Southern Comfort

The Nashville Home of Dr. and Mrs. Tyson Thomas

INTERIOR DESIGN BY CAROLYN CAMPBELL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTIN G MEYERS
ARTICLE BY MARÉ BRENNAN

Nestled in the bucolic scenery surrounding Nashville in the bedroom community of Franklin and not far from Percy Warner Park lies the home where Amy and Tyson Thomas are raising their young family. Their home, designed and refined over the past six years with interior designer Carolyn Campbell, is home base for the busy family of five, including sons Jacob, 12; Grant, 10 and daughter Gracyn, 4. Says, Campbell of this client, “The Thomas’ home is lovely and practical for their three young children as we used indoor/outdoor upholstery fabrics by Perennials” to hold up under any circumstance. In addition, designer Campbell assisted the Thomas’ in building and furnishing the lake home of their dreams on Tim Ford’s Lake near the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

In 2006, the Thomas’ bought their home which backs up to the rolling hills of a beautiful golf course and set to work giving the home the character they craved. Tyson added the first floor and staircase wainscoting himself. As a high schooler, Tyson worked summers in construction for his father’s company which built residential homes.

In the den, Carolyn dressed up a pair of upholstered swiveling arm chairs with a band of velvet on the white Perennials indoor/outdoor fabric. The easy to clean fabric makes scary spills a thing of the past.  A comfy sofa is accented with floral pillows. A turquoise blue painted chest is positioned between a pair of French chairs with coral pillows. A leather tufted ottoman in taupe rolls to provide extra seating or a cocktail table. A painted side table is topped with a modern mass arrangement of trick and coral roses designed by the homeowner.

Beyond the foyer, three arches lead to a spacious and airy living room. Says Tyson, “Our favorite room is the living room. Amy and I love to lie on the couch and read in here.” Comfortable elegance is the key to this room’s successes. Above the sofa, graphic architectural etchings draw the eye upward. A black and gold cocktail tables grounds the seating area. A painted chest, which was a marriage piece for the Thomas’, is paired with a gold-leafed Louis Phillippe mirror.

The office just beyond the foyer features a soaring vaulted ceiling. Open built-in shelving is backed with a textural grass cloth. A violin made by Tyson’s father is displayed prominently in the center of the shelving. Says Amy, “Tyson’s dad carved a violin for each of his children” so displaying it in a place of honor was important to us. A wall of maps adds a masculine feel to the office.

Across the foyer from the office, three arches lead to the dining room. Celadon green walls are accented with voluminous silk shantung drapery with a Greek key tape over large windows.

An adorable half bath located in the foyer is one of the first projects the homeowners began with Carolyn. The walls of the little jewel box of bath are papered in a gold and cream vine pattern on a background of light blue.

The perfectly manicured gardens find tulips reaching up to greet visitors near the double front doors decorated with Spring-signaling boxwood wreaths. Carolyn designed the double doors with beautiful glass. “I do like pretty glass,” says the designer.

Says Carolyn of the kitchen renovation the Thomas’ undertook around 5 years ago, “When the Thomas’ bought the home, everything in the kitchen was maple. We redid the floors, the doors and the lighting.”  Adds Amy, “What we really liked about the house when we bought it was that it was easy to add to and make our own.” Carolyn, who is known for her masterful kitchen designs, added an island with a drum pendant task lighting above it for the Thomas’ kitchen, switched the range to gas, glazed cabinets and topped cabinetry with granite. For the backsplash, Carolyn devised a budget friendly, but classic option for the family, using subway with strips of glass tile. Amy had a photographer create an adorable photograph of her children, making cookies and covered from head to toe in flour. The photograph is now prominently displayed in the kitchen.

Homeowner Amy explains, “I like things with a story,” as we walk through the foyer and past a wall with with beloved personal photos and memorabilia, hung artfully above a lovely little writing desk. And Carolyn adds, “You’ll like it a whole lot longer if it tells a story and is personal.”

On the den’s fireplace mantle, the family’s favorite chant, “To Da Lake” is spelled out in rustic letters and a reminder of the family’s new lake house where they love to spend weekends. “Every Friday, the kids and I sing, ‘To Da Lake,’” laughs Amy, as anticipation of time spent together. The color palette in the den is light and bright. White and light Perennials fabric on upholstered pieces mean stains and spills are never scary.
The children’s bedrooms are upstairs and reflect their adorable personalities. Twin beds for the boys and a pretty in pink bedroom for Gracyn are signature styles from Carolyn’s design firm.