Everybody loves a classic. While the “traditional” offers fealty to what has come before, a classic transcends limitations; it’s timeless and timely. A classic speaks to antiquity, but also directly addresses this moment — the here and now. And that’s precisely the philosophy at work in Bob and Polly Knapp’s well-appointed residence in The Ramble.
The Knapps had built and furnished homes in Memphis and Florida before settling down in Asheville to be nearer to family. Working with Allison Ramsey Architects and Preish Construction, they decided on an updated Normandy style for their new home; sympathetic with the surrounding architecture and offering all the amenities of a gracious lifestyle, including a free-form pool by Paradise Pools and an enclosed screen porch with fireplace.
Although only a year old, the residence has Old World cachet — gables, shutters, slate tile and softly hued stone. It features a soaring formal entrance foyer, ample space and light and well-integrated public and private areas: a fitting place for Polly Knapp’s carefully gathered treasures.
Polly is an intrepid hunter of lovely objects, you see; traveling abroad on her adventures, braving the early-morning chill to scour the fabled flea markets of London and Paris or to rummage about with a flashlight amid the cobwebs in forgotten warehouse corners to unearth the perfect antique oil painting.
“It all started several years ago with a company out of Charlotte called Through the Looking Glass. They take you on tour in Europe and you shop for antiques for 10 days straight,” Polly recalls with a smile. “It’s heavenly.”
She brought that divine booty back with her, adding it to the furnishings in her former homes and a vacation cottage in Maine — a consolidated assembly which finally found its way to Asheville. Merging this eclectic collection and a pristine edifice, the challenge became apparent: as fashion guru Tim Gunn says, “Make it work!”
Polly consulted with the design team at Yesterday’s Tree in Asheville for her lighting, linens and overall color scheme, while a penchant for fine fabrics and wallpaper led her to interior designer Ashley Smith of Benson and Babb Interiors. With his tempting selection of exquisite wall coverings and textiles and unerring knack for creating sumptuous interiors, Smith became the linchpin in visually coalescing the house into a home.
“Polly brought her paint swatches and gave me descriptions of her furnishings and we started pulling things together,” says Smith. “Polly is drawn to objects with age and history and she didn’t want this home to feel brand-new. So we created a mix of her wonderful antiques, fantastic wallpapers, paintings displayed salon style, pastoral themes, rich patterns and textures…and she loves Chinoiserie. All of those elements are present. It’s a traditional home, but it has a twist that makes it so much more. It’s a bit idiosyncratic…there’s something unexpected in every room.”
The flooring, for instance. Entering the foyer, you’re struck by the harlequin pattern of black onyx and white Carrera marble which draws your eye inward to where the main floor is bedecked in oak planks reclaimed from a tobacco barn in Lexington, Kentucky by Longwood Antique Woods. Buffed to a polished sheen, the rustic, “pub” sensibility of the floors is an ideal counterpoint to some of the more reserved antiques and the formal wall treatments.
Another unusual touch is the use of high-gloss, black enamel on the doors and the interior raised panel shutters which serve as the ubiquitous window treatments in the house. “It adds a very European feel,” notes Smith.
The designer deftly uses charcoal and ebony tones as a unifying grace note: the calligraphic wrought iron stair rail in the foyer, the repainted Maine cottage dining chairs in the breakfast nook, the fireplace mantel in the sitting room, an ornate metal bedstead in an upstairs bedroom, the cabinetry in the guest bath. There is even a delightful black and white toile fabric on the chairs in a guest bedroom.
A lush blend of rural imagery, refined antiquities and exotic oriental motifs create an air of abundance throughout the residence — a luxurious ambiance that is nonetheless very livable. It is defined in the details and the quality of the workmanship: screen-printed wallpapers, fine stone, precision-crafted cabinetry, and the faux painting artistry of Credle Krauss Designs. Together, they impart a subtle sense of continuity and patina.
It is a sensibility that is both grounding and delightful for the Knapps. “I’m kind of a homebody,” says Polly, “and I like having beautiful things around me. When I get up in the morning and walk around my house, it just makes me feel good.”
Now that’s a classic.