Creating timeless interiors that clients will enjoy for years to come is something designers strive to accomplish. Sometimes they are only asked to update a room or two and sometimes they are handed that desirable blank slate. “I was fortunate to start this project from the very beginning,” explains Julie Couch of Julie Couch Interiors in Nashville. “The homeowners and I only had the architect’s plans in hand when we first met and began talking about finishes, both exterior and interior.

Couch colored in that blank slate to great effect in every corner of this elegant home. “It was important that the home be a marriage of old and new,” she explains. “I am drawn to contrasts. And although my clients initially gravitated toward traditional pieces, they were open to using antiques and modern art to keep it interesting.”