Nashville Style
Nashville Style
Nashville has been gaining noteworthy traction in becoming famous for more than cowboy boots and country music –at least as far as design style is concerned –and there's everything to celebrate about this newfound aesthetic appeal.
With the Nashville style, maximalism meets down-to-earth –a candid way of staying true to the historic classic southern touch while reimagining some of its aspects for modern living.
We're talking about filling spaces with tons of layers, an unusual pairing of bold colors, adding a dash of metal and crystals, and topping it off with punchy animal prints.
Let's take you on a tour of what the Music City has been up to with the Nashville style.
Fusion of Traditional and Modern Architecture
Nashville is known for homes that tend to hide at the back of a 50's ranch and Georgian-style homes that bank on proportion to balance with restrained ornamentation in the interiors that are sometimes nonexistent outside.
The Nashville style calls for a touch-up of these traditional styles by sometimes opening up a floor plan to create more space, removing shatters, or repainting the bricks outside in white paint or dark blue hues while retaining the classic charm.
Height is also a big deal for newly constructed homes with most of them adorning a towering silhouette and bricks painted in ivory white. It's not uncommon to find black steel and glass front doors as a reliable source of lots of natural light either.
Almost like a way of adding a signature finish, these white homes spot exterior gas lanterns situated at the entrance of driveways and front porches.
Toned-down Maximalism
Maximalists go all out and strive to make any space as bold as can be. The Nashville style doesn't quite drop this notion but introduces natural elements to give balance to the boldness.
For example, a living room may feature crystal chandeliers hanging above a rustic wood coffee table with an earthy-toned animal print finish. The wood introduces nature and breaks the bold crystal chandelier vibe by adding a touch of simplicity.
Alternatively, the grandiose air provided by multiple-tier chandeliers, oversized dramatic light fixtures can be toned down with a leopard print rug on the floor.
Furniture Bearing Traditional and Contemporary Aspects
To strike a balance between the old and the new, you'll find traditional furniture glammed up with bold-colored modern fabrics. Think of lounge, butterfly, and tulip chairs covered in red, purple, or green velvet fabric, and throw pillows made from linen or batik.
When it makes more sense to not mar the chair's look by adding fabric, these classic pieces of furniture will spot legs made of modern material –and they pair beautifully with hardwood floors and an animal hide rug.
Ottomans also have their place in the Nashville style, sometimes sitting a few yards away from a coffee table as an accent piece and a place to rest your feet on a lazy day.
Rich Color Palettes
As far as color goes, Nashville style is all about color and print clashing. It could be a floral print paired with a geometric print, or a classic rug and an animal hide rug in the same space.
For cabinets, including kitchen cabinets, navy takes the place of white and brown tones. This color creates such a revolutionary feel especially when coupled with quartz countertops and brass faucets in the kitchen.
For the more careful homeowner, you can hack the Nashville style color palette rule by painting your walls in darker tones while the rest of the space introduces softer, more neutral tones.
Eclectic Wall Art
It's hard to miss the preference for a gallery wall instead of bits and pieces of wall art strewn about the walls. Ideally, these pieces are a mix of different kinds of portraits –from people and plants to animals –with the frames detailed in shiny brass, or covered in small crystals.
You may also find an oval mirror standing gallantly in the middle of the artwork for extra charm.
Vintage Appeal
For homes that can afford an entire corner to dedicate to the love of vintage in historical Nashville, you may bump into a group of vintage chairs and artwork artistically arranged to create a little vintage setting.
For example, two vintage chairs in a corner with a bar cart in the middle elegantly holding a few books, a flower pot, and a vintage portrait sends off just the right amount of vintage vibe. The Nashville flea market is full of antique pieces that particularly point to the Nashville history –giving people a way to go vintage but with southern roots as the anchor.
Customizing Design Elements
While this doesn't call for DIY projects, Nashville is embracing the versatility of artisans to transform a living space with the right amount of modern flair and a twist of Nashville's long history.
From custom furniture to custom lighting fixtures, you can find a creative artisan to personalize your home with the Nashville style as the foundation. It could be as little as adding woodwork details to lighting fixtures or making an entire accent chair from scratch.
Use of Barn Wood
Inspired by Nashville's hills and countryside barns, barn wood is finding its way into modern homes in the form of wood with worn crevices and distressed grooves.
These details can be featured on headboards, side tables, coffee tables, and dining tables.
Flexible Layouts
The layout is everything in the new Nashville style and it leans toward roomy and flexible spaces.
This means there's lots of space to move furniture around and rearrange at a moment's notice to accommodate extra seating in the spirit of southern hospitality.
Beyond that, more space always creates a sense of breezy spaces that flow into each other effortlessly.
Finally
Remember that the principle with Nashville style is incorporating its rich history in your home's design style while playing with modern touches to avoid being held back by classical design characteristics.
Because lighting complements everything it touches, talk to us at Urban Ambiance about how to get your Nashville lighting right or anything else lighting.
