When Hailey and Bryan Stone bought their 1940s Federal-style house in Nashville’s idyllic enclave of Belle Meade, it was out-of-date, out-of-touch, and desperate for a refresh. Interior designer Yancey Shearouse, principal at Yancey Seibert Shearouse Interiors, took cues from her clients’ closets to pack personality into every inch of the home’s 4,500 square feet and bring it into the twenty-first century.
“You can tell a lot about a person’s decorating style just by peeking in their closet,” Shearouse says. “Hailey loves fashion and is not afraid to push the envelope when it comes to mixing bold patterns and bright colors. During the planning phase, she literally told us to create rooms that she ‘would want to wear.’ On the other hand, Bryan will tell you that he is an ‘old soul’ who leans toward classic, tailored styles.”
As the adage states, opposites do attract. Marrying Hailey’s passion for the avant-garde and Bryan’s penchant for tradition, Shearouse conceived a design scheme featuring wallcoverings, fabrics, and rugs bearing floral, geometric, and abstract motifs with a few quirky ones (think feathers and cowboy boots) thrown in for good measure. Carried out in a feel-good palette of greens, blues, pinks, purples, reds, and oranges, these textiles excite the senses as opposed to overwhelming them thanks to the interior’s fuss-free framework. Handsome hardwood floors, classic white trim, and stately millwork help swing the pendulum back to the center while family heirlooms and antique-inspired furnishings keep it grounded somewhere between current and timeless.
Despite the differences in their individual styles, Hailey and Bryan are one hundred percent in sync when it comes to art and their selections speak volumes about their style as a couple.
“They are collectors in the truest sense of the word,” Shearouse says. “Their appreciation and enthusiasm for contemporary art has evolved and grown over the years and, naturally, so have their collections. It was important to create the perfect backdrop for these unique, cherished pieces because they are what really makes the house feel like home.”
Living Room
Brilliant blue accents like the velvet throw pillow, sculptural lamp base, and wide tape trim on the leading edge of the drapes punctuate the large expanses of green.
The spicy pinks, oranges, and ambers of the diamond-design rug turns up the heat on the room’s cooler notes and compliment the “Tomato Soup” reds on a pair of Andy Warhol licensed prints.
Kitchen
The riveted lap seam range hood brings a WOW-factor into the all-white kitchen. Circular pendants temper the hood’s straight lines just as the cane barrel backs of the counter stools lend curve appeal to the island’s sharp angles.
To create cohesion, Shearouse designed the café curtains above the kitchen to match the full-length drapes that run against the same wall in the adjacent family room.
Dining Room
Fun, feathery wallcovering and sumptuous pink drapes bring a sense of celebration and whimsy into the otherwise formal dining room.
Louis Phillipe–style mirrors and Directoire-inspired commodes are reinvented with crisp white paint, gold leaf accents, and brass hardware.
Vintage dining chairs scored at a Palm Beach estate sale make an elegant, yet unexpected match for Bryan’s grandmother’s antique dining table. The crystal chandelier is original the 1940s house.
Entryway
To introduce the palette, Shearouse corralled all of the interior colors and reiterated them in the foyer through the green and white Anna French wallcovering, jewel-toned vintage runner from Chairish, and electric blue Schumacher ottoman.
To honor the architectural integrity of the home, the Stones retained authentic Federalist details like the fanciful door transoms in the foyer.
Art by Angela Chruschiaki Blehm is displayed alongside paper, wood, and brass bringing new meaning to the term “mixed media.”
Family Room
A classic living room arrangement takes a contemporary turn with oversized lamps, an abstract painting by AK Hardeman, and a wood coffee table in a sleek waterfall profile. Pops of high-voltage pinks and blues send a shock wave through the relatively muted palette.
Bedroom
Ethereal blues read quietly colorful in the primary bedroom. The strong silhouette of the Modern History poster bed is softened by crisp white linens, plush floral pillows, and a scallop-framed settee with tufted upholstery. The gilt frame around an Alexis Walter abstract plays off the bed’s delicate gold leaf detailing and the Visual Comfort lamps.
Bathroom
Pattern play is the name of the game in the monochromatic primary bathroom. Given their similar compositions, the marble mosaic tile flooring and subway tile shower walls complement one another despite contrasting patterns. The brass faucet, hardware, and fixtures, coupled with bright art by Emyo, radiate warmth against the veiny marble and chilly blue Lee Jofa wallcovering.
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