Tour a Parrish Chilcoat–Designed House in Memphis Inspired by Nature’s Hues

When Parrish Chilcoat was tasked with designing a family’s stately Memphis home, reusing past pieces was the name of the game. Fortunately for Chilcoat, she was already quite familiar with the furnishings at hand, having also designed the client’s former residence. While the new space was substantially larger in size, she was adamant that it maintain the same “playful, stylish energy” as the previous house, Chilcoat explains. “Their family is active and young,” Chilcoat says of her clients. “They wanted the interiors to reflect who they are and not feel overly formal or intimidating.”

Working remotely from her home base in Los Angeles, Chilcoat managed to renovate, repaint, and furnish the entire home at breakneck speed—just a little over six months total. She used a palette of moody hues—teals, blues, golds and purples—that brings new energy to the existing pieces that the clients brought from their previous house while also incorporating the new home’s lush surroundings. “The goal was to keep the eye line unbroken from inside to outside,” she notes. “Every window had a beautiful view, and I didn’t want to mess with that… I wanted all of the interior colors to play nicely in the sandbox with nature’s colors outdoors!”

The dining room is just one place in which enchanting natural hues take center stage. The teal velvet chairs that the clients had brought from their former home provided an opportunity for Chilcoat to introduce even more blue to the space. To ensure the space read youthful despite its grandeur, Chilcoat incorporated a glossy cobalt dining table by Keith Fritz for Michael Smith Inc.—one of her favorite pieces in the entire house—and installed a teal glass chandelier overhead.

The room was also home to an existing mural, depicting lush grass and rolling hills. Installation had been no small feat—the artist actually lived at the house for several months during the painting process. To emphasize the mural’s depth and moodiness, Chilcoat painted the trim and millwork a deep blue-gray. “The effect is so striking,” Chilcoat says. “We were stunned with the results!”

The natural motifs and materials continue into the living room, which features a wood ceiling and cascading beams, which Chilcoat complemented with a soft sky blue. Because the space was “impeccably proportioned” with fireplaces at either end, Chilcoat opted to design two separate seating areas. Contemporary lighting and photography keep the room fresh.

More color stuns in the primary sitting room, which visitors often pass through on their way to the main rooms of the house. Chilcoat coated the walls and existing built-ins with a gray-tinted purple, Benjamin Moore’s Mauve Blush, to create an enveloping atmosphere. “I wanted a dramatic ‘foreground’ color to emphasize the enfilade beyond,” Chilcoat explains. “I knew that this color would beautifully highlight and showcase [the client’s] objects and pottery.”

To Chilcoat, the stairwell presented the opportunity to become more than just a utilitarian component of the home. Inspired by the elaborate handrail and millwork, she painted the stair risers and skirt board a deep, rich blue. “I wanted it to flow like a colorful ribbon between the three levels of the house,” the designer explains.