Design in Bloom

Local Nashville talent helped transform an iconic home for Flower magazine

By Hollie Deese
Photos: Leslee Mitchell, Hector Sanchez, Joseph Bradshaw

Once Flower magazine announced Nashville would be the location for its 2025 Designer Show House — and enlisted 23 high-profile interior design firms to create inspirational interiors within the home — we knew it was going to be something out of the ordinary.

And once the actual property being used was revealed, we knew we were right. Situated on six acres, the 20,000 square-foot Belle Meade home with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms, built in 1999, will forever be known to the world as Rayna James’ home on the primetime soap opera “Nashville” that aired first on ABC, then CMT, from 2012 to 2018.

Of course, longtime locals know the house was originally owned by local philanthropist Sylvia Roberts, who, by allowing the show to film in her home, was able to use the celebrity “Nashville” brought to bolster the house’s sale. Roberts only had production in her home for the filming of the first three episodes of the series — after that, the network committed to a full season, and reproduction sets were built to continue filming at a cost of about $250,000.

The home was originally constructed on land bought by Roberts and her family in 1997, brought to life by Will Andrews, architect Mark Harrison and designer Mary Spalding.

In preparation for the Flower show house transformation, local architectural firm Pfeffer Torode and construction and development firm Maker Construction, worked together to renovate the home, creating a new canvas for the participating interior designers to transform into spaces brimming with creativity.

The surrounding grounds, including a two-stall barn and riding trails, were transformed by Kaiser Trabue, among Nashville’s top boutique landscape architecture firms, which was founded in 1998.

Additional house features include a gourmet kitchen with scullery and wood-burning fireplace, two luxurious primary suites, a salon with an adjoining wet bar, a wood-paneled study, a formal dining room with a butler’s pantry, a generously screened-in porch with a stone fireplace, and a waterfall pool and outdoor cabana.

“The Flower magazine designer showhouse celebrates talent from nearly all corners of the United States,” said Flower magazine founder and editor-in-chief Margot Shaw, who enlisted design luminaries Alexa Hampton as the Honorary Chair, Corey Damen Jenkins as the Design Chair, and Charlotte Moss and Ray Booth as Showhouse Ambassadors.

Originally from Birmingham, Blair Parkes of Nashville’s Parkes & Lamb Interiors has known Shaw for years, having grown up with Shaw’s daughter, Hansell Holt, as one of her best friends. When she got the call to design the mudroom and adjoining powder room at the showhouse, she was ecstatic.

“I just planted myself in our space as much as I could for a month and just really enjoyed meeting people from, literally, all over,” Parkes said.

The layout for the home was provided to all of the designers from Jamie Pfeffer of Pfeffer Torode, with Shaw assigning each designer a room.

“I thought everybody knocked it out of the park, and everybody brought something really different and vibrant and colorful,” Parkes said. “Everybody just absolutely put their heart and soul into it, and it showed.”

The ceiling was covered in Hartmann & Forbes blue textured grasscloth, which played into the blue tones used throughout the space, creating an Old World feel.

“There were a lot of really generous people in the community who allowed us to rent things for the month,” Parkes said. “Alcott Interiors loaned us some art, and a couple of stools and Canterbury Antiques lent us all the horse paintings, which was so great.”

Other partners of Parkes & Lamb for the mudroom included Artistic Tile, GasLamp Antiques, Reed Smythe, Waterworks, Memoire Design and Kingdom Woodworks.

“It really takes a village, and we are so appreciative of the people who loaned us art and accessories and craftsmanship,” Parkes said. “I like how much pride people take in their work in our community. You’re only as good as your vendors, and your subs, and just knowing that people are in your corner means a lot.”

It also helps having local resources who care when you get in a pinch, as Parkes found out when the wallpaper they ordered was not going to arrive in time, three days before it was supposed to be installed. She called her dear friend Amanda Norman, who specializes in painting abstracts, florals, and portraits, and worked with her on a big pivot, creating a floral plaster chinoiserie in the powder room that ended up being a highlight of the entire house.

“She just knocked it out of the park,” Parkes said. “And since then, she has gotten a lot of inquiries from across the country, and has opened up a whole new medium for her.”

Parkes also didn’t want drapery everywhere, so they had Vintage Millworks make the shutters, which Norman then came in and embellished with hand-painted wheat bundles in blue tones.

Staying true to the magazine’s botanical focus, Shaw engaged floral designer Ariella Chezaras as the showhouse’s Floral Chair. Ariella worked in collaboration with local floral designers to ensure each space included inspiring arrangements that enhanced the interiors.

“It’s an interactive experience that brings the beauty of our brand to life and provides our audience with interior, entertaining, and floral ideas they can incorporate at home.”

That interactive experience Shaw was aiming for was on full display with sculpture artist David Harber, with his many pieces for the showhouse — four outside (Torus, Flo, Mantle II and Armillary Sphere) and one inside (Alba).

Shaw has long been an admirer of Harber’s work, and while this showhouse marked his first time exhibiting in Nashville, he said the collaboration felt like a natural extension of an established creative dialogue.

“Our creative process began with a visit to the home alongside the Flower team, allowing us to experience the space and thoughtfully envision how each area could be engaged,” Harber said. “We considered sight-lines, architectural rhythm, and the natural flow of the garden into the house, ensuring that every placement felt intentional and harmonious.”

That sculpture found a natural home within a grove of trees, where it mirrors the landscape: the grass at its feet, the trees before it, and the stunning sky and clouds beyond — almost disappearing into the woodland.

And by situating a sculpture directly on water, such as Mantle II placed within the pool in the showhouse, Harber used stillness and reflection to amplify its presence, allowing the water to become an essential part of the composition.

“Placement is paramount,” Harber said. “We consider not only the form itself, but what the water will reflect, how it will interact with its surroundings, and whether the desired effect is serene, dramatic, intriguing or contemplative.”

Alba, placed within designer Janie Molster’s interior space, offered a more intimate dialogue. Inspired by organic coral forms, its complex surface and three tonal hues found a perfect counterpoint within the room’s dramatic palette.

“The placement of each piece truly defined its final expression,” Harber said.

Now that the show is over, the house is back on the market, listed at $24.5 million. And just like Roberts used the popularity the property gained from being on television to drive interest for the listing, judging by the listing photos, its recent turn as an over-the-top showhouse is likely doing the same.