COUNTRY CLASSIC

Nashville designer Brad Ramsey personalizes a new Franklin farmhouse

Written by Melissa Mahanes with Erinn Cortez / Photos by Paige Rumore

After being referred by an existing longtime client, Brad Ramsey was tasked with reimagining this former horse farm into a sophisticated farmhouse for a growing blended family of seven in Franklin, Tennessee. The newly constructed home was completed in 2021 and is over 7,000 square feet. The home features five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, and two half baths with multiple rooms for the family’s entertainment, including a bonus room, library, and outdoor kitchen. Ramsey has brought a sense of flow and consistency throughout the home. The homeowners had many ideas and inspirations, and Brad helped steer the process so the house would feel layered, interesting, comfortable, and unified. As a result, the interiors are timeless transitional while incorporating natural, rustic elements.

The home’s exterior plays an integral role in the inspiration for the interior. The front porch features flagstone flooring, cedar columns, batten siding, and a bed swing. The home’s main floor features 12-foot ceilings, and to maintain a warm, inviting feeling throughout, attractive millwork and trim details were installed. The dining room is the jewel of the house, with rich, blue grasscloth from Pacific Designs and a stunning chandelier. Heirloom artwork hung in the formal dining room is an added personal touch.

The expansive kitchen is situated just off the main living room, complete with a breakfast area that overlooks the great outdoors. Hudson Valley pendants and Bernhardt seating counter stools were selected for the kitchen. The table and custom dining seating are from Bernhardt and Vanguard Furniture, respectively, with sconces and the center fixtures from Visual Comfort.

The prep kitchen was intended to feel classic and unfussy. Charcoal cabinets, white subway tile, a farmhouse sink, pullout produce baskets, and wood accent shelving are all true to the farmhouse feel. The space was meant to complement the more formal gray kitchen without feeling out of place. The homeowner wanted a useful room where she could pot plants, can vegetables, store produce, and have a coffee station. The dark blue laundry/craft room is just a fun deviation from the neutral colors throughout the rest of the home. The goal was to make this space a little cheerier. Whimsical café curtains and burlap wallpaper on the ceiling make the room textural and enjoyable to spend time in while doing laundry or projects.

The primary bedroom’s palette is muted and serene. Special attention was paid to enhancing the natural light pouring into the room. The chandelier from Visual Comfort adds hand-forged iron elements to the room but with feminine curves. Masculine elements like painted brick, iron, and wood are balanced with softer textures and layers to make the room feel perfectly romantic. The bed is a custom Bernhardt upholstered bed with simple tufting and curved wood details.

The primary bathroom was designed to be a beautiful marble space so they would feel like they were on vacation every day. The Hudson Valley chandelier mimics the feel of falling water and is the showstopper in the space. The addition of shiplap to the ceiling brings back some farmhouse elements.

The upstairs study is the homeowner’s favorite space and the most significant success. The design team had custom cabinetry built on two walls, one flanking the fireplace and the other a functional desk area. They incorporated lots of filing, a printer pullout, and a paper shredder into the cabinetry, yet it still feels like a library, not an office. Brad also added wire mesh in front of the cabinetry on the desk side so that the books and materials behind the mesh did not have to be decorative but could genuinely be functional and still look tailored and tidy.

The cabinetry color—Chelsea Grey from Benjamin Moore— covers the walls, crown molding, and baseboards and unifies the walls and cabinetry. The custom mesh and hardware were sourced from Armac Martin Hardware in Birmingham, England. The library ladder was custom designed and stained to match the hardwood floors.

The outdoor space is long and narrow, so the design team thoughtfully maximized the usable space to accommodate the large family. The design team created pockets of hangout spots to be together—the bar area by the grill seats five, and the dining table seats eight. In addition, there is a covered screened porch and a firepit area. The outdoor area is perfect for entertaining and being together, yet intimate enough if the two homeowners want to enjoy the space alone. Ramsey and his team have accomplished their mission to create a stunning blend of classic and casual.