Timeless Renewal

Jonathan Savage transforms one family’s ’80s abode into a retreat as timeless as it is cosmopolitan

Written by Kate Abney Photographed by Emily Followill Floral Design by Jane Sloan

An outdated Nashville residence saw a dramatic architectural and interior transformation at the hands of local designer Jonathan Savage, who sourced a majority of the fabrics and furnishings in Atlanta. “I was inspired by a French salon,” Savage says of the light-filled family room, which features a GP & J Baker floral fabric on tight-back arm chairs; a coffee table repurposed from a gate procured from a property in Rue de Lille, Paris; and linen window treatments adorned with a hand-painted border by Coleman & Taylor Textiles. One of Savage’s most dramatic moves was to replace the original transom-topped windows with fully operable French doors built by Vintage Millworks.

The designer’s approach to this home’s entryway was equally as impressive, with a freshly raised front door, custom windows and Marie Antoinette parquet-patterned floors inlaid in white oak and walnut by Vintage Millworks. “I knew I wanted something striking that would make an impact as you entered the home,” says Savage, who also added an elegant new stair rail and spindles. The whimsical wallpaper is Acanthus Stripe in shadow, a pattern by Celerie Kemble for Schumacher, and the planter is vintage from Travis & Company.

Savage is based in Music City but designs homes internationally, from Miami to California, London to New York City. One of his more recent claims to fame was designing the stairwell at the 2017 Kips Bay Decorator Show House, where his custom plaster-on-canvas wall covering paid tribute to Tennessee flora and fauna.

The handsome library is paneled in the same quarter-sawn white oak used for the Marie Antoinette-patterned floors. A Holland & Sherry silk velvet graces the Hickory Chair Marler sofa. The fabric used for the Roman shades and arm chair is a Bennison floral, available through Ainsworth-Noah, and the onyx hanging pendant is by Vaughan Designs, also through Ainsworth-Noah. “Most of the art is by Southern, if not Tennessee, artists, which is a nice touch throughout,” says Savage. His custom sconce design by Ironware International, available at Paul + in Atlanta, hangs in the hallway.

The kitchen was the starting point for the project and, by the end, also its piece de resistance. Massive slabs of Calacatta Borghini white marble make an impact on the island and backsplash wall, while custom cabinetry—including an elegant vent hood—by Vickie Edwards of Kitchen & Bath Images brings exquisite craftsmanship to the ceiling. Savage selected accent pieces, such as the vintage ceramic pineapple centerpieces, with impact in mind. The mesh cabinet fronts were custom made in England, the woven-leather counter stools are Powell & Bonnell from R Hughes and the Roman shade fabric is Carleton V Ltd.’s Chateau in Gesso. “The kitchen window opens onto the back porch, so you can serve drinks from the kitchen sink,” says Savage.

The breakfast area, which leads directly to the breezy back porch and blends imperceptibly into the spacious den, expresses continuity via the same floor-grazing linen draperies. Almost everything in the house was customized according to Savage’s boundless creativity, and the breakfast table, a Hickory Chair piece cleverly updated with bright blue details, is no exception. The dining chairs are a durable outdoor design by Janus et Cie, and the atmospheric pastel print is by Kathleen Holder.

The dining room received a dramatic, modern-day update with the addition of several conversation-sparking elements—most notably Carleton V Ltd.’s Deco Fret wallpaper that continues the diamond pattern seen in the adjacent kitchen’s cabinet door fronts. “I think it made the space feel cozy, kind of like a New York City pied-à-terre dining room, which is fun to see in Nashville,” says Savage, who also used a Carleton V Ltd. fabric on the dining chair backs. The chandelier is made from “Murano glass in the perfect color,” the designer adds. “It kept that traditional but clean concept going, and it’s not overpowering.” The dark-stained demilune tables are from Northgate Gallery Antiques in Brentwood, Tennessee, the artwork over the fireplace is by EMYO, available through Gregg Irby Gallery in Atlanta, and the tonal rug is by Patterson Flynn Martin.

The formal living room gleans its sense of gravitas from lacquered walls and burled wood furnishings. A Hickory Chair Cloverleaf ottoman is covered in a raw silk fabric from Larsen through Cowtan & Tout. The wood-framed armchairs are finds from a flea market in Paris, and the equestrian-inspired chandelier is Ralph Lauren Home through Circa Lighting. The Hickory Chair Malbec sofa is upholstered in a Carleton V Ltd. faux bois chenille.

A formerly lackluster space above the garage has become a stylish bonus room perfect for family-friendly pastimes like billiards, chess and darts. The collection of musical instruments along the left wall is a nod to one of the husband’s most prolific hobbies, while a custom walnut kitchenette to the right provides all the conveniences the girls need when entertaining friends. The ceiling pendant above the pool table is by Urban Electric Co., the window treatments are a Zimmer + Rohde stripe through Ainsworth-Noah, the chairs surrounding the card table are Laurent by Suzanne Kasler for Hickory Chair, and tiger-patterned pillows are Scalamandré.

The master suite features appointments as luxurious as any high-end hotel, which makes retiring here particularly restful. Sidled up to a sleek side table once owned by the venerable Albert Hadley, the bedroom’s streamlined four-poster from Calvin Klein Home is draped with a somewhat pixelated fabric pattern, Fantasque Baskt, from Osborne & Little, available through Ainsworth-Noah, while the sconces at each bedside are by Christian Liaigre, through Jerry Pair, and the chain-patterned carpet is by Stark. The lavatory is swathed in Carrara marble, which provides a high-contrast backdrop for black lacquered Waterfall benches from Ballard Designs.

A restful guest suite is anchored by a graphic patterned H rug from Tai Ping Carpets that Savage considers one of his favorite finds for the house. The bedding was sourced from Yves Delorme, while the accent pillow was made from a precious Fortuny silk. Savage is smitten with the work of Fabulous Things Ltd. in Atlanta, which fabricated this room’s custom bedside tables, and which are accessorized by chic CL Sterling & Son lamps. In the adjacent bath, Savage customized the Emperador Dark marble, which he applied to countertops, inlaid with Crema Marfil marble for the intricate floors, and inset with a multitude of mirrors for a high-impact vanity sink.

Across from her younger sister’s sleeping quarters, and featuring the same coordinating leopard-print carpet from Stark, the eldest daughter’s refined bedroom features a Hickory Chair bed upholstered in plush amethyst silk velvet from Romo. It is punctuated by a pair of Suzanne Kasler’s “Lille” X-benches for Hickory Chair to add a touch of glamour. The drapery fabric is from Jean de Merry, available through R Hughes.

Every bedroom in the house has an en-suite bathroom, which has turned out to be a welcome luxury for the family’s two teen daughters. Though the former (who claims the sophisticated lavender boudoir) is away at college, the other is a senior in high school and enjoys a splashy turquoise and coral space complete with an original Dorothy Draper Espana chest that Savage picked up on a trip to Palm Beach. The younger daughter’s aqua bathroom wallpaper is a graphic motif by Romo (Clairemont in Petro), while the elder’s pattern is Osborne & Little’s Parure, rendered in ivory and pale purple.

There’s something deeply Southern yet simultaneously cosmopolitan about designer Jonathan Savage, a Tennessee native and Kips Bay Decorator Show House alum whose star is quickly rising in the international design arena.

Savage’s know-how was suited perfectly to a pair of Nashvillians who are well known in the local business sector and who naturally had high hopes for his approach to their aging residence—starting with the overhaul of its outdated kitchen.

“Built in the 1980s, it needed an update in the worst kind of way,” the designer says. A prolific cook, the lady of the house wanted a cooking space that was as functional as it was beautiful.

Savage delivered all that and more, with diamond-patterned wire-mesh cabinet fronts constructed in England, Calacatta Borghini marble countertops and Venetian plaster walls stamped for a relief-sculpture effect.

“Once we tackled the kitchen, it became inevitable that we’d work on the rest of the house,” recalls Savage, who handled both the architecture and interior design. “We wanted it to be sort of transitional: clean, simple, but keeping the tradition of the house relevant.”

From there, he focused his efforts foremost on the rooms that sprung out from the cooking space, which serves as both the physical and energetic center of the home: a formal living room with lacquered walls and burl wood accents, a family room full of soft fabrics, a breezy back porch, a convenient laundry, and, of course, a dining room bedecked in Murano glass and diamond-patterned wallpaper—undoubtedly the most dramatic update of all.

“We used the highest of quality throughout . . . all custom millwork, beautiful doors, E.R. Butler hardware, inlaid floors,” Savage says, referring to the Marie Antoinette pattern in walnut and white oak. A quarter turn to the right, a stately library that serves as the frequent site of business meetings is paneled in the same rich wood.

Though the homeowners did not give Savage carte blanche in the literal sense, “I feel like we didn’t skimp; everything was done for a reason, and we stuck to our concept,” explains the designer, who sourced most of the home’s luxurious furnishings and fabrics at ADAC in Atlanta.

“Every room in the house has its own identity with color, but subtly,” says Savage, who also brought in a plethora of animal prints. Even a forlorn space over the garage became a chic and fun game room under Savage’s direction.

“These clients could have moved anywhere if they wished,” Savage says. “So when they decided to stay put, we had just one responsibility: Make it the best it could be.”

INTERIOR DESIGN Jonathan Savage, SAVAGE Interior Design, (615) 244-5674; savageinteriordesign.com