When Dave Barnesthe songwriter behind Blake Shelton's No. 1 hit 'God Gave Me You”and his wife, Annie, began to outgrow their 12 South bungalow, their realtor stumbled upon a house in the area that had recently been gutted and was a skeleton just waiting for someone to customize it.
'When we found this house, it sort of fell in our lap,” Annie explains. 'The builder [Linus Catignani] and his business partner became friends of ours through the process of helping us pick out what we wanted. We worked with a designer and literally pieced the house together. It was like a dream come true.”
Annie employed her friend Lindsay Rhodes to help with interior aesthetics. Rhodes formerly worked at The Iron Gate in Franklin and maintains relationships with a variety of artisans in town, enabling her to curate an impressive array of custom pieces. From iron curtain rods and custom draperies to mantles made of reclaimed wood to locally produced artwork, the home is defined by unique pieces from Nashville vendors, with many of the artists installing their creations themselves. In addition, all the trim, crown molding, and woodwork was constructed by a local carpenter who set up a station inside the house and built everything on-site.
An abundance of windows allows natural light to flow freely throughout the length of the downstairs. Neutral creams and browns adorn the space, accented by soft blues and silvers. Aside from a few accessories, most rooms are intentionally void of bright colors. 'I feel like life has enough crazy that we want our house to feel homey and settled,” Annie explains. The couple is especially proud of the detached studio/guesthouse, which they designed from scratch with Catignani. A spacious patio sits between the guesthouse and Dave's studio, providing an ideal place for backyard entertaining.
'We want stuff to look cool and comfortable but [have] nothing that you're intimated to touch or move,” Dave adds, noting that they host houseguests and other company often.
While their residence maintains a modern ambiance and a strong sense of style, it's plenty childproof for the couple's two young children: Ben, 2, and Suzanna Jane, who was born in May. The family of four are regulars at Jeni's, Las Paletas, Burger Up, and Lebanese eatery Epice, meaning they take advantage of their proximity to both 12 South and the Belmont area. 'We are spoiled living right here, where we have all these options around us,” Annie says. 'So we try to support the people we know.”
Local artists:
Elizabeth Foster elizabethfosterart.com
Emily Leonard emilyleonard.com
Anna McCoy
DaNae Murphy
Additional artwork by Annie Barnes
Vendors:
Interior designer: Lindsay Rhodes
Builder and project manager: Linus Catignani
Architect: Van Pond vanpondarchitect.com
Rug in living room and stair runner: Myers Flooring – myersflooringnashville.com
Kitchen marble tile backsplash: Kenny and Co. kennycompany.com
Tile in bathrooms and surrounding fireplace: Mission Tile missionstonetile.com
Reclaimed wood mantles: naturalDESIGN mynaturaldesign.com
Dining room wallpaper: Phillip Jeffries phillipjeffries.com
Piano room wallpaper: Ralph Lauren ralphlaurenhome.com
