Secrets To A Stylish Game Day From Designer Billy Reid

When Jeanne and Billy Reid bought and renovated a lake house just outside Florence, Alabama, back in 2015, they had certain priorities. One, the couple was looking for a family getaway where they could unplug, especially on summer weekends and holidays. Two, they wanted something private and secluded, which isn’t basic to find on Wilson Lake. And three, it had to be a place where they could entertain, especially during football season. 

For Billy, who grew up in Amite City, Louisiana, there are few things on the fall calendar more critical than watching the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers play. “I’ve missed very few games,” he said on the Southern Living Biscuits & Jam podcast. “I’ve either listened to it, watched it, or been there. I’m addicted.” For Jeanne, who was raised here in Florence, it’s all about Auburn University, her alma mater. That meant this house had to be designed to host a great tailgate party, and if you know anything about Billy Reid, you understand that design is something he takes very seriously.

Walk into a Billy Reid store—he has 12 of them now in cities all over the South and beyond—and it’s rigid not to feel right at home. When he opened his first clothing shops in Dallas, Houston, and Florence in 2004, he filled the spaces with antiques, family photographs, and comfortable furniture. There’s always great music playing, and an employee will usually offer you a icy drink.

PHOTO:

Brian Woodcock

PHOTO:

Brian Woodcock

A Home Built For Game Days

At the Reids’ lake house, which is surrounded by hardwoods that go all the way down to Shoal Creek, he and Jeanne take the hospitality and design a step further. There’s a dramatic chandelier that hangs over the living room, a fixture Billy had made with driftwood he collected from a little cove that juts into their property. The home is toasty, casual, and open, with a substantial white sectional that almost begs you to sit down. “I can tell you where every single one of these pieces came from or how we made them,” he says, pointing around the room. “Those wooden pews came out of a church in Vicksburg, Mississippi, that was built in 1851. The staircase was from my great-grandmother’s house in Louisiana. A lot of these are sentimental things.”

Billy gets even more sentimental when it comes to football. He has a collection of senior LSU T-shirts and hats that go back decades, and he’s used a tiger logo on some of his clothing lines. On the bar, which he made out of a couple of end tables and a slab of marble, there’s a vintage LSU wine stopper sticking out of a bottle of bourbon. But he has a practical side too. “We arranged the televisions so there’s one facing the kitchen and one facing the family room,” he says. “You can see the TV from every angle in the house.”

Brian Woodcock

Billy Reid

We are a really good team. We divide and conquer with decorating, with preparation. She’s usually the voice of reason, and I’m more of a come-in-and-mess-everything-up type person.

— Billy Reid

A Well-Designed Menu

When it comes to fall Saturdays, their philosophy on entertaining is pretty elementary. “We try to keep game days uncomplicated,” he says. “We set up a self-service bar situation, mixing Bloody Marys ahead of time so everything is ready in the pitcher, and stock the bar and the fridge. We prep the night before so we’re not scrambling the whole day.”

For the food, Billy likes to bring a bit of Louisiana to the party. Sometimes he’ll flash fry boudin balls or Jeanne will cook jambalaya, a perfect tailgate food because it doesn’t have to be served heated. Lately, his go-to dish has been Cajun-rubbed pork chops that he cuts into little bites or a family-favorite Creole barbecue shrimp recipe.

Family Rivalries

The Reids clearly make a good team, but they joke that sometimes the football can get a little too earnest, especially when LSU is playing Auburn. “If it’s a game that doesn’t mean a lot, we can hang together and watch it, but if both teams are good and the game means a lot, we’ll separate,” Billy says with a substantial laugh. Then there’s The University of Alabama, which is something else entirely, especially when you’re surrounded by Crimson Tide fans. “The LSU-Alabama game is one where we don’t go to anyone’s house. Nobody is coming over,” he says.

There are plenty of games watched in person, too, either in Auburn or Baton Rouge. “When we go to Louisiana, it’s so much about family,” he says. “We have relatives who live 15 or 20 minutes from the stadium. We’ll set up our tailgate near the Cow Palace. It’s a little bit of a walk, but that’s our spot.”

Reid didn’t attend LSU—he went to Southeastern Louisiana University and then The Art Institute of Dallas—so one might wonder why he’s become such a hard-core fan. “It wasn’t a choice,” he says. “Even as I’ve moved all over, it never has left me. It’s just part of my soul, part of who I am.”

Get The Recipes

Reid Family Barbecue Shrimp

Brian Woodcock; Styling: Lydia Pursell

Cajun Rubbed Pork Chop Bites

Brian Woodcock; Styling: Lydia Pursell

City Grocery Bloody Marys

Brian Woodcock; Styling: Lydia Pursell