A House of Light and Shadow



Story by Lee Rennick
Photos provided by Compass and Lee Rennick

Different. Contemporary. Sleek. This new construction home on Julian Way in Puckett’s Crossing is a unique blend of urban farmhouse, industrial and Scandinavian ultra-modern. 

Urban Farmhouse design, also known as Contemporary Farmhouse, hones traditional American Farmhouse design down to its most significant elements. According to the American Institute of Architects, the main feature is the gabled front and a sense of asymmetry. The more contemporary the design becomes, the cleaner the lines, the larger the windows and the more an indoor-outdoor lifestyle is infused into the floorplan. These homes often have metal roofs and this particular home combines metal roofing in the front with composition shingle on the rest of the roofline. 

Industrial home design takes its inspiration from factories built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These large, uncluttered spaces were sitting abandoned by the mid 20th century and they began being transformed into living spaces in the later part of that century. Buildings were composed of brick, concrete, iron, steel and the floors were usually of rough wide-plank pine. The transformation of these old buildings produced a new design concept that can be found in this home with the use of brick construction, wide-plank wood floors and the use of iron accents.

These two home design styles merge well together because they have similar details, like wide open spaces and clean lines. They also blend well with Scandinavian modern architecture which strongly influenced American interior design beginning in the 1930s, but especially in the 1950s and 1960s. The style was created to be functional and have an understated elegance according to invaluable.com. The signature elements of this style employed in this home include the white walls; light wood floors; muted colors in a neutral pallet of whites, grays, tans and black; decluttered minimalism; hidden storage; lots of natural light; and lots of wood and stone accents. 
“Clients are really enjoying the sleek modern design of this home,” said listing real estate agent Jessica Warner, Compass RE. “Most houses in this area are very maximalist, while this home is very minimalist. The design stands apart from the others.”

What This Totally Modern Home Offers

This stunning two-story home was designed by Arlene Nathania of ANK Studio to employ every inch of the 6,600 square feet of living space to create a polished family home that also serves as an elegant place to entertain. It brings in the warmth of the farmhouse architecture that is so popular currently and combines it with the minimalism of Scandinavian modernism and the industrial elements of a big-city loft. 

Made of all brick by Lance Strawn of DB Holdings and Matthew Neal of Tennessee Design, the exterior distills down the farmhouse gabled style to its most basic elements, and then adds edge with the use of white paint and black wide plank accents, a black metal roof at the front and black windows. It is a shadow of the design it hails from sitting among the barest of easy-care landscaping. But inside, it is washed in natural light. 

Once you walk up the stairs, past the small front entry porch and through the up-to-the-minute French-style glass front doors, the walls are painted white with black trim and the many floor to (almost) ceiling windows bathe the house in sunlight. The entry hall floor is composed of dark wood in a herring bone pattern creating the illusion of an area rug laid over the light wide plank wood found throughout the rest of the home. The entry material is also durable when there is harsh weather, protecting the light wood from damage. 

From the entry ceiling hangs an ultra-modern graphic LED chandelier that is a creative masterpiece, with similar fixtures found throughout the home. The lighting choices by interior designers Lance Strawn and Shawn Neal are scene-stealers that offer a dazzling design statement. They blend the ornamental with the minimal, the industrial and the cutting edge.

Upon entering the front door, this dwelling exudes a sophisticated city attitude with a sense of country hygge. Urban farmhouse styling is highlighted by a bright, airy and open concept floor plan that is perfect for both entertaining and family living, according to houzz.com. The materials were chosen with the thought of everything from backpacks hitting the floor when kids arrive home from school, to party guests ending up mingling in the kitchen.

An open-concept layout that begins just off the entry hall is the dominant feature of this home. On the interior, the blended styling of farmhouse, industrial and Scandinavian modern is continued. The living area is focused on the mantel-less gas fireplace feature fronted with trendsetting large format gray tiles. Large French doors open from the internal living area to the outdoor living space for true indoor-outdoor living. 

The covered patio offers an outdoor kitchen with a gas grill top and sink. There is also plenty of space to sit around the cozy outdoor masonry wood burning fireplace or to catch some sun by the heated pool from Vision Pools that lights up at night. The pool area features a private courtyard featuring low-care turf from Goat Turf.

There is also a pool house with 1,200 square-feet of bonus space. The downstairs party room features a finished concrete floor and large windows. It would be a great space for parties, a bar or an office. Upstairs there are two additional rooms that can be used for a weight room, game room, craft room, home office or guest space with plenty of area for sitting. It has its own full bathroom, lots of storage space and a three-car garage with textured sealed floor.

Off the inside open concept living space is the staircase that leads to the second floor. It bends back on itself and is wrapped in an artistic industrial-inspired black metal banister by Chuck Yoder Metalworks. A breathtaking modern spiral chandelier hangs above the staircase. At the bottom of the staircase is a wet bar. 

Across from the wet bar on the first level is a half bath and just past the staircase is the entrance to the main bedroom. The spa-like black and white main bathroom offers a stand-alone white tub from Fergusons with elegant gold fixtures. There is also an extensive green painted walk-in closet. The bedroom has a black fan to keep the temperature balanced and it looks out over the pool with doors that open out to it. A small laundry room finished off the main bedroom suite.

Left of the front entry is a space that can be used as an office, formal sitting room or library. To the right of the entry as you walk into the home is the formal dining room. The dining room is connected to the kitchen through a butler’s pantry with its own sink. The flat-panel black cabinets in the kitchen will provide plenty of storage space. Built into the counter is a gas range and there is also a built-in gas oven. 

Each of the three bedrooms upstairs have their own walk-in closet and full finished bathroom. One of the bathrooms has a full walk-in shower with white high-gloss subway tile and a fashionable distressed wood flat-panel vanity. Another bathroom offers a glass walk-in shower with dramatic black veined creamy white marble. The third full bath upstairs of the main house has equally dramatic floor to ceiling tile work in a wet-room style walk-in shower. The tile and marble is from Tile Bar in Franklin. All bedrooms feature black matte fixtures.

Also, on the second level is a large bonus room for entertaining with a wet bar. It offers expansive space for couches, gaming space and space to watch movies. 

“This design stands apart from the others,” said Warner.

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