A French-style home located in Nashville, the center of America’s country music scene, seems an unlikely medley – all balance, symmetry and gracious hipped roofs sedately located in a honky-tonk city known for its folk-inspired anthems. But, in fact, the Tennessee town is home to a tapestry of architectural styles that borrow variously from Greek Revival and Federal motifs to modernist shapes.
‘That’s what makes the area so exciting,’ says River Brook’s Leigh Misso, who reworked these interiors. ‘Southern design tells a story that honors a cosmopolitan past but lives fully in the present.’
Reportedly a transplant to the area after American servicemen returned from fighting in France in World War I, this architectural style – also known as ‘French eclectic’ – takes inspiration from the arched doorways and balanced elements of 17th-century Gallic vernacular, complete with steep roofs, tall windows, and external shutters.
This new build by Ray Kash of Montgomery Classic Construction adopted the style after Leigh and her team came on board to refine the existing plans for the exterior and introduce ‘clean, fresh and livable schemes’ for a local family – a couple and their four children, whose ages range from six to twelve.
Unusually, the key to this project was to add humanizing intimacy to these grand spaces rather than only play up to their size.
‘Yes, it was about creating homeliness instead of simply scaling everything up,’ says Leigh. ‘Each space needed to feel warm and inviting rather than overwhelming. So we focused on adding depth and texture through elements like plaster fireplaces or a custom kitchen hood, a papered ceiling or a cosseting color-drenched study. The starting point was to give every room a solid sense of identity.’
Inspired by the tension between old and new European architecture – and vintage pieces contrasted with clean lines – Leigh worked closely with the family to create a relaxed yet elegant home.
‘The wife was keen on a largely neutral palette, coupled with contemporary art,’ she says. ‘So we injected energy by introducing wood, such as oak floors and the burlwood credenzas in the sitting room, and plenty of warm brass – seen in lighting and hardware. Tactility comes from fabric, whether mustard velvets or airy linen drapes in the bathroom.’
There’s plenty of drama to acknowledge this home’s scale, including a ten-foot burlwood table, which was shipped from Texas in one piece.
‘Due to its size and delicate nature, we had to design a special contraption to transport and move it into the dining room,’ says Leigh. ‘Everyone held their breath as it was maneuvered into place.’
A contemporary chandelier hangs above it, turning this room into a centerpiece, with walls painted in a deep green and the ceiling papered in a cloud repeat by Schumacher – a motif echoed in the scullery beyond.
Those considered touches are most playfully expressed in the children’s bedrooms which, according to Leigh, perfectly encapsulate their different personalities.
In one son’s bedroom, a daybed suspended by chains from the ceiling captures his ‘slightly wild child persona’, while in the daughter’s, a powder blue, curtain-enclosed nook provides a serene sanctuary for reading, offset by an elegant fabric-wrapped four-poster bed – hinting at that transition between childhood and teenage years.
‘In fact, designing those bedrooms made me consider the passions of my own three children more deeply,’ says Leigh. ‘Outward reflection of character is so important and I believe a home only functions properly once the needs of all its inhabitants are fully integrated.’
Warm tones, including greens, camel, copper, and off-whites, ground these spaces, while graphic architectural details are offset by softening curves and spheres – from conical lampshades on either side of a vanity to the rounded edges of a blue upholstered bench. But it was an unusual find that gave this home its finishing touch.
‘In Paris, we unearthed an 18th-century tapestry in a palette of muted gold, ebony, and caramel,’ Leigh recalls. ‘We hung it in the foyer and something clicked. It felt instantly right.’
A serendipitous addition to this home, where French style meets Nashville cool – a combination, it turns out, that works surprisingly well.
