When you step onto the wooded, two-acre site for the Nashville Symphony Show House, you might wonder if the Southern contemporary folk style home. The home showcases top interior designers working with Castle Homes, 2012 Southern Living Custom Builder Of The Year, and acclaimed architect Wade Weissmann, a national Palladio award winner.
Looney says Mark Simmons Interiors, Julie Couch Interiors, and Rozanne Jackson Interiors from The Iron Gate are teaming up with Castle Homes’ in-house designer Caroline Weigel to create stunning, idea-filled interiors.
“Our talented designers have embraced the tone and tenor of the home’s style through fresh choices in color palettes, textiles, original art, and accessories, “ Looney says. “When you step through the doors of the Nashville Symphony Show House, you’ll be inspired by the stunning architectural details including a sculptural staircase, creative home décor, and historic building elements representing the latest in fine southern living.”
The folk term for the house is indicative of a farmhouse style home when not located on a working farm. Weissmann says the show house is an ode to the existing, timeless architecture of the area achieved with a classic symmetry and historic detailing down to the Kentucky four-board fencing reflecting the nearby Hillsboro Road horse farms.
The home balances a historic aesthetic with durable, low-maintenance building products. Castle Homes perfected this historic reproduction building style with the Southern Living Idea House the company created at Fontanel in 2013. Looney says the Nashville Symphony Show House builds on that concept.
“The Nashville Symphony Show House is a modern riff of a 1800s style home while weaving in weather-resistant building products,” Looney says.
The striking, standing seam metal roof is probably the first detail to catch the eye. With a baked-on finish, the roof has a 50+ lifespan and Castle Homes has added extra insulation to soften the sound of rainy on damp Nashville days.
In the 1800s, you would find a heavy pine or cypress siding. The lap siding of the show house is a Nichiha fiber cement product with a heavier profile casting a deeper shadow line. It is painted Sherwin Williams’s Greek Villa with Caviar Black shutters and front door. All the colors of the show house will be available in a printed tour guide.
Casual, comfortable, and transitional define the look of the living room, dining room, and covered porch by Mark Simmons Interiors (MSI). MSI designer Deb Tallent says greys, cream, and aqua blues help create the feeling with a nice mix of simple antique pieces, charming upholstered furniture, and original art.
The architectural showpiece of the home is the sculptural staircase Weissmann designed and which was built on-site by Castle Homes’ carpenters. A reflection of the simplistic folk architectural design, Weissmann says the series of stacking platforms also allows the windows above the staircase to bring warm, south-facing light deep into space.
“The view is oriented toward the north, but I wanted warm sunlight to activate the space. The staircase creates a shaft in which the south light dances around the spaces and help activate what would normally be a dull north facing room,” Weissmann says. “The sculptural staircase is also a natural room divider between spaces and is being used as a boundary between the entry hall and master bedroom, creating a small library alcove outside the master.”
Julie Couch, recently named a 2015 Traditional Home Rising Star, brings a Southern sophistication to the master bedroom. The impressive campaign-style bed incorporated in that room actually belongs to the designer. Also featured in the space is a gorgeous, whimsical blown glass chandelier mixed with tailored, velvet bedding and oversized antique mirrors. Couch says it all “weaves together a serene, old-meets-new timeless space.” An upstairs lounge by Couch features rustic wood elements combined with sleek furniture and unique architectural pieces.
Found in the spring Veranda magazine, the work of Rozanne Jackson and the Iron Gate works its magic in the upstairs bedrooms and sitting area with a clean, fresh taste of Belgium. Striking upholstery pieces from Verellen, a line for which the Iron gate is the area’s exclusive distributor, are featured. Drapery panels and bed and bath textiles from another Belgian manufacturer, Libeco, will be included as well as items from the Libeco Home line.
Step into the gourmet kitchen and experience the 13-foot long island made of reclaimed white oak from a Central Wisconsin milk barn, circa the 1700s. More behind the scenes information about the home’s unique building details can be found on the Castle Homes blog on the company’s website.
PBS Volunteer Gardener Troy Marden, author of “Southern Gardener’s Handbook,” will have a book signing during the tour from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, June 20.
The 5,000 square feet home is located in the bucolic Hillsboro Road area of Southern Davidson County on two acres in the Hunterdon neighborhood.