From fashion to Scandinavian-inspired homes, Ashley James is putting her eye for design to work
Menswear designer. Serial entrepreneur. Stylist—and most recently, visionary developer. Ashley James may be many things, but she is never bored.
“For me, this is the ultimate joy: to create things that people will love and enjoy,” reveals the Upstate business owner and founder of Nash Homes, the team behind the Scandinavian-inspired houses popping up around Greenville. “I grew up with design. My mother is an interior designer, so it’s always been a part of my life in some way—whether I’m making a pair of denim jeans or working on a photoshoot set. I think that’s my overarching theme: a multidisciplinary creative.”
James’s business, Ruell + Ray, began in 2010 as a menswear line specializing in high-quality, internationally sourced denim. Over the next seven years, the fashion house collaborated with leading brands, won press coverage, and outfitted rockstars. James did as many of us did when the pandemic hit and turned her eye toward reimagining home.
“I got really into interiors and had the chance to completely redo our 785-square-foot garage apartment,” reflects the designer, who shares the space with her wife, Tonya Robinson, and their three dogs. “I’d describe the aesthetic as modern, eclectic, and curated. It features core elements like natural light, minimalism, and tons of greenery.”
In and outside of her home, James takes a less-is-more approach to design. “I don’t have a lot of stuff, and functionality is important,” she says. “Some of the items I have purchased for my house I have had for years—I really try to focus on quality first, which circles back to my mantra on building homes: quality is the ultimate sustainability. I don’t want to create something new where the first thing someone does is want to tear out the basics, like tile or carpet.”
This theme of simplicity is central to James’s vision with Nash Homes—and a guiding tenet of Scandi design. “I think if you really dug into Scandinavian design, it’s about the improvement of daily life,” adds James. “It’s clean lines and a beautiful foundation for [the homeowner] to imprint their own vision.”
For all of Nash Homes’s projects—both the finished houses and the still-under-development Mount Zion and Baywood communities—James enlisted the help of Boyd Architects in Charleston, and is working with local partners to fund the construction. Tonya, a Realtor for Blackstream, is representing the properties.
“[In Greenville], there’s very little architecture like this,” says James. “I kind of jumped off of a limb—I didn’t want to play it safe and build the same things over and over again. I’m lucky to have [a team] that has given me the autonomy thus far to get my vision out there. And I think, because the first properties did so well and sold so quickly, that was my validation. I love [knowing that] people are enjoying living in those spaces, and making them their home.”
Learn more about James and her design projects at ruellandray.com and nashhomebuilders.com.
