Harrietta and Joe Deaton of Hendersonville have made a life’s work out of resuscitating unlovely spaces, so when the wife-and-husband team bought their own early-’70s mountaintop ranch house, a property whose beautiful natural view was marred by an oppressive interior layout, they knew what to save — the house’s good bones — and what to change: literally everything else. The result, extracted here in the kitchen, is an upcountry farmhouse feel, European-rustic with gestures of sophistication thanks to family antiques and luxe accents.
The outsized clock and upholstered toile chairs are high points in red; the dining-room table, Harry reveals, was the first one her own parents bought when they married; and the kitchen island is an upcycled sales counter she scouted from an old hardware store in Chicago. “It had bends that held seed for sale, and Joe converted them into drawers that hold bread and linens. One large pullout hides the garbage can,” she explains.
Things got even more ingenious when it came to the countertops, an invention of Harry’s son Tommy and Joe that involved laying together stair treads and sealing them with a protective coat and stain. Subtle gray cabinetry with brushed-nickel hardware, a lack of heavy upper cupboards, and large-square tile in an antique Italian shade all work together to emote old-world simplicity. “It was a big, hard renovation,” admits Harry. But when the whole family’s got a knack for aesthetic wizardry, the vibe falls into place as consistently as the seasons change on the mountaintop.
Resources
Interior Designer Harry Deaton (Harry Deaton Interiors)
Countertops Joe Deaton and Tommy Morelock
Lighting Harry Deaton Interiors
Appliances/Plumbing Fixtures Hajoca of Hendersonville
Window Treatments Harry Deaton Interiors