It might be cliché to say that good things come in small packages, but when Brenda Harrington of Harrington Interiors is involved, there’s no question that good things come in small spaces. Harrington and her husband, Russ, a professional photographer, decided not long ago they simply didn’t need the full 5,500 square feet of their Murfreesboro home. The newly empty-nest couple also made a daily commute into Nashville for work—exerting extra time and energy. “We didn’t know where we were going to move until we sold our house,” Brenda Harrington says. They knew they wanted to relocate to something smaller, and looked at a number of the city’s condo projects. Nothing seemed just right.
At the last moment, the perfect concept hit them. They’d long discussed building out on the second floor of their business in Berry Hill, an elegantly shaped, copper-roofed building shaded by a myriad of trees from spring to fall. Instead of buying, they converted the upstairs deck space Russ used for outdoor photo shoots into a home. They designed the space while selling their house, then undertook the major task of downsizing their lifestyle. With only 1,050 square feet of space, Harrington knew she had to make it livable, maximize the storage and keep the decor such that the home didn’t feel cramped or dwarfed.
The first requirement was ruthlessly cleaning house, getting rid of all the things filling the square footage they’d no longer have. “We had a huge yard sale,” says Harrington. “We’re still selling things on Craig’s List. We also gave things away.”
“I wanted it to feel larger than it was,” Harrington says of her design process. She achieved that goal in a number of inventive ways. The whole space has a vaulted ceiling, rising to a height of 14 feet in the center. Harrington used that height to her advantage. Narrow but tall storage cabinets and closets cleverly provide extra storage space. Huge windows add an illusion of size in almost every room. She opted for a couch and chairs that were a little smaller than those in her former house, but that didn’t feel as though their size had been in any way reduced. “It doesn’t feel small,” she says with satisfaction. “I knew I couldn’t live here if I felt like it was cramped....
For more information on Harrington Interiors, or to schedule a consultation, visit harringtoninteriordesign.com.