Inside Jaime King's Home

Though Jaime King plays an old-fashioned Southern Belle on the CW's 'Hart of Dixie', she embraces a seriously modern life in her sleek Beverly Hills home. The actress's love for decor started as a child in Nebraska, where her parents taught their four kids to lay carpet and build cabinets. King's budget may be more accommodating now, but she brings the same hands-on passion to decorating the midcentury-modern home she shares with her director husband Kyle Newman.

King (in a Stella McCartney tank and Rag & Bone skirt) posed with a painting by British street artist Eelus. "I tracked him down and had him paint it for my husband for Christmas," she says.

King likes to cook fresh fish and produce from the farmers market, and regular game nights are a big draw. In the kitchen, the windows slide open to give the room a breezy, pavilion-like feeling. "What sold me was the indoor-outdoor feeling," King says of the walls of glass that surround the lush garden.

King's living room is lacquered with a super-durable substance-the same that is used on basketball courts. "The velvet couch has nothing to do with mid-century design, but I love how it warms up the living room," says King.

Though King's designer friend, Thom Filicia, helped with some of the decorative purchases, she says, "Kyle and I wanted to decorate the place on our own since we love the process so much." All of the furniture in the glass-enclosed dining area (left) is custom-made. "The pieces feel very zen to me," she says.

"I'm so lucky that I found a man who likes pink," says the 'Hart of Dixie' star. "It's good to have an open mind about design and style." The wallpaper in the master bedroom (at left) is by Farrow & Ball. The large print on the wall by artist Bella Bigsby contains green tones that echo the room's outdoor view.

The couple enlisted a celebrity friend to help decorate their master bedroom's cozy sitting area. "Right before Katy Perry became famous, she helped us paint," King says. "We ate pizza and cookies!"

The actress says her eclectic taste in decor stems from feeling like an outsider as a child. "I was never popular or cool. I was artsy and creative," she says. King shopped at Goodwill growing up, and applies the same aesthetic when decorating her home. "Don't rush to fill your home with a bunch of objects," says King (in a Pringle of Scotland tank and Melinda Maria bangles). "It's way more fun to find things that have meaning."

King lined the shallow pool in her home's foyer area with aqua tile by Ann Sacks. It suggests water, but doesn't require upkeep. "Nature is a key element in this home. I wanted the interiors to be in harmony with that."

"I'm more obsessed with home stuff than fashion, and everybody knows how much I love fashion," says former model, Jaime King. Her master bath has a minimalistic vibe, with faux concrete walls and skylights.

King was inspired to use the eco-friendly, synthetic grass called Forever Lawn after she saw it at pal Jessica Alba's house. "It feels so real," says the Omaha native. "We get our sleeping bags out there and have slumber parties!"

King chooses pieces that make her feel good (at left, a bird painting by Sage Vaughn). And don't go by price tags, she says. "If you see something at the flea market for five dollars that you find beautiful, buy it."

King says to buy art locally, or from your friends (the canvas at left was given to her as a gift by Jake Gyllenhaal). "You don't have to go to some famous dealer," she says. "We like to walk into local galleries or see what friends are making."