This charming 1941 home is nestled in one of the older, more established neighborhoods of East Memphis. “It’s on a lovely street with big, beautiful trees and surrounded by spacious lots,” says interior designer Tara Felice. “While many of the neighboring houses have been torn down to make way for larger new builds, our clients chose to hold onto the original home, making a few tweaks along the way since they moved in in 2002.”
Her clients, Bonnie and David Thornton, are an active couple in their early 60s with grandkids who live nearby. “David is an attorney, and Bonnie generously volunteers her time for various Memphis-based charities and organizations,” Tara explains. “For years, she managed RiverArts Fest, a two-day urban street festival celebrating visual, performing and culinary arts. Her love of art and artisan-made decorative objects runs deep, and as such, varied and eclectic art is featured throughout their home.”
Tara’s goal, at Bonnie’s request, was to incorporate these items into the renovation of the first floor, and to make sure the overall design was anything but cookie cutter. “I had two additional directives from Bonnie,” Tara recalls. “First, because of Bonnie’s passion for gardening, she wanted to ensure she could be surrounded by flowers year-round, even in the winter months. This objective inspired the green dining room and the use of House of Hackney’s ‘Hollyhocks’ drapery panels, which bring a rich, botanical feel to the space.”
The second directive turned out to be a happy twist of fate. “From our very first conversation, Bonnie and I realized we had both fallen for the deVol aesthetic—and had spent the early days of the pandemic watching their TV series, dreaming of those beautifully crafted kitchens,” Tara explains. “I had long hoped to design a deVol-inspired space, so connecting with Bonnie—someone who shared that same vision—felt like a rare and meaningful creative alignment. deVol’s Emerald Green London Tile was the jumping off point and initial inspiration that informed the entire renovation and makeover. It was one of those moments that reminded me just how powerful it can be to set clear intentions and trust the process of bringing dream projects to life.”
They reimagined almost every room on the main floor—the largest project being the kitchen where they completed a near-gut renovation. “The entire space was refreshed,” Tara says. “The cabinets were custom and well maintained from a previous renovation, so all we had to do there was change the paint color and upgrade the hardware. Everything else in the kitchen was replaced: the lighting, countertops, plumbing fixtures, and tile backsplash. We also added the marble warming shelf above the cooking range for added functionality.”
The bay window in the breakfast nook was the perfect spot for banquette seating. “Due to its small size and irregular shape, we custom designed a banquette and dining table with local craftsmen to accommodate the wall angles and space constraints,” the designer tells us. “New window treatments highlight the beautiful windows and the large hydrangea bushes beyond.”
The coffee nook off the kitchen also received a complete makeover with new window treatments, comfortable chairs in a cozy brown color from Verellen, a multi-tiered side table to stack magazines and books, a fresh coat of paint on the walls, and a green ceiling to match the family room on the opposite side of the kitchen. The green paint (Farrow & Ball’s ‘Vichyssoise’) also pulls in the nature just beyond the windows.
The powder room was stripped of its old wallpaper, in favor of a new floral selection from Scalamandré. Tara brought in new plumbing, lighting, and countertops, and lacquer-finished the existing vanity.
The dining room received a bold statement in the form of an emerald green textured Phillip Jeffries wallcovering as well as glossy paint. “We added new draperies and light fixtures, a new rug, and reupholstered the existing dining chairs,” Tara says. “We also edited and rearranged the client’s existing art to allow for each piece to have its moment and stand out.”
Lastly, the fireplace wall in the family room previously felt “busy” and overdone, with a built-in TV case over the lackluster fireplace and a door with a window into the garage. “We completely demo’d the fireplace and designed a new mantle for a local woodworker to build and added fluted marble tile from Cle Tile for the surround,” Tara shares. “We swapped out the door to the garage and added a window-less all wood option to match the wood on the fireplace.”
