The Raleigh creatives and business owners behind Stanbury and Union Camp Collective turn inward, especially during the month of February.
by Hampton Williams Hofer | photography by Taylor McDonald


In Joseph and Charlotte Jeffers’ home in East Raleigh’s King Charles neighborhood, vintage art and curious antiques meet in a delightful barrage of color and eccentricity undercut with serious sentiment. Classical music hums through the fire-warmed living room, where the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, Sylvie, toddles in with a gummy smile. She steadies herself on a rattan coffee table, from which a bowl of paperwhites scents the room. Joseph puts a tall pot on to boil, and Charlotte opens a bottle of Budweiser.
Joseph, a co-owner of Stanbury Restaurant, bought the house in 2012. He gutted it with the help of his brother Will and their friend Drew Maykuth. The 1950s brick ranch sits on a deep lot, with room for the dogs, firepit and storage out back. Things have changed since they rebuilt all of the home’s walls, floors and girders: most notably, the bedroom that was once Joseph’s now sports a crib, Pierre Frey drapes, ornamental gourds and a cheerful smattering of children’s books.
The decor reflects Charlotte’s curation of the space: flowers everywhere, bold draperies on the windows and eclectic pieces throughout, like shell-covered mirrors and a burnt-bamboo hall tree in the foyer. “It’s more of a feel than a look,” says Joseph of his wife’s style. Charlotte owns Union Camp Collective, where she sells vintage and antique art and furnishings. The shop turns 10 this year.
Around the house, a few light fixtures, candlesticks and throw pillows have tags from the store, Charlotte’s handwriting noting details of treasures she has found. One wall of the guest room is hung with portraits painted by Joseph. Joseph, whose restaurant turned 10 in 2023, also knows about curating an inviting space.
He’s the one that gave Stanbury its iconic vibe, and the home includes his finds, too, like a bobcat that he found dead by a roadside in Louisiana, stuffed and mounted above the television. Joseph and Charlotte are alike in this way, in their eyes for unlikely prizes. The Jeffers, who spent most of October traversing Scotland in a van with their baby, derive inspiration for their home from their travels as well as family connections to different parts of the country. “Travel keeps the juices flowing,”
Charlotte says. Evidence of their journeys is everywhere: a Scottish tweed blanket hangs over the rail of Sylvie’s crib; a poster of American flags in the kitchen was found leaning against a dumpster in New York; a pink wall plaque in the living room came from a trip to India. Also on the wall in the living room is a framed placemat from a diner in New York, where Charlotte’s grandmother once lunched with three of the top The New Yorker cartoonists of the day; one drew a cartoon for her on the spot.
One of Joseph’s favorite pieces is a painting of a girl washing dishes by the Philadelphia artist Luke Bruckner, a former classmate of his at Warren Wilson College. They take an annual trip to the tiny fishing town in Maine where Charlotte spent her childhood summers. That was where she discovered her love — now their shared love — of lobster and chilly air.
When it’s time to kick back, they’ll be in the living room, going through a ton of firewood, listening to music, cooking, talking and entertaining. Charlotte believes there is beauty in the mess of life. “It has to be okay to let loose, to have people over when the house is imperfect,” she says. Another thing about Charlotte: she loves Valentine’s Day. “The high-stakes holidays are stressful, but Valentine’s Day is low-stakes,” she says. “It’s just about love.” Come Feb. 14, Joseph takes the reins in the kitchen, prepping a cheese and charcuterie board with fruits, almonds and olives, sipping on a Hemingway daiquiri.
They’ll burn the Christmas tree in the backyard and have a meal of caviar (with crème fraiche and chive, on a Ruffles potato chip), lobsters (Joseph whispers sorry, buddy to each one as he tongs it into the boiling pot) and foie gras (with apples sautéed with brown sugar and butter on raisin bread, topped with pomegranate seeds). There will be champagne, Armagnac and, of course, Budweiser. The tradition encapsulates their approach to life: casually elegant, a little unexpected and wholly delightful.

New York City is a rush seat chair that Charlotte found on a trip to Louisiana to visit Joseph’s mother’s side of the family. “The neon Mary is really special, as she looks over the flag,” Charlotte says. She brings flowers to the shop every week, and if the vessel doesn’t sell, it comes home.



Charlotte, who has been buying items for resale since 2012, believes in shopping the old-fashioned way: she meets people at markets or auctions and maintains connections with other dealers. “I do most everything in person,” Charlotte says. “It is always nice to have the provenance on any given thing.” Joseph painted the figures on display in the guest room (above right)


Charlotte found the painting over daughter Sylvie’s crib (above) in Maine.


“From an early age, we were pulled in different directions for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” says Charlotte. “But Valentine’s Day was delightful, emphasis on light. No need to dress up, our parents just shared their love for us in tiny, sweet ways.” The couple gets lobsters from nearby Saltwater Seafood Market; they’ll eat themselves full, then save the rest to make a bisque.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.