This Nashville Home Isn't Your Average New Build

There are plenty of perks to buying a brand-new house — you’re the first to make memories in it, use the appliances and enjoy the flawless walls (well, until they get scuffed up). The one pitfall: New-construction houses can sometimes lack character. That’s why Kerry and Cullen Roberts felt like they lucked out when they found a 3,800-square-foot spec home in Nashville with plenty to love right from the get-go. It had built-ins in the living room, big windows, shiplap-inspired walls, pretty fixtures and a dramatic tray ceiling in the main bedroom. Still, everything was seriously neutral.

To take it from spec to spectacular, the couple hired designer Gen Sohr, who’s known for mixing patterns and bright hues. Starting with coral and navy, Kerry’s favorites, they played up the house’s unique features to make it extra eye-catching. “It’s bold and pretty — but most of all, it’s fun,” says Kerry. With every room personalized for their family, it’s as if the house were built just for them.

Pictured: Cullen and Kerry with Flynn, 4, and twins Millie and Caroline, 2

Shiplap-style walls throughout the first floor give it aged farmhouse cred. The decor is traditional with a twist, hinting at the rest of the home: a Louis XV chair re-covered in a poppy coral fabric from Brentwood Interiors, a modern raffia console from Serena & Lily and a graphic flat-weave rug from Overstock.

A plain area morphed into one chock-full of floral, geometric and striped patterns — and it works because they’re all in coordinating colors. The sofa from Serena & Lily and the rug from Rugs USA have blue and white, the pillows and the side chair add coral and the fabric on the window shade from Schumacher includes all those hues and more. It’s an inviting spot for Kerry and Cullen to wind down at the end of the day, and for the kids to watch old episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

To make a style statement that complemented the walls, the couple hung art (by Gen’s company, Pencil & Paper Co., sold on One Kings Lane) with rectangles that play off the horizontal paneling. It’s one of Kerry’s favorite parts of the house. And the colors pick up the ones in the sofa fabric and pillows. Brilliant! The coffee table, from Nadeau, has raised detailing that looks great with the rug.

Nicknamed the Blue Room by Flynn, this space off the kitchen saw one of the biggest transformations. To make it welcoming and energetic — a spot where the kids would really want to eat dinner — designer Gen created a built-in banquette, added wallpaper by Baker Lifestyle and painted the trim navy (Commodore by Sherwin-Williams). The glam pendant is by Serena & Lily. “I like how its large size grounds the room,” says Kerry.

The space was dreamy from the start with Shaker-style cabinets, wood floors and pendants that have brass-toned cages. To bring it up to the Roberts’ color-loving speed, in came red-and-white stools by Serena & Lily and window shades that match the ones in the living room. Says Kerry, “We were surprised at how different it looked with just a few additions!”

This room is all about the wood-trimmed tray ceiling, which is accentuated by a cool Circa Lighting pendant. Although Kerry and designer Gen infused color everywhere else in the house, Kerry wanted the bedroom to be a soothing, neutral retreat. Shades of blue and white did the trick, but it’s not a yawn thanks to brushstroke lamps by Bunny Williams Home and a cushy daybed from One Kings Lane.

Guests are always wowed when they walk in — that coral trellis wallpaper by Quadrille does not hold back. The vanity is painted to match (try Emotional by Sherwin-Williams), and the mirror from Ballard Designs, with its ruffled frame, is inspired by sea coral — a quirky play off the room’s main hue.

It’s both sweet and spunky, not unlike the girls. Floral fabric from Quadrille on the shade inspired the pink-and-orange color scheme, rounded out by a herringbone rug from Rugs USA and a chaise from One Kings Lane. The twins’ idea of a good time: exploring the dollhouse and cruising on the wheeled giraffes, both from Pottery Barn Kids.