Some renovations look so polished that you suspect nobody actually lives there. The pillows stand at attention, the countertops have never encountered a peanut-butter sandwich, and every child apparently owns only beige wooden toys. The Nashville Brick Cottage takes a much more appealing route: it is stylish, historic, modern, personal, and clearly designed for real family life.
The house at the center of the project is a 1929 brick cottage in Nashville’s historic Lockeland Springs neighborhood. Homeowners Adam Ford and Rachel Modahl wanted more space for their family without sacrificing the character that attracted them to the property in the first place. Their renovation ultimately expanded usable living space dramatically while retaining the home’s original footprint and familiar brick front.
Documented during Season 46 of This Old House, the project demonstrates an increasingly useful philosophy for historic home renovation: don’t choose between old and new when the two can make each other better. Original red oak floors, exposed brick, restored hardware, salvaged cedar, black cabinetry, graphic wallpaper, modern tile, and family-made objects all coexist without the house turning into either a museum or a showroom.
Here are five design lessons from the Nashville Brick Cottage that can be adapted to everything from a century-old bungalow to a builder-grade suburban home that could use a little more soul.
1. Design the Whole-House Color Palette Before Obsessing Over Individual Rooms
One of the smartest Nashville Brick Cottage design ideas is also one of the least flashy: the homeowners considered how colors would travel through the entire house rather than selecting every room independently.
The first floor moves through pale gray, shades of blue, darker gray, black, and a restrained green, while consistent white trim ties the spaces together. Much of the newer second floor is quieter and lighter. Instead of every doorway revealing a completely unrelated Pinterest experiment, the rooms feel like chapters of the same book.
Cohesion Does Not Mean Painting Everything Greige
A coordinated whole-house color palette does not require repeating one color until your home resembles an office park. The goal is relationship, not duplication.
Benjamin Moore’s guidance on whole-house palettes similarly recommends working with a dominant hue, supporting secondary colors, trim, and accents so adjacent spaces communicate visually. Sherwin-Williams also emphasizes considering connecting rooms when creating color harmony.
For a cottage renovation, try selecting three categories before opening 47 paint chips on your dining table: a dependable trim color, several compatible room colors, and one or two darker tones for dramatic spaces. Look at sight lines too. If you can see the kitchen from the living room and the powder room from the hall, those colors are effectively sharing the same composition.
That approach explains why the Nashville home can move from comparatively light spaces into a dark kitchen without feeling like someone changed television channels halfway through the floor plan.
2. A Moody Kitchen Can WorkEven When Conventional Wisdom Says “Go Light”
The kitchen is where the Nashville Brick Cottage stops whispering politely and orders another round.
The open-plan space combines dark gray walls, black kitchen cabinets, black countertops, and dark floral wallpaper. Yet the result isn’t gloomy. Wood grain remains visible through the painted cabinet fronts, original and natural materials add warmth, and carefully located stone protects the highest-use backsplash areas. The sink’s placement in the island also makes wallpaper behind perimeter cabinetry considerably more practical than it might initially sound.
Dark Kitchens Need Texture, Not Just Darkness
The useful lesson is not simply “paint the cabinets black.” A successful dark kitchen needs material variation.
Better Homes & Gardens notes that dark kitchens can feel warm and sophisticated when deep colors are balanced with wood, stone, metallic accents, lighting, and changes in texture. Houzz’s extensive collections of black-cabinet kitchens show the same pattern repeatedly: successful black kitchens typically introduce contrast through floors, islands, counters, backsplashes, metals, or natural wood.
Think of black as a backdrop rather than an obligation. You do not need black cabinets, black ceilings, black faucets, black plates, and a black Labrador wearing a black bandana.
If you’re borrowing this Nashville cottage idea, start with one dominant dark surface. Black or charcoal cabinetry can be paired with oak flooring. A dark wall can sit beside a lighter stone counter. Black countertops can be softened with warm timber, aged brass, handmade pottery, or woven materials.
Lighting matters as well. Dark paint absorbs more light than pale paint, which is why Sherwin-Williams recommends considering light reflectance when creating intentionally moody interiors.
The larger lesson is wonderfully anti-algorithmic: if a design choice genuinely suits how you want your home to feel, it may be worth pursuing even when it isn’t the safest resale-friendly option imaginable.
3. Preserve the Old Stuff That Gives the House Its Story
Historic houses often contain something new construction struggles to manufacture convincingly: evidence of time.
In the Nashville Brick Cottage, Adam and Rachel preserved the first-floor red oak floors, exposed previously concealed brick, revealed the original stone fireplace, and restored old door hardware. Even imperfect brick was allowed to remain imperfect rather than being polished into submission.
The most inventive example involved original cedar structural posts. Instead of becoming demolition debris, salvaged sections were turned into legs for the new kitchen island. Old structure literally became new furniture.
Restore Character Before Shopping for Fake Character
This principle extends far beyond Nashville. Fine Homebuilding’s preservation guidance points to original flooring, trim, mantels, tile, stairs, and built-ins as important clues to an older home’s architectural identity. Dwell’s renovation coverage likewise repeatedly demonstrates how restored original details can coexist successfully with unapologetically contemporary additions.
HGTV also highlights the appeal of older architectural features such as original millwork, hardware, fireplaces, doors, and other details homeowners once routinely removed during modernization projects.
Before demolishing anything in an older cottage, ask three questions:
- Is this element original or historically significant?
- Can it be repaired for a reasonable cost?
- Would recreating this character later be more expensive than preserving it now?
A scratched oak floor may eventually look magnificent after refinishing. Old brass hardware can often be cleaned and repaired. Solid wood doors can survive another generation. Exposed masonry that looks slightly irregular may contribute more atmosphere than a perfectly installed faux-brick veneer ever could.
Preservation is not about keeping everything simply because it is old. Bad plumbing can remain historically accurate all the way to your emergency plumber’s invoice. The skill is distinguishing character worth saving from systems that genuinely need modernization.
4. Let Modern Materials Contrast with Historic Architecture
Once original details are preserved, homeowners sometimes become afraid to introduce anything obviously contemporary. The Nashville Brick Cottage demonstrates why that fear is unnecessary.
The bathrooms use sleek materials rather than pretending to have been installed in 1929. In the primary shower, ceramic wall tile creates a fluted-wood appearance, while the floor references natural slate. The children’s bathroom uses unexpectedly dark flooring. Black-framed doors and stainless cable railing introduce further contemporary lines elsewhere in the renovation.
Old Plus New Is Often Stronger Than Fake Old
A renovated historic house doesn’t need every faucet, tile, light fixture, and cabinet hinge to perform historical cosplay.
The strongest old-meets-new projects typically establish a clear hierarchy: preserve authentic architectural character where it exists, then let necessary additions belong confidently to the present. Fine Homebuilding has documented projects where modern additions deliberately complement historic structures without attempting to disguise their age, while Dwell regularly features renovations that place contemporary interventions beside retained historic fabric.
That contrast can actually make original features more noticeable. Rough brick looks rougher beside precise modern cabinetry. Old oak feels richer next to minimalist tile. Traditional stone gains presence beside a clean black metal frame.
For homeowners, the easiest way to recreate this balance is to assign roles. Let original architecture provide history. Let modern materials provide durability and function. Let furnishings bridge the two.
Modern cottage design works best when it feels evolutionary rather than themed.
5. Design for Comfort, Sentiment, and Real Human Beings
The most important Nashville Brick Cottage takeaway has almost nothing to do with paint, tile, cabinetry, or architectural preservation.
The homeowners prioritized comfort and personal meaning. Their upstairs play space includes a thick rug suitable for sitting and reading on the floor. Quilts in the children’s rooms were made by Adam and his mother. Adam also made living-room tables, while a painting that followed the couple through previous homes remained part of their collection.
These objects do something an expensive furniture package cannot: they explain who lives there.
A Home Should Not Look Like It Was Furnished in One Afternoon
House Beautiful’s coverage of “slow decorating” makes a similar argument: homes tend to become more personal when owners allow them to evolve, retain meaningful pieces, and wait for objects worth keeping instead of purchasing everything immediately.
Southern Living frequently makes the same point through its coverage of renovated Southern homes, where antique furniture, inherited objects, old materials, and family memories are mixed with new construction or modern upgrades. A newer Nashville home featured by the publication, for example, intentionally recreated the warmth and old-house character its owners loved in an earlier 1930s cottage.
Architectural Digest’s Nashville home tours likewise show how contemporary design becomes more compelling when homeowners bring personal collections, vintage pieces, art, and unexpected stylistic influences into the mix.
If you’re decorating your own cottage, resist the urge to remove everything that doesn’t match your mood board. Your grandfather’s chair beside a contemporary lamp can be more interesting than a perfectly coordinated furniture set. Children’s art can coexist with serious paintings. A battered table may deserve to remain because Thanksgiving has happened around it 20 times.
Perfect coordination is impressive for approximately seven minutes. Personality tends to age better.
Why the Nashville Brick Cottage Renovation Works
At a larger scale, the Nashville project succeeded because its architectural strategy followed the same principles as its interior design.
The renovation preserved the recognizable brick façade and original footprint while finding additional space vertically and below grade. Plans transformed the approximately 1,900-square-foot house into roughly 3,400 square feet by extensively rebuilding the attic level and creating a taller, more usable basement. The renovation also expanded the bedroom and bathroom count for a growing family.
The foundation work was particularly ambitious: the house was temporarily moved while a taller foundation was installed, creating significantly more useful basement space before the structure was returned to position. The completed project also gained a larger second floor, family spaces, outdoor connections, updated building systems, and a safe room.
That makes the project more than a collection of attractive decorating tricks. It is an example of adapting an older American cottage for contemporary family life without stripping away the qualities that made renovation worthwhile in the first place.
How to Apply These Nashville Cottage Ideas in Your Own Home
You don’t need to lift your house, excavate a basement, or invite a television crew to borrow the project’s best ideas.
Start by identifying what already has character. Perhaps it is an old floor, brick chimney, unusual doorway, solid-wood cabinet, stone fireplace, or inherited furniture. Protect those anchors first.
Next, plan colors as a family instead of as strangers. Decide where your quiet rooms and dramatic rooms will be. Use repeated undertones, trim, flooring, metals, or wood species to maintain continuity. Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams both emphasize that room-to-room relationships are central to successful whole-house palettes.
Then choose one or two moments where you are willing to be brave. Maybe that means black cabinets. Maybe it means floral wallpaper, green trim, a tiled ceiling, or an oversized antique cabinet in an otherwise minimalist room.
Finally, leave room for life. The best interior design should survive backpacks, coffee cups, pets, books, toys, friends, relatives, and whatever mysterious sticky substance children inevitably discover.
Experience Notes: What This Cottage Teaches Once Renovation Gets Real
Looking at finished photographs is the easy part of renovation. Real projects are decided much earlier, usually while somebody is standing in a dusty room holding a tape measure and asking whether moving a wall six inches is worth several thousand dollars.
One practical experience repeatedly seen in successful older-home renovations is that homeowners benefit from living in the house before making every major decision. Adam and Rachel lived in their Nashville cottage for nearly two years before undertaking the major remodel, giving them firsthand knowledge of what the family actually lacked.
That matters. A floor plan that looks awkward during a 30-minute real-estate showing might function beautifully. Meanwhile, the adorable breakfast nook you swore you’d never change may reveal itself as an extremely attractive place to store backpacks and unopened mail.
Experience Lesson 1: Decide What You Refuse to Lose
Before demolition starts, create a preservation list. Photograph original doors, flooring, trim, masonry, hardware, registers, built-ins, and unusual details. Label anything being temporarily removed.
Old-house specialists consistently warn that renovation mistakes frequently begin with inadequate planning and the unnecessary removal of character-defining materials.
If contractors know from day one that the oak floors and antique hardware are staying, those elements are less likely to become accidental casualties of an enthusiastic demolition crew.
Experience Lesson 2: Spend Boldness Where You Will Actually Enjoy It
Most renovation budgets cannot support a dramatic gesture in every room. Fortunately, they don’t need to.
A memorable kitchen, powder room, entry, fireplace, or primary bath can carry enough personality for an entire house. The Nashville kitchen works precisely because its darkness feels intentional. If every bedroom, hall, closet, and laundry room received the same visual intensity, the effect would be exhausting.
A useful rule is to choose a few “hero moments” and allow surrounding rooms to support them. This also gives your budget somewhere meaningful to go.
Experience Lesson 3: Reuse Before You Reproduce
Salvage changes how a renovation feels. A beam reused as a shelf, old flooring turned into furniture, or an original door relocated elsewhere in the house creates continuity that newly purchased “vintage-style” products cannot fully duplicate.
The cedar-post island legs in the Nashville project are a particularly good example because their value is not primarily financial. Their value comes from the story connecting the old structure to the new kitchen.
Experience Lesson 4: Functionality Is a Design Decision
Some of the best renovation decisions barely appear in photographs. Laundry located near bedrooms, durable flooring where children play, adequate kitchen circulation, storage beside entrances, comfortable reading surfaces, and properly planned lighting may never receive dramatic social-media reveals.
They will, however, improve almost every day you live in the house.
This is where the Nashville Brick Cottage feels unusually grounded. Its design is visually confident, but the homeowners repeatedly prioritized comfort and function when choices became overwhelming. That is useful permission for anyone halfway through a renovation and currently debating their 19th bathroom accessory.
Experience Lesson 5: Leave Something for Later
A renovated house does not need to be “finished” on move-in day.
Rooms can evolve. Art can accumulate. A better antique table can appear three years from now. Children’s spaces will change. New family memories will eventually become part of the decorating scheme whether the original mood board approves or not.
The Nashville Brick Cottage ultimately shows that successful historic home renovation isn’t about freezing a house in 1929 or dragging it completely into 2026. It is about creating the next chapter without erasing the previous ones.
Conclusion
The five strongest Nashville Brick Cottage design takeaways are remarkably transferable: plan a connected color palette, trust bold choices when they genuinely suit you, preserve authentic vintage details, contrast history with modern materials, and prioritize comfort and personal meaning.
Together, those principles produce something more valuable than a trendy interior. They produce a home with continuity. Old brick can remain chipped. New tile can be unapologetically modern. Black cabinets can stand beside 1929 oak floors. Handmade quilts can matter as much as designer lighting.
That mixture is precisely why the Nashville Brick Cottage feels fresh without feeling temporary. Good renovation does not erase the past or worship it. It gives the past a comfortable place to sit while the future moves in.
Note: This article synthesizes information and design guidance from reputable U.S. renovation, preservation, architecture, paint, and interior-design sources and has been independently rewritten for original web publication.
