BETTER TOGETHER AT STOREHOUSE NO.9 IN FRANKLIN, A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER GO ALL IN ON THEIR LOVE FOR DESIGN AND ART, FINDING MORE SUCCESS THAN THEY EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF THEIR WHOLE FAMILY.
ANTHONY M C GILL Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic & Artistic Director, Music Advancement Program, The Juilliard School JACKET IN: TUXEDO PARK GILLESPIE GREEN TIE IN: BILLIE OMBRE GREEN NASHVILLE DESIGN COLLECTIVE 510 MERRITT AVENUE | SUITE 301 NASHVILLE, TN 37203 615-763-5725 ARTISTICTILE.COM
KRYSTA RODRIGUEZ Actress, Stage & Screen Founder, Curated by Krysta Rodriguez DRESS IN: TAMBOURINE TRAPS BRINGING ART TO LIFE NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 3
O N Y X + A L A B A S T E R
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The walls are witness to some of our deepest moments, and it is that kind of history many people featured in this issue try to preserve when they take on a renovation. Ted Bertuca Jr., his wife, Claudia, and his son-in-law Logan King — through their ventures Claudia Bertuca Designs and BMK Building Group — work together on new builds and renovations that contribute to the communities they love.
And Marisa Biddle of Nashville Design Company took a turn-of-the-century home on Beech Avenue and dressed it up to celebrate the structure’s success in housing a family — four boys and their single mom who never missed a day of work as a nurse at Vanderbilt — for more than 50 years.
Home is where our stories begin. We never know what the next chapters will bring or how those stories will end. So in 2022, let’s embrace the people and memories and special treasures that fill our homes. Enjoy what surrounds you. Say yes to color and light. And let spring refresh the things that really matter. ome is where the heart is.
There’s no place like home. Charity begins at home. Home is where our stories begin.
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Such cliches and platitudes can seem less meaningful when they become, well, cliché. But they’re overused because they contain something that resonates across ages and places to make them take such a deep hold. And there is nothing more universal than home — at any given time any one of us could have it, want it, miss it, run from it, sell it, buy it, lose it.
—Hollie Deese Publisher
Home for someone could be 13 different residences, fixed up and sold to move on to the next, like for the couple in the cover feature: Jill Johnson and her husband, Sam, who renovated and grew as they moved through life with their four children. Then as those children grew up and moved out, they supported each other in a new venture — Jill’s shop and design studio Storehouse no.9 in Franklin. Through all the changes and renovations and growth and moves, they always had the same home, because for them, home is where the heart is.
Home for someone else could be one structure for decades, a structure with voices and life and family, then later quiet and calm as the family inside changes over time. A home with decades of history in one family has been a space that has held every emotion: Grief and despair. Elation and joy. Surprise. Anger. Sadness. Shock. It has been a place of celebration as babies are born and children celebrate sweet milestones. It has been a place to gather when tragedies strike. FROM THE PUBLISHER
LETTER
Nashville’s Largest IN STOCK Luxury Patio Furniture Selection 927 8th Avenue South | Nashville TN | 615-254-7882 | nashvillebilliard.com NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 9
SOCIAL Follow InteriorsNashville on social media for daily reels, design inspiration, realtime distribution drops, article links, insider event information and lots of behind-thescenes peeks from photo shoots.
Hollie Deese VP OF MARKETING Kim Samaroo SALES DIRECTOR Pam Harper ART DIRECTOR Jeff Stamper ADVERTISING DESIGN Mary Grace Gauerke Tracey Starck COPY EDITOR Jennifer Goode Stevens, GoodeEdits.com PRODUCTION Amber Spencer DESIGN Tracey Stark, Ginger Katz VIDEO AND SOCIAL MEDIA Ashley McIntosh CONTRIBUTORS William DeShazer, Pam Monaghan, Sam Calderon, Lauren Hood, Allison Elefante, Paige Rumore, Daniel Miegs, Anna Haas
Nashville Interiors is the premier building and design guide of Middle Tennessee. We feature regional master artisans, designers, architects, builders, artists, collectors and retailers, and we bring you news of the region’s trends in building, design and development. We also showcase the inspiring spaces of our area’s eclectic group of residents.
Nashville Interiors is published by Deese Media LLC. It has continuously been in print since 2000. All editorial and photographic content is the sole property of Deese Media LLC and is not to be reproduced in part or in whole without the express written permission of the publisher.
Nashville Interiors is available at select locations and events. For information on where to find a copy, receive an advertising rate sheet, request content reprints, suggest story ideas or notify with website or social media issues, contact Hollie Deese, hollie@nashvilleinteriors.com.
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It’s finally here, the relaunch of Nashville Interiors. It has been five years since the last website renovation, and this time around there is even more content to dig into. From videos and showroom tours to business spotlights and designer tips, come back often for more content than ever or to find out when all of the best designer and gallery events are happening. ON THE COVER Storehouse no.9 in Franklin not only underwent a massive renovation to become the light and bright shop and designer studio it is today, it has become a space for a family business to incubate and thrive.
Are You Thinking About Buying or Selling? Call Susan Today! Susan Gregory Mobile:Office:615.207.5600615.370.8669615.207.5600gregorys@realtracs.com“Thank You to My Clients For a Record Setting Year!” - Susan 8119 ISABELLA LANE | BRENTWOOD, TN | 37027 Last year was a record year for Susan Gregory. Susan had the biggest year of her career closing over $110,000,000 in sales volume for 2021. She couldn’t have done it without the continued support of her amazing clients. She is very thankful for their business and is looking ahead to another successful year continuing to work hard for her clients and achieving greater heights. Here’s to a fantastic 2022!
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CONTRIBUTORS
WILLIAM DESHAZER, Photographer William Deshazer is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Nashville. He spent 12 years working at various newspapers, including Memphis’ Commercial Appeal and the Chicago Tribune. He’s a regular contributor to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. His work has appeared in magazines from National Geographic, Golfweek, ESPN The Magazine, Runner’s World and O, The Oprah Magazine. His interior photography has been used by Holiday Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Whiskey Advocate Magazine and Davis Jewelers. William has been recognized by Photographer of the Year International and the National Press Photographers Association. When not taking pictures, William is either writing music or exploring locally and beyond with his wife.
ROBERT JONES, Arts Editor Robert Jones founded Overton Arts in 2018 with the goal of creating a picture frame shop that emphasizes community engagement by embracing nonprofit arts initiatives and programming. Overton Arts combines a traditional workshop with an art studio to provide clients with not just a transactional relationship, but a connection to the wider arts community. In 2020, Overton Arts donated $2,500 to Gideon's Army in support of their ongoing efforts to use restorative justice programs to build resilient kids and healthy communities. Last year he sponsored the Just Us program at The Oasis Center, which provided LGBTQ+ youth with a liberating space to be authentic and celebrate the fluidity of identity, to help reach their full potential. This issue of Nashville Interiors is Robert’s first as arts editor.
PAMELA MONAGHAN, Photographer Pamela Monaghan is a freelance photographer and owner of Wynd & Paisley Photography. She has a bachelor of arts from Palm Beach Atlantic University, where she met her husband. The majority of her work is wedding and lifestyle photography, but she’s always up for new and exciting shoots. Her work has been featured in multiple magazines, including Your Sumner and The Pink Bride, and she runs a blog called Girls Gone Mild. She lives on several acres in Portland, Tennessee, with her husband, three children and four Dalmatians.
SAM CALDERON, Photographer Nashville-based photographer Sam Calderon specializes in corporate, real estate and event photography. His father was a videographer in El Salvador, and he was always drawn to photography and cinema while growing up in South Florida. He has long been captivated by the art of photography and decided to pursue it as a career. He considers himself lucky to have met a mentor who took him under his wing and taught him everything that made it possible for Calderon to build his clientele, travel and expand his business.
ALLISON ELEFANTE, Photographer Allison Elefante is a Nashville-based interior and architectural photographer, and her company has become a mainstay with local designers, builders and artists in the industry. She is classically trained in photography and graduated from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. Allison developed a passion for interiors over the past several years and is genuinely excited when she walks into the rooms of her clients. Her work is widely published on social media and in local magazines, and she is a regular contributor to the cover of Nashville Interiors. When she isn’t behind the camera, she enjoys time at home with her husband and three young children.
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LAUREN HOOD, Photographer Lauren Hood was born and raised in Nashville and received a BFA in film from Pratt Institute, New York, with a minor in art history. After graduating, she split her time between living in Tuscany, Italy, building her portfolio and living in Franklin working with Grandin Hood Publishers as the digital media manager. For them, she was able to travel across the country shooting photos for commemorative coffee table books, including those for the Grand Hotel and the Don Cesar Hotel. She has served as director of the Media Center at Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film in Nashville, where she also taught photography and film. Hood resides in Nashville.
AMBER SPENCER Amber Spencer is a visual artist whose work creating engrossing pieces on surfaces has grown to include an array of deeper projects ranging from youth education to community projects and public works that have the ethos of creativity for the greater good at their core. Spencer is the lead project manager for Ether Workshop, where she has nurtured 20 years of creativity and growth.
JENNIFER GOODE STEVENS Jennifer Goode Stevens is a copy editor who, in her 30 years in Middle Tennessee, has worked on newspapers, books, magazines, websites, advertising and marketing content and communications for businesses, publishing houses, universities, nonprofits, public relations firms and independent authors. Currently full-time with Vanderbilt University, she shoehorns her other professional obligations around her home and gardening life in Clarksville with her husband, their two teenage kids and a dog.
CONTRIBUTORS
Tracey Starck is a graphic designer who has designed ads and editorial layouts for local publications, including Nashville Arts magazine, Your Williamson magazine, the Nashville Scene and Nashville Interiors. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication arts at the University of Texas–Austin and worked as a graphic designer there for years before moving to Nashville. Tracey has donated her design skills to animal rescue organizations such as the Austin Humane Society and Austin Greyhound Adoption. She has provided a home to shelter cats and a few retired racing greyhounds.
TRACEY STARCK
JEFF STAMPER
Jeff Stamper’s talents range widely — bracketed by technical skill on one side and a hardearned philosophical drive on the other. Bringing an interior space design, public art and publication history to the table, he has been creating a visible library of work in Nashville for nearly three decades as a designer of art and of systems for creating art. Stamper is a seasoned maker and collaborator who is driven both by the work and by the many relationships it fosters. Currently the associate creative director for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and lead creative at Ether Workshop, Stamper also sits on the board in his garage daily.
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www.lifeorganizedbydesign.com Event Planning Organized LivingInterior Design live a life organized by design
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30 BETTER TOGETHER At Storehouse no.9 in Franklin, a mother and daughter go all in on their love for design and art, finding more success than they ever thought possible with the support of their whole family. LOFT LIFE IN HISTORIC FRANKLIN A couple leave Westhaven for the walkable accessibility their loft gives them to historic downtown Franklin.
61 BEECH BEAUTY A historic home from the turn of the century gets the maximalist treatment.
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51 TRUE INTENT The details of a dark Tudor in Brentwood get reinvigorated with a fresh approach from designer Connie Vernich.
56 FROM PAST TO PRESENT A family business with longtime roots in Middle Tennessee continues to grow and expand as new interests and skills emerge through the generations.
26 THE SEASON’S BEST This spring we are filling our homes with the over-the-top indulgences it takes to enjoy life to the limit.
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85 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: KEAVY MURPHREE
CONTENTS
The sculptor embraces the power a well-designed ornamental element can have in bringing relatively simple structures to an ethereal level.
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90 DRUSIE & DARR BY JEAN-GEORGE Marking the Michelin-star chef’s first location in the South, the new restaurant and bar are the centerpiece of a property-wide revitalization of The Hermitage Hotel. A SOLID FOUNDATION
A woman teaching her son a lesson in entrepreneurship ends up reviving a dream and finding success. 80 90 85
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With a show at the Frist, the Nashville artist captures the everyday moments that build the backdrop of the neighborhoods he explores.
A farmhouse guest suite gets a refresh in Williamson County. SUPPORTING THE ARTS Nashville Interiors welcomes Robert Jones as the magazine’s new arts editor in preparation for our inaugural artist guide later this year. ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: LEXANDER BRYANT
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70 EXTENDING HOSPITALITY
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SPRING’S BEST his season we want all the indulgent things we never knew we needed that make our home a place we never want to leave. Ever. curation for the Instagram artsugar.co.abstractinspiredJulianwithgeneration, has partneredNashvilleartistGinaontwocandydishesbyherhard-edgeart.$350each. The online heirloom vintage rug shop Passerine developed from owner Georgia Hoyler’s immediate interest after finding a Persian Shiraz rug while shopping for her own home. Now she sources authentic oriental rugs for others to enjoy. Starting around $1,000. andEuropean-stylePasserinehome.comflooringsurfacesbrand DuChateau offers more than flooring — they also produce custom wood wallcoverings in a number of styles and hues for residential and commercial applications. Available locally at Jeffco Flooring duchateau.com.or T 26 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
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She met her Alabama-born husband, Sam, when they were both working in Chicago, and the two were married by the time they were 20 and 22. They moved to Middle Tennessee right after, and within five years they were the parents of four children. “I’m glad we took a lot of pictures,” she jokes.
Jill Crawford.Samhusband,Marydaughterincluding,byopeninghertowasseatedJohnson,nearleft,encouragedpursuedreamofashopherfamily,Virginia,andson
Jill stayed home with her children: Savannah, now 24; Mary Virginia, 23; Sam Jr., 21; and Crawford, 19, the whole time — even homeschooling for a while. She did some design work when she could while they were little, making slipcovers and drapes and pillows for herself and friends through word of mouth. By Hollie PhotographyDeeseby Allison Elefante
up one of seven children in Meadville, a small town in Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh. Then the kids weren’t so little anymore. They started moving out, and life started looking very different.
A WOMAN’S LOVE FOR DESIGN TURNS INTO SO MUCH MORE WITH FAMILY BY HER SIDE
After driving herself crazy deep-cleaning the house every day, she decided to pursue one of her own long-ago dreams.
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DESIGN
JillJohnsongrew
“I had always dreamed of having a store, even as a little girl. I would tag everything in my room and then ring it up on my cash register,” Jill laughs. She would also take wallpaper sample books and redo the walls of her dollhouses, even making custom drapes in miniature.
“I had them so close together,” she says. “So, all of a sudden, they all left at once, and I was in a place of ‘What do I do now?’”
DESIGN “AND IT’S NICE WORKING WITH FAMILY BECAUSE YOU DON’T EVEN HAVE TO FINISH YOUR SENTENCES. WE PUT EXTRA HEART BEHIND WHAT WE DO BECAUSE WE SEE THE BIG PICTURE.” Jill fills her newdecoratingwhenherselftimehadthingsgiftdesignandwithshoplightbrightanditems,sheahardfindinglocallyshewasahome. 32 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
It took two years, but they finally found something close to downtown Franklin. When they opened the doors in 2019, Jill had never worked a day of retail — and the only cash register she had ever touched was her childhood Fisher Price model.
“It was scary,” she admits. “I felt like throwing up every morning.”
Suddenly, that childhood dream was something she had time to think about again. She floated the idea of opening a store by her husband, afraid he’d say no. Instead, he was all in.
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At Storehouse no.9, customers can find items in a range of prices, embracing a high-low design philosophy.
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Just after opening, she was hit with supply issues and pandemic uncertainties. But three years in, the store is busy, bright and filled with home goods, gifts, furniture and art. Jill offers design services and support to other designers on their projects, and she has gotten so busy she can barely keep up with demand.
DESIGN
“I think they were all thinking, ‘This is Mom’s little hobby,” she laughs. “But then it started to grow.” Luckily, daughter Mary Virginia now works with her full time. Her own interest in interior design was sparked in high school when she fulfilled a senior project by doing internships with local designers. “I ended up going to school in hopes to study interior design, but when she mentioned starting a store I decided to go for experience over education,” says Mary Virginia, who remembers watching her mom do design work for friends as she grew up. “I’m so glad I did, because I think I’ve learned what I actually enjoy.”
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Sam says the home originally belonged to a Black family who were caretakers to the city cemetery right next door. They also ran a juke joint across the street in a building that was demolished after a flood in the 1940s. Sam and Jill were up to the task of bringing the building back to life. Currently in their 13th home together, they are practiced in the art of buying a fixer-upper, remodeling it and then selling or renting it before moving on. “We’d stopped doing that 15 years ago because, frankly, we were over it,” Sam laughs. “But getting back into a renovation and saving another historic structure—it came back, like riding Luckily,bike.”hiskids were old enough to pitch in this time around. And the result of their hard work is a business the whole family is proud to be part of.
A PRESERVATION RENOVATION
The Johnsons bought the building that became Storehouse no.9 in 2018 after two years of looking for just the right spot to incubate Jill’s next chapter. It didn’t look that great, but like all underdog success stories, it had potential. “I pulled up outside of it and I just stared at it, like, this is the ugliest building,” Jill laughs. But a commercial property in Franklin that close to downtown isn’t easy to come by, so they knew they had to try and work with it. It had previously been a primitive and Colonial American retail store, which is a very specific look to try and pivot from — lots of deep reds and blues and dark wood. The siding was orange and yellow, and it needed lots of updating. But because the 102-year-old home was considered historic, not all the changes they wanted to make were possible.
DESIGN Johnson is looking for more space now that the business has grown, if only to store more items — like outdoor items from Summer Classics. 36 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
So instead of doing lead interior design, Mary Virginia has found a passion supporting other designers through the showroom’s design program, helping them in the retail store and growing the shop’s online presence. She is also an artist with a specialty in creating people’s home portraits in watercolors. “We work really well together and just get each other,” Jill says. “And it’s nice working with family because you don’t even have to finish your sentences. We put extra heart behind what we do because we see the big picture.”
It’s that connection with their customers and community that they hope makes it easier for people to shop small business over big box.
“There’s a relationship here. A connection,” Jill says. “It’s a community here.
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DESIGN
“We love our customers,” Jill says. “Mary knows most of them. She loves working at the store and has taken the time to know almost everybody’s name who comes in. She knows about their dogs and how their son is doing away at college. If she’s sick one day, the FedEx driver asks, ‘Where’s Mary?’”
Soon, Crawford will be joining the team to help with sales. And the Johnsons are looking for even more space, every inch filled with items Jill would have loved to have found locally for her own home projects, in a range of price points. But they never intend to let go of the iconic little shop that they put so much work into renovating.
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By Hollie Deese Photos by Allison Elefante hen you think about living that loft lifestyle, downtown Franklin isn’t likely the first place that comes to mind. But 10 years ago, the same could have been said of Nashville’s downtown, where the population has grown nearly 160% from 2010. Then it had just over 1,000 residents, and today there are nearly 15,000 — and counting.
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A COUPLE EMBRACES A NEW WAY OF LIFE AS WALKABILITY COMES TO HISTORIC TOWN NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 43
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“I wanted to be closer to downtown Franklin,” Cooley says. He began looking online once the itch to move became something he had to scratch, and the Jamison Station loft near The Factory was one of the first listings that came up. Its lock-and-leave lifestyle of having no yard was appealing to the frequent travelers, as was its proximity to the square.
Open rafters and a dramatic black ceiling were where the couple got started making this Jamison Station loft their own with designer Tanya Hembree.
“It’s tough to find something really walkable in downtown Franklin without getting into a $1.5 million house,” Cooley says. “It was kind of lucky, to be honest with“Andyou.”we love it,” Bither adds. “We loved it from the moment we saw it.”
The loft is filled with a collection of items they have acquired over the years and new pieces just for the space, which has three levels — including a rooftop — and was designed by Tanya Hembree of Onyx + Alabaster in Franklin.
DESIGN
Chris Cooley and Shelli Bither have been in Middle Tennessee awhile now — he moved here from Atlanta in 2003, Bither a decade earlier from Michigan. But they bought the Franklin loft in August 2020, ready for something different from their previous home in Westhaven.
“PEOPLE CAN BE A LITTLE BIT AFRAID TO
THEYEXPRESSREALLYWHATTRULYLOVEBECAUSEIT’SMAYBENOTEXPECTED.”
“This was fun because they were willing to be a little bit edgy with their design, and so we were able to go a little bit more dramatic,” Hembree says. “It wasn’t extreme — just a little bit more out of the box than everybody else wants.”
Loft life is the best life for Chris Cooley and Shelli Bither, who chose this Jamison Station location near downtown Franklin and then went with some dramatic, "out of the box" decor choices.
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Provocative art and unusual lighting, plus some classic furniture with modern twists, make this Jamison Station loft near downtown Franklin an eclectic retreat that's convenient for the resident couple's lifestyle.
DESIGN
Open
“We were intentional with making it feel like you could host a cocktail hour there,” she says of bringing in black leather and a custom leopard-print rug.
Visit our showroomnewinFranklin
“I think it’s important for people to love their space. People can be a little bit afraid to really express what they truly love because it’s maybe not expected. I think there’s a way to pull off your look, your style and things that you love.”
While they worked on embracing their style inside, the walkable way of life they were hoping for has been achieved — and will continue to get better when a sidewalk connecting their area to downtown Franklin is completed.
“I don’t think there’s any plans for a farmhouse,” Cooley jokes about their long-term plans. “We can sit outside every Saturday morning with our coffee and watch the farmer’s market, and I think it would be tough to go back to something that I have to work to maintain all the time.”
“We weren’t sure if we were going to like it, because sometimes you want it to be more open and you think darker colors close in on you a little bit,” Bither says. “But it just went very well with the exposed ducts and rafters. It was a good contrast. We like things a little eclectic and rough around the edges.”
One standout design element, the black ceiling, was already there when they moved in, though most everything else got new paint — including the island and kitchen cabinets.
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Hembree helped incorporate some provocative art, unusual lighting and modern patterns to help stretch the couple who loved to entertain beyond their existing style.
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DESIGN By Hollie LaurenPhotographyDeesebyHood TRUE INTENT A DARK TUDOR’S DETAILS GET REINVIGORATED WITH A FRESH APPROACH NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 51
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Vernich knew immediately she had to keep the architectural details and Gothic feel throughout the house as much as possible while ushering the home into a new place for the family's needs. “It’s so important to keep the details of a home consistent with the architecture itself,” she says, which is why she used the Gothic arches and Tudor details of the home as a starting point for her design. “We wanted to keep it consistent throughout the spaces so that what we did represented the character and intent in which the home was originally designed. Trends will come and go, but these architecture details have stood the test of Bytime.”incorporating fabrics in lighter colors and working with contractor Justin Davis of Davis Properties to add some textured walls, she was able to warm up the home without taking away its grand nature.
hen the owners of a Tudor-style home in Brentwood were looking to renovate after nearly 12 years, they turned to Nashville designer Connie Vernich, who is known for her ability to bring a fresh approach and modern way of living to historic architecture — a subject she taught for nine years at Watkins College of Art and Design (now Belmont Design).
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“TRENDS WILL COME AND GO, BUT THESE ARCHITECTURE DETAILS HAVE STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.” Designer Connie Vernich used modern colors, details and fabrics to update this Tudor-style home, all while leaving its architectural "bones" intact. NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 53
“As you can tell, there are a lot of gatherings and activities at this home, and it is always filled with friends and family,” Vernich says.
The spaces in this Brentwood Tudor-style home are always ready for the gatherings and activities that consistently swirl through the house. Details are picture-perfect.
The children’s favorite room is the oldest child's bunk room, which can comfortably sleep four and is where they entertain each other as well as their friends. The adults entertain friends in another part of the house, usually the quiet haven they have dubbed “the whiskey lounge.”
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“I love the bonus room over the garage,” Vernich says. “It was one of those rooms that had big, awkward dormers and a lot of wasted space. We came up with the idea to add trundle beds that pop up into king sleepers, and we surrounded the space with drapes around the dormers for privacy. The whole look is not only functional but adds such a warm and inviting feel to the room. And the drapes can open and close for privacy so members of this busy family can cozy up for a long afternoon nap or to read a good book.”
BINKLEY NASH FURNITURE AND DESIGN | 224 NORTH LOCUST STREET | GALLATIN TENNESSEE | 615.452.7096 | BINKLEYNASHFURNITURE.COM Bradington-Young • Bernhardt • Hooker • King Hickory • Sam Moore • Universal & more Making homes beautif�l sinc e 1968. NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 55
“But I always had construction and development in my blood,” he says. “I love working with older homes, and so I started flipping homes — just three or four a year because I still had the McDonald’s stores at the time.”
FUTUREABUILTONTHEPASTAFAMILYBUSINESSWITHLONGTIMELOCALROOTSCONTINUESTOGROWANDEXPAND DEVELOPMENT
Claudia had moved to Nashville in 2002 from Guatemala when she was 14 with the intent to go back home after high school. The middle of three girls, she and her younger sister came to the U.S. together to join their father while their mother and older sister remained — their sister to finish medical school and their mom to continue her work as a teacher.
SamPhotographyDeesebyCalderon
For him, success means being the man his grandkids and nieces and nephews come to with any problem because they feel safe in his guidance and care. It means building homes that will usher families through good times and bad. And it means handing down a business that does honor to his family name to the next generation.
But he looks more to other things that he hopes to leave behind as bigger examples of a successful legacy.
His father started his love of work and family with his development business started in 1970, primarily investing in McDonald’s franchises. At one point they owned more than 30, and they had 23 in their possession when they sold. Today, Bertuca Hospitality Group’s involvement in restaurants revolves around Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar, Doc’s Bourbon Room in Louisville and a new property in Florida. Originally a mortgage broker, Bertuca started flipping homes in 2007 in Florida where he lived. He moved back to Middle Tennessee to help with his dad’s restaurant portfolio.
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By Hollie
Bertuca met Claudia Tejeda when she was working at one of his restaurants, and they ultimately became a husband-wife team as well as a professional one. She helped tackle some major design decisions on restaurant renovations as a marketing director at McDonald’s, and then she stepped in to help flip homes.
hen Ted Bertuca Jr. talks about success, business is definitely part of the equation.
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“I love the way we’re going and what has happened,” she says. “Remodeling homes, it’s like my passion. It was, even when we had the restaurants and I was remodeling on theAfterside.”Ted sold the franchises, he and Claudia have been able to focus on the kinds of builds they want to leave behind in the community, and they renovate historic homes in a way that honors the families they have served — and honors the family business they are growing together.
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“My dad grew up having nothing, but if he only had one sweater, he would give you that one sweater if you didn’t have one,” she says. At his funeral she was approached by person after person with stories about her father’s generosity, including a single mom he was able to provide with a car. Keeping house early had gotten Claudia interested in design.
She worked in restaurants from a young age, and after she met Bertuca she felt like her love of design and creativity was appreciated and given space to grow. After helping him on a number of restaurant renovations and investment properties, Claudia Bertuca Designs has evolved and grown from word of mouth and partnerships with BMK Building.
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“It reminds me of my dad, working together as a family and having a family business,” Claudia says. “That’s very important to me. We love taking our time with our clients, understanding them, their needs. And when I meet with them, I put myself in their position, just to feel that connection. They work hard to have what they have, and they want a beautiful home. We’re more about quality than quantity,” she says. “The beauty of our team is that everybody has that passion. We know what we want, and we’re on the same page.”
“I remember growing up, and I would be the one decorating my mom’s house,” she laughs. “Sometimes she would be at work, and when she came home her whole living room would be rearranged.”
“My dad was always like looking into our future, always looking at what was next — the bigger picture,” Claudia says. “And I still carry that, his work ethic. That if you are going to do something, do it better. So me and my sisters try to go above and beyond just like he did.”
That translates into the Bertuca family adopting other families in the community during the holiday season, delivering gifts and serving meals, and now organizing a company-wide furniture donation effort for families.
“It was a huge commitment, a huge transition,” she says. “It’s a huge transition, and it’s just hard whatever comes with that age. I pretty much became like a mom and a wife, taking care of a house and my younger sister. But I always said, ‘God knows theItplan.’”wasn’t long before her mom retired and joined the family in Nashville. Her younger sister stayed, too, and now lives minutes from Claudia. Even her older sister lives here now. (Her father died five years ago from Alzheimer’s.)
Ted Bertuca Jr., wife Claudia and son-in-law Logan King all work on various buildingowntogether,projectsandwithintheircompanies,afamilylegacy-andsomereallybeautifulhouses,above.
He met Bertuca’s daughter in high school and moved to the area to work in real estate after they got married. He did some small development deals, and he decided that if he was going to be in construction he didn’t want to be working for another company.
BMK has two sides of the construction business: custom work for private clients, and bigger projects where they act as investors. The custom work could be new build or renovations, with historic projects being one of their specialties.
“When I created this business, I just wanted to stay busy after I sold the restaurants, but that’s when Logan and Nikki said they wanted to move up here. And obviously, I wanted to provide something for them other than them going to work for somebody else,” Bertuca says. “I like the freedom — it allows Logan to go see his daughter in the school play. He doesn’t have to ask anybody. He just goes. And if you work for the man, so to speak, you don’t get that option sometimes, so you are going to miss a lot.”
Other than the freedom a family business allows all of them, Bertuca loves that he is getting to know everyone even better. It’s something his dad instilled in him as he founded what Ted has taken over.
“Early on, I was all about business,” Bertuca says. “But Claudia’s changed me more into the person I am today. She’s taught me a lot about family coreThatvalues.”isevident in another branch of the business: BMK Building Group, headed up by Logan King on the construction side. King grew up in construction in North Georgia; his dad was a general contractor who built custom homes.
“I work very hands on with Claudia daily on a lot of different aspects of these homes, and it’s kind of a rare commodity when you get a woman in the construction world overseeing projects and helping do that too. She’s done a great job managing that for us,” King says.
“A lot of Nashvillians are buying their secondary homes in Florida markets right now, and we definitely want to try to better the communities that we go in. We’re not trying to go in and do cheap work that’s not going to hold up. What we’re trying to do is make something that’s going to last for years toSlowlycome.”his team brought in Claudia to help with design and finishes, working with the custom clientele and then adding on the design work for the investment properties.
Ultimately the partnership at work means more to all of them because they know they are working toward something bigger for their whole family that will last for generations, whether it is the work they leave behind or their good name and family values.
“We’ve got homes in Florida that we’re getting started on currently, and some homes in Wilson County as well as a commercial project,” he says. And that is in addition to local residential projects.
It is her compassion for people and design mixed with his love of family and community that make the perfect base for a family dream to grow and thrive.
“I’d grown up in it, and so I had a pretty good understanding of it,” he says. “I just wanted to be able to run the projects myself.” So he did something many people would find even harder — working with his“Obviously,father-in-law.it’s family. And everybody says family’s hard to work with, but our relationship was great prior, and it’s just gotten better ever since,” King says.
“I’ve known Logan since he was a teenager, but I have just gotten to know him better and develop that family core,” he says. “It’s just all about family and being together and being able to depend and trust on each other. I hope that we’re building generations of great people working together and bringing people together.”
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INNOVATE RENOVATE CAPTIVATE
At Leverick Homes, we pride ourselves on innovative design and quality construction to create spaces owners will enjoy now, and for a lifetime. We know that each project is someone’s home, so our personal attention at every step of the building process, from design to development, ensures no detail is overlooked and everything is done to our high standards. Since 2012, this diligent approach to go above and beyond with distinctive design in renovations and new builds has not wavered, even as Nashville’s development has exploded. With experience renovating in historic districts, developing new construction, and expanding our real estate holdings portfolio, the team at Leverick Homes continues to steadily build on our established reputation in the town we love. Nashville is our home and we want to make it yours too.
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849 Wren Goodlettsville,RoadTN www.leverickhomes.com37072
By Hollie AllisonPhotographyDeesebyElefante
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I DEVELOPMENT
BEECH
t’s 2022, and a 121-year-old home in the heart of the city is getting a second act as an Instagram influencer.
BEAUTY
Of course, behind every beauty is a glam squad sweating it out to get every detail just right. And in the case of this Victorian craftsman, all the accolades go to Marisa Biddle, owner of Nashville Design Company. Nashville Interiors featured Biddle in a Spring 2020 article, “First Time Flip,” when her Cleveland Park cottage project got record square-footage pricing for the neighborhood at the time. Signs of Biddle’s maximalist style were all over that 1930s renovation, which helped fuel the record-setting sales price. That reaction to her “more is more” looks have only encouraged her voice to grow and flourish with the older and more experienced “Miss Beech,” as Biddle calls the home.
A HISTORIC HOME GETS THEMAXIMALIST TREATMENT
Since 1806 Beech Avenue was first listed earlier this year, the 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom home (including guest house) has racked up hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram and TikTok and has fans from all over the country who are in awe of its 11-foot ceilings, black exterior paint and over-the-top design that is a feast for the eyes.
“That’s where I, like, want to live and die, just doing everything to the very limits and pushing the design of my projects, because that’s what makes me happy,” she says of why she passes up cookie-cutter projects for ones that allow her a bigger voice. “This is the best part to me, to be able to infuse my personality and design aesthetic into myTheprojects.”mainhome is 3,200 square feet. A new construction guest house out back adds another 1,500 square feet, and the ease of that compared with renovating the old wasn’t lost on her. “But old houses, they speak to me,” she says. “I have loved old houses since I was a little girl. They are magical to me. They just have a backbone that you can’t find with new construction. No matter what you do to new construction, you always know it’s new. And I just feel like old houses have a soul. I’m obsessed with them.”
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“THAT’S WHERE I, LIKE, WANT TO LIVE AND DIE, JUST DOING EVERYTHING TO THE VERY LIMITS AND PUSHING THE DESIGN OF MY PROJECTS, BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY.”
Over-the-top designs are the goal throughout 1806 Beech Avenue. Far left, the kitchen is the most understated area of the home, but still luxe with glossy black and gold accents. The bedroom goes botanical with birds and vines, and the theme is picked up by the whimsical light fixture.
After Biddle bought the Beech home, she had the opportunity to meet some of the family members who once lived there for more than 50 years. They were a family of five— four boys and their mom, who was an ER nurse at Vanderbilt for more than 40 years. “She never missed a day of work. She was a single mom that raised four boys in that house and she just sounded like such a badass, just the most amazing woman,” Biddle says. “Knowing the story of that family made me want to just honor that house even more.”
Striking lighting adds signature touches throughout the Victorian craftsman at 1806 Beech Avenue.
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Plants and animals make for a common thread through the "more is more" philosophy evident at 1806 Beech Avenue. Palms, ferns, antlers and animal-inspired prints embody the theme.
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"High-flown" decor includes the striking bathroom wallpaper, bold linear area rug and Mid-Century Modern chest of drawers with an updated finish.
The family of five, four boys and their mom, who lived in this house for more than 50 years, would likely not recognize much about the updated interiors at 1806 Beech Avenue.
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The mix of new and salvage pieces is accented by patterned wallpaper and colorful details. And nothing is too much — think an onyx sink in the powder bath and columns from the Macy’s department store in Atlanta.
Working with architect Troy Harper, Biddle didn’t work against the bones of the home, only worked to enhance. From the street, it already had most of the most architectural elements—a flared roof and sweet little dormers. But on the inside, she was able to scratch the old layout and modernize, while keeping as much of the detail as possible.
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“From day one of a project I just try to listen to what they want me to do to them,” she says of the homes. “How can I elevate them in the way they deserve? And that is what Miss Beech needed. She needed jewelry around her neck.”
Of course, $25,000 copper gutters are not the kind of design decision most people would make if they’re trying to make the most money back on a project, and they had no problem telling her that. But she stands firm in every choice she made to make this house experience its moment in the sun.
“KNOWING THE STORY OF THAT FAMILY MADE ME WANT TO JUST HONOR THAT HOUSE EVEN MORE.”
“Everything in that house has a story, and I’m the one that knows it all because my feet are on the ground. I’m shopping for this stuff, and it’s like a puzzle that comes together,” she says. “I am always looking for unique things, and I’m putting them together — and somehow they make sense.”
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Marisa Biddle, below, has poured time, effort and personality into the bringingBeechrenovationsbespokeof1806Avenue,newlifeto the grand lady as a social media influencer.
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NASHVILLEFASHIONWEEK.COM
HOSPITALITYAFARMHOUSE GUEST SUITE GETS A REFRESH WILLIAMSONINCOUNTY EXTENDING DEVELOPMENT 70 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
By Hollie PaigePhotographyDeesebyRumore NASHVILLEINTERIORS.COM | 71
The two projects both had Trace Ventures as general contractor and were overseen by homeowners Tony and Lisa Giarratana, who worked with designer Frank Ponterio on the penthouse and served as lead decorators on the guest suiteTherefresh.roughly 800-square-foot floorplan of the suite was reimagined to maximize every inch available, with a dividing wall added to the bedroom to create a large walk-in closet and entry. The kitchen and bathroom footprints were reconfigured to improve functionality, and a connecting vestibule was added to make the guest suite accessible from the main house. Both spaces were designed to offer the utmost in hospitality for guests — despite their polar opposite vibes.
in downtown Nashville’s 505 high rise couldn’t be more different in space and style than the guest suite of a Williamson County Colonial-revival farmhouse, but the two have more in common than first meets the eye.
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Homeowner Lisa Giarratana leaned on Old World style and details when renovating a space in her home meant to make visitors feel warm and welcome.
“Because of the setting on the 45th floor of 505, we wanted the penthouse to have a very dramatic, sleek and modern feel,” Lisa Giarratana says. “At the farm, we wanted a more relaxed, ‘Old World’ feel. A cozy retreat. So the finishes and fixtures for both projects could not have been more different.”
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The Giarratanas’ farmhouse on Old Natchez Trace, surrounded by acres of lush farmland instead of cityscape, was originally built in 1989, so the guest suite was certainly due for an update. Plaster of Paris was applied to the walls to achieve the Old World aesthetic Giarratana was after, and the space was finished out in a palette of creams and rich reds.
“I think the rough plaster finish we achieved on the walls really sets the mood,” she says. “I’m also partial to the Italian terra cotta floor tiles and the reclaimed barn wood floors and ceiling.”
And details like the heated towel rack and floors in the bathroom, the over-the-bed reading lights and the motorized blackout shades were just the kind of touches she knew guests would appreciate.
“We delight in sharing the penthouse and our farm with family and friends,” she says. “We have guests in either or both locations a couple of times a month.”
Reclaimed wood on the floors, walls and box beams add warmth and natural beauty.
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The reclaimed barn wood was used on the floors, in the box beams on the ceiling and in the hallway wall—each piece meticulously stained to match. The white oak cabinetry featured throughout the suite was hand-burned and distressed to lend an aged look, and handcrafted Italian tiles were used in the bathroom.
“AT RETREAT.”FARM,THEWEWANTEDAMORERELAXED,‘OLDWORLD’FEEL.ACOZY
BELMONT.EDU/OMORE TRANSFORM THE WORLD FROM THE INSIDE OUT
For 50 years the O’More College of Architecture & Design has been a learner-centered creative community that serves undergraduate students by providing a service-oriented and ethically-rooted CIDA-accredited program in Interior Design, alongside a new program in Architecture.
STUDY INTERIOR DESIGN AT BELMONT
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ART hen I opened Overton Arts in 2018, my goal was to create a picture framing and art consultation business geared toward the interior design industry. I wanted to build a platform where I could play a role in uplifting the arts community in Nashville and helping it to grow in a positive direction.
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By Robert WilliamPhotographyJonesbyDeShazer
Over the next couple of years I connected with hundreds of local artists. While I was excited to find such an eclectic visual arts scene in the city, I was disheartened to learn how underfunded the infrastructure supporting the Nashville visual arts community is compared with many similarly sized cities. The arts community is particularly vulnerable to displacement when cost of living increases, and Nashville’s growth over the past 15 years has presented artists with a number of economic obstacles to navigate. Our artists uplift Nashville by creating art from perspectives that are unique to the city, and I think it’s important to give our arts community a more prominent platform as Nashville continues to develop. When we buy from local artists, we aren’t just purchasing artwork — we are also investing in our art scene and the expansion of our cultural heritage.
“FINDING THE RIGHT ARTIST TAKES A COMMITMENT OF TIME AND RESEARCH THAT IS OFTEN NOT POSSIBLE IN THE AVAILABLE BUDGET.” ART 76 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
potteryhouseplants•giftitemsvintagedecor GREENERY IS GROOVYGREENERY IS GROOVYGREENERY IS GROOVY 142 N Water Ave • Gallatin, TN 37066 • (615) 527 6889 facebook and instagram @earthfirstplantco
My many conversations with people in the design community who are eager to connect with local artists have been motivating, but one problem continues to pop up: Finding the right artist takes a commitment of time and research that is often not possible in the available budget. When I connected with Hollie Deese and Nashville Interiors, I discovered that we shared a strong desire to better support the arts community in Nashville, and we began making plans to collaborate on the Nashville Artist Guide. The guide will be an annual publication showcasing the diversity of the art scene in the city. Our goal is to create a go-to resource for designers and private collectors that will make it easier for them to find local artists for anyToproject.generate some excitement for local artists, we decided to start with a list of the city’s 50 most exciting contemporary artists. This list will be curated by a panel of three people who will all be rotated annually to ensure fresh perspectives and uphold the integrity of the publication. Each artist chosen will have a full page in the guide that features a portrait photo, contact information, a brief bio and several images of their work.
The inaugural curatorial panel is made up of Stephanie Pruitt Gaines, Julia Martin and me. Stephanie, a poet, has been the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize. She has also been an active leader in the community, serving as the former commissioner for the Metro Nashville Arts Commission as well as serving on the board of directors for the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. Julia’s artwork has been at the forefront of Nashville’s art scene for more than a decade. In 2013, she opened Julia Martin Gallery, which recently tied for best art gallery in Nashville in the annual Nashville Scene Readers’ Poll.
For more information, please contact me at robert@nashvilleinteriors.com.
Hollie and I are excited to be putting this publication together, and we hope that the Nashville Artist Guide will become a valuable resource for the design community, providing artists with more opportunities to showcase their work as our city continues to grow.
F A M I L Y O W N E D . D E S I G N E R R U G S . 615-451-4838 visit our showroom at: 463 S Water Ave, Gallatin, TN www.fostersruggallery.com
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LeXander Bryant's solo museum show at the Frist Art Museum represents his perspectives on life growing up as a Black man in the South.
“I look at hip-hop as just another way to communicate; it’s done through fashion, through the way we talk, through the sounds and the lyrics.”
Bryant’s images draw you in with subtle clues hinting at a bigger story, but identifying the motive within that story isn’t always“Overeasy.time
A constant thread woven through his work is his eagerness to take to the streets — even in finding his audience. His images are often found pasted up by the roadside, where they seem perfectly at home in the neighborhoods that they depict.
“I like to make work that’s relatable, work that tells the story of growing up in the South—looking through a youthful lens and reflecting on community and identity,” he“Isays.live with intention, and I know I have a purpose. I think as long as my intentions are to live through that purpose and to continue searching for new ways to tell stories, then my work will reflect that.”
Bryant’s debut solo museum show at the Frist Art Museum, Forget Me Nots, can be interpreted as a reflection of American life from his unique perspective. Each image contributes to a landscape that feels very familiar while maintaining an intimate connection to Bryant’s experiences growing up as a young Black man in the South.
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“I just wanted to put it in the streets and make it highly accessible. I didn’t want you to have to go to a museum or have to pick up this art magazine. I wanted it to stand out in the streets amongst everyday people. Whether it be on their way to work or on the walk home from school, I thought it was important to go to the people versus waiting for them to find the“Allwork.over the South there are these hubs of talented people who have a voice and a certain story to tell. I know the talent is here because I come from one of those small Southern towns.
By Robert courtesyPhotographsJonesoftheartist
arrying his camera into the streets with the eye of a documentarian, LeXander Bryant captures the everyday moments that build the backdrop of the neighborhoods he explores. Showing respect for the seemingly inconsequential, his images evoke a sense of nostalgia for the present.
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The earnestness behind his work has attracted a lot of attention, within the art world and from the hip-hop community. Bryant has worked with a number of prominent local hip-hop artists in recent years, but perhaps most notable has been his recent collaboration with renowned Atlanta-based rapper Big K.R.I.T.
In this sense, Bryant may be better described as a journalist than a fine artist, but his work diverges from photojournalism in its scope. In addition to photography, Bryant employs elements of graphic design, street art and even sculpture to build a more vivid reflection of the communities he works in.
I’ve learned what I like to see, and I’ve trained my mind to see things a certain way, so I trust myself to capture the details and be able to tell the story the right way. As far as everything coming together on a project, I let the narrative build itself from what I have to work with. It’s rare that I go into a project with an idea like, Oh, I want to do a project about this, so let me start here. It feels a lot more natural, and for me it helps me relate to the work more.”
“ I THINK THE WORK CREATES A
ART Top: The largest installation of "Forget Me Nots" is a sculptural piece that sits in the center of the gallery room at the Frist Art Museum. At right: "Forget Me Nots" is LeXander Bryant's debut solo museum show. "I live with intention," he says. "And I know I have a purpose."
ONCONVERSATIONITSOWN,BUTYOUHAVETOBEPRESENTANDWILLINGTOBUILDONTOPOFTHAT.”
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Bryant’s work gains even deeper meaning when seen from this perspective. His artistic depictions of the American South place a strong emphasis on engaging with its people and giving them a platform to communicate their stories.
“For me, the most important part is being willing to have a conversation. That’s how we build rapport and a sense of community — it all starts with a conversation. I think the work creates a conversation on its own, but you have to be present and willing to build on top of that.”
“I look at my work like it’s a part of hip-hop. I always felt like my work mirrored his (Big K.R.I.T.) musical style — it’s super Southern, it’s intellectual, it’s artsy, it’s creative and refreshing. And I always thought my work was like that. He inspired me a lot in terms of thinking about what the visual landscape of the American South looks like, just like how he created a soundscape that reflects the South just like it should be portrayed.”
E L E V A T E E D U C A T E E N H A N C E Exhibitions • Art Education • Outreach www.MonthavenArtsAndCulturalCenter.com
eavy Murphree’s passion for ceramics has echoed throughout her adult life, resurfacing at pivotal moments of transition. Despite it being her calling, she initially was hesitant to pursue her artistic dream.
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By Robert Jones Portrait photography by Anna Haas Work photography by Keavy Murphree
“I went to school for industrial design. Even though I’d fallen in love with ceramics, I opted to take the practical route in school. I was raised in the Midwest with these puritanical roots telling me: ‘You might hate it, but work hard and you might be able to enjoy life later.’”
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A high school class had originally ignited her interest. “Then I took a couple classes in college and occasionally pursued it as a hobby. My now husband and I moved to Nashville in 2008, got married, started having kids and it never felt like the right time,” she says. She overcame her apprehensions when a professional transition gave her a window of opportunity to rethink her career path. She took a class. “I’d been laid off from my job, and I was doing more freelance work. I thought, Finally, I have time where I can pursue this passion. My goals were just to play with clay all the time. It didn’t extend to anything beyond that. “But I made this little piece, and a girl in the class was like, ‘Oh my god, I love this, it makes me so happy.’ That was the moment when I saw someone was really responding to it, and it was making her happy. Positively affecting the lives of others was the purpose I had been looking for. I started coming up with several other concepts, and I developed this little family of creatures that was just enough to run with.”
These creatures formed her Horns collection, which she has been making since 2018. Since then, Murphree’s work has received overwhelmingly positive response, becoming highly valued by discerning collectors and recently earning a feature article in LUXE Interiors + Design magazine. While her seamless transition into a fine arts environment is a testament to her eye for color and composition, Murphree finds herself at the crest of a new wave of fine artists in Nashville who have been taking functional design to new artistic heights.
Ceramic artist Keavy Murphree's work runs the gamut from sculpture to decorative pieces, but lately she feels more drawn to functional design, like the blue chair at right and the lamp below.
BUTHATEMIGHT“YOUIT,WORKHARDANDYOUMIGHTBEABLETOENJOYLIFELATER.”
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“The last one is called Good Grief. It’s about loss and trying to grow and learn from this universal experience. All this sets the stage for my personal mindspace over the past year, where I was just craving something different — something fresh and optimistic but also real.”
“Things slowed down during the pandemic, allowing me to better observe the changing seasons and become more attuned to the cyclical nature of life. Things are always changing! This new work is about renewal and growth and acknowledging that all beings are part of a greater ongoing cycle. After a tumultuous couple of years, this botanically inspired work symbolizes a personal mind shift into the vibrancy and vitality that I want to put into the world.”
“I’m working on lighting, more functional objects and considering the possibilities of ceramics for larger wall installations,” she says. “I’m working toward what’s known as collectible design in the art world at large. That’s the world I look to and aspire to more than the fine art world, at least at the moment.”
The introspective nature of her latest work, alongside the scope of its artistic ambition, has attracted attention from the fine arts world. Her deput solo show at Julia Martin Gallery in the Wedgewood-Houston arts district runs through May. It includes a triptych of stylized ceramic faces that she says reflect aspects of her path through the pandemic.
Hearing her describe the Schumacher Venetian silk velvet she chose to upholster an intricate floral frieze patterned ceramic chair she is working on, it’s hard to know where the line between fine art and design should be drawn.
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ART Keavy Murphree is inspired by 14th-century scientist and craftsman Bernard Palissy, the ornamental architecture of Louis Sullivan and the cultural mashup of southern Spanish architecture.
“The first face is called I Don’t Like you Anyway. It’s about having to deal with people I don’t want to be around and finding myself intolerant of them and, in turn, of myself because of how I was reacting. “The second face is called Let ’er Rip , and it’s about saying things I almost immediately regretted — things that did not need to be said and weren’t constructive to the situation.
Keavy Murphree’s work has taken a new direction as she has been reflecting on the divisive political climate during the COVID-19 pandemic — and on her own experiences navigating that. “I found myself getting excessively mad about politics and things in my personal life. It reached this fever pitch where it was just too toxic to exist in that state, and I needed to choose a different response.”
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The Hermitage Hotel restaurant Drusie & Darr is at the forefront of an in-progress renovation of the 112-year-old Nashville landmark. The restaurant space was designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen.
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With more than 40 acclaimed restaurants around the globe, Vongerichten envisioned a convivial and contemporary restaurant and bar in Nashville to showcase the abundance of Tennessee’s regional produce — some of which is sourced from The Hermitage Hotel’s garden at The Land Trust for Tennessee’s Glen Leven Farm. “It’s an honor to be a part of the growth of Nashville’s prominent food scene,” Vongerichten says. “With Drusie & Darr, I wanted to bring a taste of Jean-Georges to Nashville with influences from the community, city and history of The Hermitage Hotel to offer something fresh and exciting.”
The restaurant is named after brother and sister Drusie and Darr Hall, who lived at The Hermitage Hotel with their father, Dick Hall — the hotel’s former general manager. From the name of the restaurant to the interior design, Vongerichten and The Hermitage Hotel team felt passionately about preserving the history and legacy of theThehotel.rejuvenated space from award-winning interior designer Thomas Juul-Hansen comes on the cusp of a property-wide revitalization of The Hermitage Hotel, which first opened its doors nearly 112 years ago.
ashville landmark The Hermitage Hotel opened Drusie & Darr by Jean-Georges Vongerichten earlier this year, marking the first Southern property for the Michelin-star chef.
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Taking its cue from the men’s room, which has horizontal tilework in stripes of lime green and black, the new ladies’ room has over-the-top striped walls of variegated pink marble, pink sinks and toilets, inlaid marble flooring, arched doorways, rose gold–framed mirrors and glamorous lighting throughout.
Drusie & Darr is at 231 Sixth Ave. N., Nashville, inside The Hermitage Hotel. Reservations can be made on Resy.com or by calling the restaurant directly at 615-345-7116.
The interiors feature restored 1902 Beaux-Arts details, such as vaulted ceilings and original oak walls, complemented by a state-of-the-art open kitchen with a larger square footage than before, glamorous modern décor and dramatic lighting from L’Observatoire International. All furnishings, from the mother-of-pearl pendant lamps to the seating, tables and curved banquettes in blue velvet, are entirely custom to Drusie & Darr. Also new: a stunning pink marble ladies’ room, the 21st-century answer to The Hermitage Hotel’s famous 1930s-era Art Deco men’s room.
“As Nashville’s social epicenter for over a century, The Hermitage Hotel is excited to introduce a new gathering place in step with the times and where everyone feels welcome,” says Dee Patel, managing director of The Hermitage Hotel. “Our wish is for guests and neighbors alike to return for years to come.”
HOSPITALITY 580 Franklin Road, Suite 300 Franklin, TN Michelle.glass@zeitlin.com615.946.5179MICHELLEmarymargaret.glass@zeitlin.comc:MARYzeitlin.com@thehomenashville37067MARGARET615.613.1996|o:615.794.0833GLASS A designandrealapproachcollectivetoestateinterior B uy . S ell . R enovate . D e S ign .
HOSPITALITY A IFOUNDATIONSOLIDthadbeen13yearssinceJennahadlastseenJohnathanBrummelatLeeUniversity,wheretheybothattended,butwhenhesatdownnexttoheratadearfriend’sfuneralin2005,lifewasabouttototallychangeforthesinglemom.Sevenmonthslater,thetwoweremarriedandshehadsoldhersmallhomedécorstoreinGeorgiatomovetoMiddleTennessee.ASCHOOLLESSONTURNSINTOALIFE’SWORKBy Hollie PhotographyDeesebyPamMonaghan 94 | NASHVILLE INTERIORS | SPRING 2022
Jenna decided to rent a booth at Amberleaf, a nowclosed vendor space on the Square in Gallatin, as a way for Xander to sell the headboard as part of a homeschool lesson in business. They named the business Chic Artique.
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“We wanted to teach Xander an entrepreneurial lesson that you can set your own hours,” she says. “We wanted to teach him that he can make something and sell it. And the first weekend we opened, we sold a headboard. Which is a nice little paycheck for a 15-year-old.”
Totally in love with her life change, she never gave up the idea she would have another store someday. But immersed in raising and homeschooling her two children, Xander and Gracie, that took precedence over pretty much anything else. When her son was a teenager, he fell in love with the rustic design of a Washington, D.C., hotel room. When he returned from his trip, he designed and built a rustic, reclaimed wood headboard with dimming light sconces and USB ports for his own room. Proud mom Jenna posted a pic on Facebook, and the responses urging her to sell it were encouraging.
Jenna Brummel has seen her business grow and evolve from a small boutique in Georgia to a multi-building shop and architectural salvage business in Goodlettsville.
It didn’t take long for that booth to get busier as Jenna dusted off her shop skills and eye for design and décor. She expanded Chic Artique into 350 square feet in the front of a salon in Goodlettsville before eventually closing both spaces when they moved into their current building in 2016.
“We had a good time, but it was a hard time,” Jenna says of being a young mom opening her own business. “But I love encouraging people when I share my story of how I started small. I like encouraging people to that messy action, which is taking action before you really have a plan. Just start. Ninetynine percent of my success is messy action.”
“I love a gorgeous barnwood table with a crystal chandelier hanging over it, or really pretty bedding with a rustic wood headboard behind it,” Jenna says. “That just does it for me.”
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Chic Artique has expanded four times within that building, adding outdoor and gifts, bedding and rugs — all in the glamourous rustic style she has become known for.
The two also host people from all over the country on their Robertson County property in two “glamping” tents. Each has heated floors, wood-burning stoves and all the amenities needed to take the hard work out of camping. It’s another way they share their hospitality while working together to build something bigger. And Johnathan has been a support and surprise creative the entire time, transitioning from chief of staff to the Tennessee secretary of state for 12 years to salvage picker, campfire starter, support staff and biggest fan to Jenna and her dream.
Now the Brummels own that building and the one behind it, which they have just opened to showcase one of the biggest reasons designers come to her — her architectural salvage pieces. A go-to for anything Braxton Dixon that comes available, she also makes annual trips to Pennsylvania to load up a trailer with historic home details. “It is super fun to have one week and all these places you want go — trying to squeeze it all in and get the best you can in the time you have,” she says. “And then there is the game of packing it all back in the truck and trailer.”
“I remember standing outside our building, and there were three suites for rent,” she says. “We were just dreaming of renting one.”
The business isn’t the only thing that has grown. Xander, who was 3 years old at Jenna’s feet while she opened her first shop in Georgia and then inspired her business in Tennessee, this spring graduated from Western Kentucky University with the skills and knowledge to work anywhere, on his own time.
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“It’s a challenge because we never stop talking about work, but we have the same goals and we have a lot of fun with it,” she says. “I mean, I can come up with the most harebrained idea, and he’s like, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ And he helps me figure out how to get there.”
Johnathan and Jenna Brummel
