Taking a chance on a tired heritage cottage on the right side of the tracks, Masters of Flip Kortney and Dave Wilson give new life to a property sitting down the street from a Nashville train station. Going with a black and white interior-design scheme, it’s the addition of colour and texture in the staging that really turns up this home’s Southern charm.
Colonial Mustard
When the walls are white, anything you put against them will stand out. That’s why Kortney chose a mustard-yellow bench seat to be the focal point of the contemporary entryway reception area.
Watch: Want to see the full renovation process? Watch the full episode here.
Right on Cue
Black and white framed photo prints fill the wall space between the reception sitting area and the hallway, giving us a visual cue to step further into the newly renovated Nashville home.
Matte Mate
Off the main hall sits the master suite, with its modern ceiling light fixture and feature matte-black wall. Since there is plenty of natural light – thanks to a set of new windows – the black actually makes the room feel even bigger than it really is.
Colour Coordinated
Using small splashes of colour, such as the floral upholstered headboard and coral-pink throw pillow, breaks up the black, white and grey of the contemporary colour palette of this fixer-upper.
Hot Hotelier
In a design move referencing master suites found at some high-end urban hotels, Kortney used a dividing wall between the bedroom and the ensuite rather than locking doors.
WC for Three
Taking square footage from another unused bedroom, Dave constructed a walk-in shower so expansive that even the tallest of Nashville house hunters could suds up in there comfortably.
Definition Submission
Using the same modern, black honeycomb tile on the ensuite shower floor and above the double vanity helps to define the bathroom area in a space where doors don’t exist.
Wave the White Flag
A large kitchen island topped with white quartz (illuminated by a set of modern industrial pendant light) helps to bring visual balance to the wide-planked stained white floor and mid-shine black cabinets.
Sink into That
The gorgeous dark quartz countertops feature a subtle grey veining throughout keeping with the overall palette, while the bamboo board sink insert adds a touch of unexpected warmth to the black-on-black kitchen.
Stack ’em Up
For the kitchen’s back wall, Kortney went with a simple white subway tile and white grout, but rather than arranging them in the popular brick formation, she opted for a more contemporary stacking pattern.
Stepping Back
The dining room furniture was kept neutral so the bright colours in the woven rug and gold running through the sheer drapes could take centre stage in this room’s staging.
Pit Stop
“The outside has been brought in and the door isn’t even open,” says Kortney of the home’s most cutting-edge feature – the black garage door. “You can literally open the entire garage door and have an extension of the living room – and it’s completely open to the dining room.”
Giving a Statement
Kortney decided to design a house with only black, white or grey features to appeal to the most buyers. Using statement furniture pieces, such as this teal-blue couch in the living room, in the staging was how her team injected a bit of fun into the feeling of each space.
Not a Competition
Kortney placed the teal-blue couch here to draw focus and anchor the living room area. The surrounding pieces and soft furnishings, such as the rattan chairs and white Mongolian lamb fur pillows, remain quite neutral in their colour palette so as not to compete.
Display by Design
To warm up the monochromatic design of this train-track adjacent house, Kortney used various raw wood tables and dressers set up as surfaces to sparingly display eye-catching objets du art and vintage books.
Siren’s Call
Since Kortney wanted all the walls to be either grey, white or black, the furnishings is where her team really added the design interest needed to draw in the big Nashville buyers.
Seeing Spots
The red micro suede headboard looks striking against the soft-grey wall, but it’s the strategic layering of multicoloured and Dalmatian-spotted pillows that make this room pop.
Grey Totally Stoked
The third bedroom pulls in the same bright mustard we first saw in the entryway reception area with a set of bold geometric drapes and a gentle chevron-striped rug. The wall colour swings more towards blue, but still passes the Kortney’s must-be-grey test.
Play Time
The layering of blue-greys in the bed linens and throw pillows really stands out against the yellow-gold of the drapes and bedside lamps, giving this room a youthful energy – we’re guessing the new owners will makes this one a kid’s room.
Bargain, No Basement
After paying a bargain price of US$165K (thanks to the trains passing by on the hour), the Wilsons put $225K into this Nashville flip. With a list price of $515K, they’re hoping to walk away with a $94K profit after fees.
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