When life is filled with scrolling media updates and a new trends lurk behind every calendar page, it’s refreshing to find something made to last. Starr and Nate Card’s Tudor home stands as serene and alluring on its North Chattanooga hillside as it must have after its construction in 1920, offering a 21st century family the enduring charms of its generously sized rooms and half-timbered façade.
“This house has really great proportions, so it’s really fun to play with the small and large rooms,” says Rob Praino, of Robin Praino Interiors, the couple’s interior decorator and friend. All three bedrooms are large enough for a king-sized bed, and the main floor is divided into several living spaces ranging from the intimate sitting room at the main entrance to the more spacious living room adjacent.
Not only does the 3,500-square-foot floor plan transcend the Prohibition period, the architecture of the house does as well, its rounded arch doorways and immense stone fireplace as appreciated in home construction now as they were a century ago. In many rooms, the crown molding, while elaborately carved, is painted the same shade as the walls but with a glossier finish, modernizing the appeal of the highly crafted trim. “The details from that era set a nice background to put unique furniture in,” says Praino.
Sharing a close friendship as well as similar taste with Starr Card gives the decorator another leg up. As an invitee at parties, he experiences how guests congregate and flow, which helps him see how the décor should function. “Starr had a very defined style. She knows what she likes, and it’s been an easy process,” Praino says.
Since they work well together, Praino and Starr Card take their time on shopping trips to source unique pieces, and she often trusts him to choose decor sight unseen. Their close collaboration has resulted in a style consistent throughout the home that Praino coins “new Southern.” Antique and reproduction pieces blend well with edgy modern elements that share a similar finish or color tone. “I want my personality to show through,” she says. “I want it to be beautiful, but I want it to be comfortable, too.”