Our clients were making a move from California and looking looking for a fresh start in their new hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. This new build, situated just atop a neighborhood hillside, was able to give them just that. With a clean slate, we took to creating the Hilltop Home into one that combined traditional elegance with a modern edge.

A Look at the Dining Room

The dining room is the very first room you enter when walking in the front door. With that in mind, we knew we wanted to create a room that made a statement. Cue the striking Tierney chandelier, similar to the Palacial, we chose for above the dining table. Hoping to immediately draw the eye in, the chandelier, with shining layered acrylic pieces creates the focal point we were looking for and was ideal for the couple’s transitional style.

As for the bones of the room, we went with custom all white wainscotting around. Wainscotting is a traditional design element but we gave it a modern spin by choosing a fresh shape other than the rectangular.

To still achieve a relaxed atmosphere, we paired two different dining chairs with the table. This can help get away from the “stuffy” stereotype so many people feel about formal dining rooms. Both of which, are also extremely comfortable. The Carter Dining chair in particular, is perfectly proportioned to hug your body.

And lastly to finish off the space and contrast the white wainscotting, we went bold with two large pieces of black and white abstract art.

Making Your Way to the Living Room

After walking through the front hallway, you meet the beautifully bright and light living room. With large windows spanning just about from the floor to the ceiling, the natural light coming in the room is endless. The all white built ins add to the brightness of the space as well. When it came to these, most of the time we would use color to decorate all white shelving, but we opted to layer whites to create a luxe feel - adding green accents for a pop of color where needed.

Our clients chose our custom sofas + loveseat in white, similar to the Colt Sofa, which paired well with the green accents and caramel leather chairs. The leather chairs and brass accents in the coffee table and sconces helped to balance out the green and white tones. Since the space was mostly white, we grounded the room with a dark grey toned wool rug that is full of texture.

Moving Towards the Primary Bedroom

Just off the living room is the master bedroom. We wanted to create a casual essence with a neutral color palette. We painted the walls in one of our favorite grays, Classic Gray by Benjamin Moore. To bring in some softness we chose a vertical channel upholstered headboard along with white curtains and a chunky wool throw.

On either side of the bed we sided for large night stands. We personally love going over-sized on nightstands because they provide so much storage. Still sticking with the neutral palette and not being too bold, the nightstands add just the right amount of dimension and depth with patterned front draws. For the rug, we selected the Anastasia rug in ivory and multi-color. It adds just a slight bit of color and visual interest while still layering into the neutrals.

A Transitional Kitchen Look

With lots of clean lines and modern finishes in the kitchen, we wanted to keep the accessories and furniture choices more soft and feminine. We married modern elements such as the concrete table top with a wood base and woven chairs to bring some warmth. The loom dining chairs are one of our favorites, their intricate rope weave adds so much texture and they are perfect for a transitional style home. We maintained these touches of wood throughout the kitchen in everything from the beams spanning the entirety of the ceiling to smaller pieces, like cutting boards and vases.  

To maximize the look of the space we chose our Johnson Stools for the counter. They have transparent acrylic backs, which visually take up no space and are ideal for any cleaning (and our clients’ sweet one year old). The stools also added some glamour with their gold fused bases. With gold on the stools and hardware combined with the polished nickel lighting, the kitchen had a lovely mix of metals, creating a well layered feel.

A Perfect Workspace in the Office

The office was created with our client in mind, who just so happens to be a world champion fighter. That being said, we knew we wanted the space to have a more masculine feel. To start, the ceilings are two stories tall, so to add visual interest we went with wood beams and a large capiz shell pendant. And unlike the living room, we painted the built in shelves in a great saturated blue that is almost navy, Gale Force by Sherwin Williams. Navy is a great classic color and helps the white accents and brass sconces really pop.

A Final Look at the Exterior

The exterior of the home is telling to the transitional style of the interior. While the lines, wood headers and catslide roof tend to be more traditional, the white painted brick and oil rubbed bronze gutters add a hint of modernism. We played around a lot when picking out a white for the brick of the home - knowing that if you pick one too stark it can be really cold, so we went with a slight off white, Aesthetic White by Sherwin Williams, to achieve a softer look and feel.