Good Bones

Design by First Fruit Collection | Story by Terri Glazer | Photography by Sélavie Photography

A house with good bones, enthusiastic owners, and designers with vision added up to produce a stunning renovation in this 90s-era home in Germantown. Stunning, but approachable, says designer Patty Michaelis, and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be.

“What I love about this house is that it absolutely feels like somebody lives here. It feels so comfortable versus a show house. We always want our clients to feel like their home is totally livable,” says Michaelis, store manager and designer at First Fruit Collection in Collierville. She spearheaded the project along with Ashley Toney, First Fruit’s owner.

The pair of designers and the homeowners, Angela and Jon Straub, have developed a longstanding relationship; this is the third house Toney and Michaelis have outfitted for the family that includes the couple and their two teenage children. This project had a decidedly different slant than the others, however. Says the homeowner, “The other homes we had weren’t like this one. They were more rustic, but I like the term Ashley uses for this house and the design—dressy.”

Toney says the description fits perfectly. Nothing about the home is formal or stuffy. The design is fresh yet timeless with a gracious, inviting appeal.

Though the home’s colors and decor needed a fresh look, the classic architecture had stood the test of time and was well suited to the casual elegance Toney envisioned for the decor. “The builders of this house constructed a very traditional plantation-style house. I feel like when you create something more traditional it’s timeless. Yes, the colors and the cabinets were dated, but the layout and the flow weren’t because they are traditional and that never goes out of style,” says Toney.

The owner agrees, adding that the fact that the home needed cosmetic work rather than a total redo played heavily into the decision to purchase it in 2019. After a couple of months while the entire house was painted and the floors were redone, the family settled into the five-bedroom home set on a picturesque two-acre lot.

“I like light, bright and happy—welcoming,” says the homeowner. The design team delivered with a clean white wall paint throughout the house, a perfect palette to show off new lighting in dressed-up gold tones, as well as pops of color provided by furnishings and rugs. 

The more dramatic elements weren’t always an easy sell, says Michaelis, recalling the decision to place two leather and cowhide chairs in the homeowner’s office, directly off the front entryway. Although the designer describes the pair as her “most favorite chairs of all time,” she recalls that the client might not have shared her vision at first. “We really had to talk her into them, but she loves them now. They’re fun to see when you walk in the front door.”

Michaelis credits years of successful collaboration on multiple projects for the fact that this homeowner is a “perfect” design client. “She listens to us. She knows what she likes, but she’s always willing to listen to our vision.”

One design element that Toney and Michaelis helped ease the homeowner into was wallpaper. Michaelis remembers, “We started with just putting wallpaper inside the built-in shelves in the living room. After we did that she liked it so much that we’re about to add it in the dining room and she wants it all over now!” 

The beautiful Turkish rugs that grace the home also took a bit of convincing on the designers’ part. The family owns Flooring Solutions of Memphis, so carpet, tile and hard wood are in their realm of expertise. They were a bit reluctant, however, to invest in oriental rugs. According to Michaelis, “A lot of people hesitate on rugs, so I say, ‘Just let me bring a few rugs over…’ Once she saw these she had to have them.” Heavenly Rugs in Germantown provided all the rugs in the home, including the one the designers say is “the rock star of the room” in the entryway.

Just as jewelry adds interest to an outfit, the homeowner has found, after living in the house for two years, that a few perfectly placed, bold-colored pieces make all the difference in decor that’s otherwise mostly neutral. Toney likes to bring in the accents in the form of art, accessories, draperies and throw pillows, items that are easily altered as time passes and styles evolve. “We try to steer our clients toward traditional. They might get tired of grasscloth in time, they might not, but wallpaper is something that’s fairly easy to take down. We’re not saying don’t ever have anything trendy in your home, because you always want the newest and the best, but if the bones are traditional and timeless, then it’s easier to change and flow with what’s popular,” says the designer.

Many of the accents throughout the home are in cool blues, ranging from peaceful light hues in the primary bedroom to beachy blue glass tile in the daughter’s bathroom to bold batik-look wallpaper in the son’s bath. 

The kitchen island boasts an ethereal blue green, Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams. Previously dark stained wood, as was the rest of the kitchen cabinetry and trim, the lightened up wood, along with new countertops, lighting and fixtures, brought the kitchen beautifully up to date without a complete remodel. The large kitchen features a generous eating area that the homeowner loves as it offers plenty of overflow seating from the nearby dining room when she hosts large family gatherings. 

The family room that overlooks the backyard received a facelift that started with help from Flooring Solutions: the addition of an eye-catching bluestone floor. A brick fireplace was limewashed to tone down the color. A new mantel completed the overhaul in the comfortable, but not too casual space.

The First Fruit team paid attention to even the smallest details during the renovation, like replacing door hardware throughout the house with crystal knobs for a timeless look, and bringing in The House of Order to assist in organizing the closets, kitchen and pantry.

Although Toney and Michaelis have helped the homeowner transform almost every area of their house, the designers still refer to the project as a work in progress. Toney says, “We’re constantly dropping by all the time. Sometimes we’ll get something in at First Fruit that I just know would be perfect here. I shoot her a picture and she says, ‘Bring it by!’” It’s clear they love working on the “house with the good bones” and enjoy their “perfect” client.