Annandale Parade of Homes 2011 Nashville, TN

You never know how a chance encounter with another person is going to influence your work or your life. Last January, I packed my bags and boarded a plane for Los Angeles to attend the first ever Design Blogger’s Conference. It was a fabulous event with fact packed sessions and wonderful networking opportunities. After a talk by uber successful Designer, Tobi Fairley, I was hanging out to ask her a question. I overheard her talking to another designer who was asking her about photographing her work for submission to publications. I overheard her say she was from Nashville. That’s all I needed to hear. I jumped right into the conversation and introduced myself. Julie Couch and I have been fast friends ever since.

Julie mentioned that she was designing a home for the 2011 Nashville, TN Parade of Homes in the Annandale Community. I immediately offered to help her with her decorative painting. I’m paraphrasing her response here, “I’m not really into faux finishes”. I said, “I hear that a lot from designers, but have you seen the fresh new ways that decorative painters are keeping up with modern design?” She agreed to a meeting once we got back into town. I showed up armed and ready with lots of photos on my computer, links to my curated images on Pinterest,  and a couple of books including, Kelly Wearstler’s book, HUE that showcased lots of really modern applications for decorative paint treatments.

She got excited about the possibilities and “just like that” we were collaborating together on some cool finishes for the showcase home.

The house that we are working in is being built by local homeowners. It was fun to work in a home that wasn’t for sale. A lot of times when a home is for sale, the builders want you to “keep it neutral”. We worked with the homeowners to select finishes that they loved and could grow with over the years. They have two young girls, so we came up with designs for each of their rooms that added a little whimsy. We also created a big graphic design for the dining room. All of our designs for the home included a stenciled design from Royal Design Studios. Stencils have come back into style in a big way. Think of them as a totally customizable wallpaper. You get to select your pattern, the size of the pattern, the number of repeats, the color, texture, sheen and shimmer. Here are a few inspiration photos and a few of the walls in progress.

Julie Couch is a very talented designer. Her lighting fixtures, alone are worth a trip out to the Parade. The first time I walked through the house, I wanted to squeal in each room as I was surprised by yet another wonderful totally unexpected lighting design. Carbine Builders, and Brandon Ketchan  have been great to work with as well. Every detail of the home is quality and perfection.

There are a total of four homes in the parade. Information below was taken from Nashville House and Home Magazine.

Carbine & Associates
Carbine & Associate’s builders are John Montgomery, JB Haile, and Brandon Ketchan. Designer for the Parade home is Julie Couch of Julie Couch Interiors.

The French eclectic home features reclaimed Chicago brick and curved, sweeping roof lines. The exterior is accented with iron flower boxes and integrated brick planters that bookend the porch. The Great Room features a painted coffered ceiling, limestone mantle and hearth, and a metal beaded chandelier.

Grove Park Construction
Grove Park Construction’s 6,400-sq. ft. Annandale home features five bedrooms, five full baths and two half baths, all conceived with functionality and luxury in mind. Kathleen Evers is the interior designer.

The home features a French eclectic style with European lines.The entry foyer is open to the second floor and down to the wine cellar. The kitchen features cream glazed cabinets accented with Calcutta Gold marble counter tops.

Hidden Valley Homes
Trina Spangler founded Hidden Valley Homes and works with every customer from start to finish, assisting with selections—from brick and shingles to paint colors and tile. Each home becomes a unique masterpiece, from the original design to the final brush stroke. Jim Spangler has over 25 years of home building experience and has worked for a Top 10 National Home builder.

Jennifer Jones of Jennifer Jones Design, a veteran of more than a dozen show homes, is the project designer.
Established Colonial and French Normandy touches are found in the home’s Old World exterior. The two-story foyer features a chiseled limestone floor and hand-turned wrought iron spindles from a local blacksmith. Walnut floors are included in the kitchen and family room.

Legend Homes, LLC
Legend Homes, LLC, a locally owned and operated custom building company, specializes in building homes with innovative designs and innovative technology, offering its customers the best products with the optimum value. This is the company’s second Parade of Homes™ event following its award-winning success at the 2007 event at Stream Valley.

Designers for the project are Jason Bradshaw and Bob Deal of Bradford’s Interiors. They’re collaborating with Legend Homes, as they did in 2007 when the Stream Valley home was an award winning home in the Parade of Homes™. The transitional country European home features a brick and rock facade. The wrap-around porch is fitted with custom iron railing. Designed to feel like a French bakery, the kitchen features custom painted cabinets, a coffered ceiling, with faux-finished beams.

The 17-day event is scheduled from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. September 24 through October 9 in the Annandale neighborhood in Brentwood. You can follow our progress on the project by LIKING the Bella Tucker Decorative Finishes Facebook Page. If you’d like to talk to us about how to give your home some custom designed Parade of Homes style please email me at dana@bella-tucker.com