A Colorful Historic Home in Nashville

Make your home reflect your personality and stand out in style.

Nashville, Tennessee, is a kaleidoscope of color, country and character, so it’s fitting that Daniel and Stacy Clayton would want their historic home in this lively city to reflect its unique charm, as well as their personal passions.

They knew that Lauren Elder, the owner/principal designer of Lauren Elder Interiors, could make their dream home come true. This would be the third project in 10 years that Lauren had worked on with the Claytons, so she had a good handle on their interests and interior design preferences.

red mantel with modern painting in living room of colorful historic home — **WARMING UP**. THIS SITTING AREA NOT ONLY RECEIVES WARMTH FROM THE FIREPLACE, IT ALSO GETS SOME MORE FROM THE COMBINATION OF WARM COLORS AND RICH TEXTURES SURROUNDING IT.

sitting room in colorful historic home in Nashville with built-in shelves — **NATURAL ELEMENTS.** EARTHY TONES, WOODEN FLOORS AND ANIMAL PRINTS COMBINE FOR A RUSTIC FEEL IN THIS SECTION OF THE HOME.

“Stacy wanted me to make the home feel more like her; she doesn’t do average or drab. She is never afraid to jump into a sea of color,” Lauren says. “It’s almost a game to see how deeply into the unknown colors of the paint deck I can wander with her projects!”

Lauren describes what she saw with her eye for design when she toured the home for the first time.

**Living Colors.** The living room includes a piano, so it needed to feel elegant. However, it also had some fun elements, so Lauren painted the walls with the neutral Sherwin-Williams’ “Greek Villa” (SW7551) and kicked up the ambiance with a dash of color using “Rembrandt Ruby” (SW0033) for the mantel.

“My first impression was that it had incredible potential,” Lauren says. “Nashville is filled with new construction, and that is most of our business. I was thrilled to get my hands on this older house, which is full of charm and character. It was cute before but lacked any real personality. Stacy is a mom of three girls and now, lots of ‘grand-girls,’ so she’s all about fun, funky and feminine.”

blue dining room with chandelier and contemporary art

goldenrod yellow cabinetry in colorful historic Nashville home — Colorful Cabinetry. Cabinets should be considered more than just storage spaces. With a bold choice of color, they can become a statement piece for the kitchen. Lauren was so thrilled that the client supported her decision to paint the cabinets in Sherwin-Williams’ “Honeycomb” (SW6375). “It’s the most perfect shade of marigold; and now, the space feels like and actual ray of sunshine,” she says.

yellow cabinetry and patterned red and white blinds in historic Nashville kitchen — FINE DINING. THE DINING ROOM CAN BE SEEN FROM THE FOYER, LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN, SO IT NEEDED TO BE INVITING—BUT NEUTRAL. THE WALLS AND TRIM WERE PAINTED IN SHERWIN-WILLIAMS’ “DOWNING SLATE” (SW2819). AN ANTIQUE, RED TURKISH RUG WAS ADDED TO ENSURE THE ROOM DIDN’T LOOK “TOO SERIOUS,” LAUREN SAYS. THE CLIENT’S ANTIQUE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER WAS USED AS THE LIGHTING FIXTURE, BECAUSE “EVERY FORMAL DINING SPACE NEEDS A TOUCH OF CRYSTAL!”

Lauren says the ambiance she set out to achieve in her room designs was playful and cheery—with a heavy dose of “cozy.”

“Stacy has an incredible collection of furniture and art, most of it created by her locally well-known artist/daughter, Hannah Clayton,” Lauren explains. “It was fun to mix the existing furnishings with the art collection and introduce saturated colors and wallpapers to make each room feel fresh and new.”

Turning a house into a home always involves designing rooms with the owner’s interests in mind.

yellow cabinetry and patterned floor in Nashville historic home — FINE DINING. THE DINING ROOM CAN BE SEEN FROM THE FOYER, LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN, SO IT NEEDED TO BE INVITING—BUT NEUTRAL. THE WALLS AND TRIM WERE PAINTED IN SHERWIN-WILLIAMS’ “DOWNING SLATE” (SW2819). AN ANTIQUE, RED TURKISH RUG WAS ADDED TO ENSURE THE ROOM DIDN’T LOOK “TOO SERIOUS,” LAUREN SAYS. THE CLIENT’S ANTIQUE CRYSTAL CHANDELIER WAS USED AS THE LIGHTING FIXTURE, BECAUSE “EVERY FORMAL DINING SPACE NEEDS A TOUCH OF CRYSTAL!”

blue dining room with gold chairs and amber vintage glasses and chandelier — BE OUR GUEST. THE DINING ROOM OFFERS AN INVITING WARMTH TO GUESTS THROUGH ITS RICH AND COZY COLOR PALETTE. THE GOLD DINING CHAIRS RELATE BACK TO THE MARIGOLD COLOR OF THE CABINETS IN THE NEARBY KITCHEN.

blue dining room with traditional rug and modern art and chandelier

“For this client, it was about finding the perfect home for all of her collected art,” Lauren says. “Most of it is very large scale, so it was important for each space to contain a handful of pieces and make them all work together.”

While there was no renovation involved, Lauren and her team did need to do some “heavy lifting” to make her room designs come to life: “We didn’t renovate, but we painted a lot, and we wallpapered a lot,” Lauren notes. “We painted the kitchen floors instead of refinishing them, and we added lots of lighting. We loved the charm of the house but wanted to give it an edge.”

tablescape with vintage amber glasses and floral embroidered placemats and tapers

historic built-in shelves — **Stylish Seating**. A large, plush, tufted sofa beckons family and guests to relax in comfortable classic style. Its neutral color blends well with the wood elements and fabrics in the space.

floral patterned ceiling and teal poufs and gallery wall in wood paneled room of historic Nashville home — **CHARMING COMFORT.** THIS SITTING AREA MIGHT BE SMALL, BUT IT’S PACKED WITH CHARM—THANKS TO A GROUPING OF PAINTINGS ON A WALL, ALONG WITH WARM WOOD PANELING AND COMFY OTTOMANS. IT’S A STUDY IN THE AMBIANCE CREATED BY CONTRASTING TEXTURES, FROM WOOD TO SOFT THROW BLANKETS.

Playing With Patterns

One of the main ways Lauren achieved her design vision for this colorful, historic home was by layering textures and patterns.

“I love to play with patterns,” she says. “In the primary bedroom, we used Thibaut wallpaper mixed with a new stripe and a vintage floral on the bed. Before, it felt a little too ‘springy,’ so that’s where the fur and velvet came in. The den was dark and filled with original paneling the homeowner wasn’t ready to give up, so we added a large-format floral wallpaper on the ceiling, a rosy-pink mantel and sage-green bookcases to make the room feel bright and happy.”

wood paneled room with floral patterned drapes and framed art — **Interest Adds Up.** The photos on this page illustrate the impact of collecting pieces from different design eras and placing them together to add interest and appeal to a room. Lauren and her clients were open to mixing everything from mid-century pieces, such as a coffee table and floor lamp, to classic pieces, such as a tufted sofa.

grand piano and contemporary art in historic home

library with gold velvet armchair in historic Nashville home

The kitchen design “recipe” blends several ingredients that reflect the designer’s bold approach when it came to introducing color, textures and patterns.

“By today’s standards, the kitchen wasn’t ideal; but by my standards, the Cape Cod galley-style kitchen is a dream!” Lauren says. “We don’t have galley kitchens in the South, so I was quite excited to transform this gorgeous space. We added a giant pattern on the floor to throw the scale out of whack, and the client supported the decision to paint the cabinets Sherwin-Williams ‘Honeycomb’ (SW6375). It’s the most perfect shade of marigold, and now, the space feels like a ray of sunshine. We added Fabricut Roman shades with a floral vine in an array of deep reds and purples, which made me realize that I needed to introduce a touch of red in every space of this house.”

patterned diamond blue and white wallpaper in bedroom of historic home in Nashville — BREATHING ROOM. THIS BEDROOM IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW NOT FILLING EVERY INCH OF SPACE WITH FURNITURE OR ACCESSORIES CREATES A SERENE, RELAXING AMBIANCE. “THE CLIENT HAD THIS BEAUTIFUL, SIMPLE, GIANT BED AND THESE FUNKY, LITTLE, GREEN NIGHTSTANDS,” LAUREN NOTES. “SHE TOLD ME THE SPACE DIDN’T ‘FEEL LIKE HER,’ SO WE USED A TRELLIS-STYLE WALLPAPER AND FRENCH COUNTRY STRIPES FOR THE DRAPERIES AND CORNICE BOARDS, AS WELL AS BAMBOO SHADES AND A VINTAGE FLORAL FABRIC SHE ALREADY HAD TO MAKE SOME CUSTOM BEDDING.”

art and bamboo Roman shades in colorful historic Nashville home — |LEFT| ROMAN TOUCH. BAMBOO ROMAN SHADES ARE A NATURAL-LOOKING WAY TO ADD A BIT OF LIGHT AND STYLE TO AN AREA.

Historic Colors for a Colorful Historic Home

The Cape Cod-style cottage, built in 1949, is “sneaky big,” Lauren says. It features three levels, four bedrooms and five baths.

“It’s built on a gorgeous piece of property in a historic part of town that’s 20 minutes from downtown Nashville, so most of the colors I used actually came out of the ‘historic’ section of the Sherwin-Williams paint deck,” she points out. “I wanted to add pops of saturated color inside to give each space a ‘wow’ factor. I wanted to keep the exterior earthy and charming to harmonize with the surroundings and the beautiful landscape. ”

sunroom in colorful historic home in Nashville painted with historic colors — Sunny Spot. The sunroom doors were painted in Sherwin-Williams’ “Jazz Age Coral.” Vintage, bamboo-style shades were added, and the ceiling was painted in rich “Billiard Green.” The coral doors softened the color of the tile floor and provided a playful vibe. “This is a place to house the client’s plant collection, her mother’s antique stove, a desk and a cozy papasan chair for reading, grandchild-cuddling and naps,” Lauren explains.

Lauren says that what sets this colorful historic home apart from others she’s worked on is the unique use of feminine touches mixed with the historic color palette.

“Even after 12 years, I’m still learning how to push myself in design. If you want to paint your mantel ruby—do it!” Lauren says.

Her favorite aspect of the colorful historic home is the joy you feel when you look at the rooms: “How can you walk into a yellow kitchen and not be happy for the day? This house should inspire cottage owners to take some chances with color.”

For another colorful home, this one in California, see Maximum Style Cottage. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of cottage inspiration!