Not long ago, Maggie Kuyper was presented with an unusual challenge. It wasn’t just to paint a house; it was to create a therapeutic ambience so that a family could gather and relax with their ailing matriarch as she recovered from cancer treatment.
It wasn’t as easy as applying a few coats of color.
“The entire house was being refreshed and paint was just one aspect of the project,” says Kuyper, owner of Harpeth Painting. “There was old carpet and the original, outdated paint scheme. The house hadn’t been touched since it was built in the 1980s. It was like walking into a time capsule.”
Once the color palette was selected, it was up to Kuyper and her team to bring the walls to life.
“What we typically do is come in and start looking at nuances,” says Kuyper. “Older homes have unique architectural lines, with unusual angles and divots. You have to know where one color stops and another begins. Then you have to strike the right tone, so there can be a lot of tweaking involved.”
The living room ceiling was the most notable interior feature. For that Kuyper and her team used Haint Blue. “That’s an old Southern tradition from the Charleston area that some say keeps the spirits away,” says Kuyper. “Typically, you’ll find it on porch ceilings. It was unique to bring it inside.”
Lighter tones applied to the exterior, mimic, without embracing, the trend of white brick houses that are appearing throughout Nashville. But Kuyper says there is a noticeable difference.
“We chose a non-white color, more of a classic gray,” says Kuyper. “It’s still bright and light, but it’s not stark like white brick.
“Knowing how to properly paint brick is a skill that not everyone can master,” says Kuyper. “When done properly, it’s not high maintenance.”
