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, TN, 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 master 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

Although the house was built in 2016, 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.com.

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 rugsusa.com 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.