brings back something they can frame to remember their experiences. This is also a great way for them to teach Windsor a love for other cultures, too.

Main Bedroom

Kelsey and Craig’s headboard is a Sherpa design, which pairs nicely with the textured aspects in their room. The landscape above the bed is one Kelsey painted herself. The overhead lamps are from lampsplus.com, and the nightstands are from Ballard Designs.

Familial Ties

Pictured is Kelsey’s grandfather’s leather hat, which she got for him while on a trip to Peru.

Main Bathroom

Main Bathroom Details

Pictured is artwork by Emmy Grier.

Guest Bedroom

Pairing blacks with neutrals is a common theme, no different than in the guest bedroom. Pictured is a beautifully woven macrame, which is by Bonnie Poore Even the shag pillow, which is from Anthropologie, match. The nightstands are from Target.

Nursery

Windsor’s nursery is almost as adorable as she is. The wallpaper is from Spoon Flower, and the furniture is from IKEA. Windsor’s bed, however, is from Babyletto.

Nursery Accents

The use of llamas as accents in both the stuffed animals and in the mobile are inspired by Kelsey’s travels to Peru.

Mobile

Living Room

Kelsey says she would describe her style as “modern meets traditional.”

Accent Wall

“I knew that I wanted to paint that fireplace and that wall black,” Kelsey says. “I got that light fixture not too far after that. I want things to last a while but still be something that speaks to me and feels different. ‘Timeless but unique’ is what I feel like I try to balance.”

Family Portraits

Pictured are several of the Justice family photos, including some of Kelsey and Craig’s wedding photos from their ceremony on the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland! Their wedding location, she says, happens to be the filming site for one scene in the Harry Potter franchise and several scenes from The Princess Bride.

Contagious Smiles

Windsor is the most welcoming host. She loves to smile, which will brighten anyone’s day.

Decor

Kelsey jokes that she has plants in nearly every room because not only are they such great decor, but they also give off a “clean, healthy” vibe.

Cultural Ties

These woven plates are by Sozo Trading Co. in Avondale.

Musical Influence

Kelsey attended school at Belmont University, where she says her love for fine arts blossomed.

Dining Room

Kelsey often likes to decorate from “the outside-in,” meaning she bases the room’s colors, furniture and decor usually off of one inspiring piece. The portrait featuring desert terrain in Joshua Tree, California, is the focal point of the room in which all of the room’s aesthetic was based off of.

China Cabinet

The couple’s china cabinet is from Urban Outfitters. They chose it because of the open shelving and slick, black interior matched with neutral-colored shelving to complement the room’s hues.

Dining Room Details

Kelsey loves a good bargain and recommends shopping around at flea markets for trinkets that just “do the trick.”

Kitchen

“It was a clean slate. It was taupe walls everywhere, white cabinets, basic, affordable finishes,” Kelsey says, recalling her kitchen remodel. “Changing light fixtures, cabinet knobs and paint colors makes a massive difference for a little budget. You don’t have to spend a lot, but it really elevates the home.”

At a Glance

The dynamic duo got the basket that shelters the light above their kitchen table for free. “You can usually thrift a basket and make a light out of it,” Kelsey says. They make for the most unique aesthetic. The table featured belonged to Kelsey’s great grandmother.

Kitchen Table

Antiques in the Modern

“I don’t think I would’ve ever chosen a blue, French-style secretary. That’s not my normal, but I want to pull in older pieces. I’ll see an Instagram post that I’m like, ‘oh, my gosh, I have to have that cabinet,’ which is what happened with my dining room cabinet,’” Kelsey says.

Hall Bathroom

Kelsey chose a textured wallpaper, compliments of Phillip Jeffries, to give this room grit.

Work Hard Play Hard

The pair chose to use horizontal bookshelves to optimize on storage space and to allow the shelves to be within Windsor’s reach. Kelsey’s desk is from West Elm.