Southern Living Idea House – Nashville 2013

THE SOUTHERN LIVING IDEA HOUSE AT FONTANEL IS BUILT IN

MIDDLE TENNESSEE FARMHOUSE STYLE AND BLENDS

TRADITION, COMFORT AND SOPHISTICATION

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A Series of Buildings Create an Intimate Courtyard, Perfect for Entertaining;

The Many Porches Are Places to Gather and View the Lush Gardens

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The Home Will Open for Tours on June 29 and Later Become a Boutique Hotel

Birmingham, AL – The Southern Living Idea House at Fontanel respects historic tradition and reflects timeless Southern style. The home was inspired by a 150 year-old Middle Tennessee farmhouse in Leipers Fork, and designed with guests in mind, on a cozy, comfortable scale. The décor is inviting with its warm, neutral palette and use of reclaimed wood beams and antiques. The garden is meant to welcome guests, while the “weekend project gardens” help solve common gardening dilemmas. Every year, Southern Living selects a project team to develop one “Idea House” that inspires consumers to experiment in their homes and gardens.

The home will open to the public for tours Saturday, June 29^th and will remain open Wed-Sun, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until December 29^th. Tickets can be purchased for $12 on site and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The home is located at: 4133 Whites Creek Pike, Nashville, TN 37189 and will be featured in the August issue.

“Our refined farmhouse draws from Tennessee’s rich architectural legacy to look like it has always been there,” said Lindsay Bierman, Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living.

Following are the unique elements of this year’s home:

ARCHITECTURE:

• The farmhouse style home consists of a series of buildings: the main house, a guest house, two “bunkies”—his and her apartments—plus a garage with an apartment. The buildings are arranged in a U shape, creating a private courtyard and perfect place for entertaining.

• The great room and its adjacent porches encourage gatherings by day, yet the “unbundled” design allows guests a sense of separation and privacy at night. All told, the home has 2,800 square feet of porches.

• Windows with 4 over 4 divided lights are often seen on historic farmhouses, so the team carried them throughout each structure for a consistent look.

• Similarly, in lieu of a second story, an open, airy light feel is achieved with a band of clerestory windows, flooding it with sunlight and accentuating the agrarian farmhouse aesthetic.

BUILDING:

• Reclaimed lumber is used in the kitchen and main living room. The sliding kitchen doors were harvested from a barn in Louden, TN, built in the 1900s, and the beams in the living room came from a barn near Winchester which once served as livestock and sale barn.

• The Main House features gorgeous chevron patterned 2-inch thick mahogany doors, and in the kitchen, a black walnut counter surrounds a three-bay, stainless steel sink with a bead-blasted finish.

• Cable railings wrap the porches off of every room to allow for clear lines of vision to the stunning gardens below.

DÉCOR:

• Renowned interior decorator Phoebe Howard chose a neutral palette of creams and soft grays mixed with blues and greens to create a gracious, elegant yet relaxed feel — a fresh take on Southern comfort.

• She pairs unexpected fabrics and trims on window treatments, pillows and upholstery with surprising uses of color on cabinetry, walls and ceilings.

• Artwork from patients at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will hang in the Resource Center to celebrate the children’s artistic talent and personal expression.

GARDENS:

• The gardens create a sense of welcome as visitors enter the property. Plants and shrubs create a sequence of movement through the entry and into the courtyard.

• Plant and flower communities include deciduous magnolias, boxwood and multiple hybrids of hydrangea. Regionally indigenous plants require little upkeep and conserve water.

WEEKEND PROJECT GARDENS:

• To demystify gardening and make it feel achievable, the team created solution-oriented “Weekend Project Gardens” including “Greet Guests with Style” and “Dress Up the Vegetable Garden.”

• These ideas can be executed with affordable plants available at retail for as little as $12.99.

• Mandrell Family roses are planted in the garden as an homage to Country music legend Barbara Mandrell, an avid gardener, and her family, original owners of the Fontanel property.

The Southern Living Idea House project team is:

Developer: Fontanel Properties LLC

Builder: Castle Homes

Architect: Historical Concepts

Interior Design: Phoebe Howard

Landscape Design: Page/Duke Landscape Architects

Charitable Partner: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

SPONSORS of the Southern Living Idea House are: Allstate, AT&T, Ballard Designs, Bevolo, Cesar, Chevrolet, Cottonelle, Lennox, LP Techshield, Mr. & Mrs. Howard for Sherrill Furniture, Nashville Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Rinnai, Shaw Floors, Sherwin-Williams, Southern Living Plant Collection, Sunbrella and The Company Store.

The home will remain on the Fontanel property and will reopen as a luxury boutique hotel. For more, go to: www.southernliving.com/2013ideahouse

About Southern Living

Southern Living celebrates the essence of life in the South, covering the best in Southern food, home, garden, and travel. Reaching more than 16 million consumers each month, Southern Living connects consumers with the region’s rich culture through a variety of print, digital, mobile, tablet and event platforms. Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, the rapidly expanding Southern Living brand is part of Time Inc., one of the largest content companies in the world and the largest publisher in the United States. Time Inc. is a Time Warner company.

About Fontanel

Fontanel Mansion, open daily for tours, is a 27,000 square foot log home formerly owned by Country Music Hall of Fame member Barbara Mandrell. The home, situated on the 136-acre property is nestled in the rolling hills of the Whites Creek Valley just 10 minutes from downtown Nashville. With the 2013 Southern Living Idea House open soon for tours, the Woods Amphitheater concert series, events and activities at the Pepsi Studio Gallery, the award winning American/Italian kitchen and wine bar at Cafe Fontanella, family friendly atmosphere, and activities like Music City Zips, the Prodigy Signature Disc Golf Course, and three miles of bike and walking trails, it is easy to see that Fontanel is becoming one of Nashville’s premier destinations. For more information or to book a private event, visit www.fontanelmansion.com or call 615/724-1600.

About Castle Homes

Castle Homes earned the coveted 2012 Southern Living Custom Builder of the Year for their exceptional home building. Founded in 1992, Castle Homes is a top Nashville-based design-build company producing impeccable homes with a guaranteed price – unique to the Middle Tennessee building industry. Known for a superior attention-to-detail, green building and proven craftsmanship, Castle Homes’s staff includes construction degreed project managers and an experienced interior design staff who work to create a stunning spectrum of homes throughout the Middle Tennessee area from low-maintenance farmhouses in Leipers Fork to historically inspired English Country homes throughout the Nashville area. For more information, www.castlehomes.com.

About Historical Concepts

For more than 30 years, Historical Concepts has designed residences in classical and Southern vernacular styles, marrying elements of traditional design with floor plans and details that reflect today’s pattern of living. Inspired by architectural precedent and the characteristics of the setting, these houses pay homage to and perpetuate the South’s deep sense of place and are timeless in style and enduring in value. The firm has received multiple awards for architectural excellence, including the 2010 Arthur Ross Award, the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s highest accolade for a body of work. The firm has also been featured extensively in publications devoted to architecture and interior design. This widespread recognition confirms Historical Concept’s philosophy of drawing from the past to the design the architecture of today—and tomorrow.

About PAGE|DUKE landscape architects

Guided by our client’s wishes, our mission is to create landscape and garden designs that are thoughtful, beautiful, inspiring, and timeless. We believe that sharing ideas and inspiration are integral to creating living environments that seamlessly enhance the relationship between indoor and outdoor spaces. This approach leads to treasured, long-lasting relationships with our clients based on respect, service, and exceptional design. Our disciplines include landscape architecture and master planning for residential, community, and institutional clients. Projects range from intimate gardens to expansive public spaces. The Page | Duke aesthetic employs classical theory with an emphasis on historical precedent. We seek sustainable solutions that minimize our impact on the environment.

About Phoebe Howard

In 1996, Interior designer Phoebe Howard and her husband Jim opened the doors to their first store, Mrs. Howard, in Jacksonville, Florida, hoping to demystify the decorating process for their customers. The goal was simple: to create a retail space that showcased Jim’s architectural and decorating talent, and Phoebe’s natural skills for buying, decorating and merchandising. With equal parts of exceptional customer service and a well-rounded mix of furniture, antiques and accessories, the store was an instant success. Five years later, they added another store, Max & Company, which features a younger, more modern appeal. Now, the Howards have Mrs. Howard and Max & Company stores in Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Phoebe’s penchant for creating stylish spaces has evolved into her own brand of decorating, which has garnered praise from national media as well as her clients. Known for her fresh take on traditional style, Phoebe’s work can only be characterized by its timelessness and her mantra to “keep it pretty.” Her work is encapsulated in her first book, The Joy of Decorating, published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting stjude.org or following us on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.