Vogue Living: September 2021

House Tour: A Sleek and Contemporary Home that Belies its Mississippi Location

Photography by Haris Kenjar | View Article

In modernising this grand Mississippi home, interior designer Sean Anderson ticked off one of his longstanding “design bucket list” items and infused new life into a traditional-style home.

The key to successfully overhauling a home isn’t necessarily pulling it to pieces. For the Memphis-based interior designer behind Sean Anderson Design, knowing when to pull back is key to unlocking the true design potential of every home. In this northern Mississippi home, which was built in 2004, the structure of the home needed very little work, and Sean Anderson sought to modernise it for its owner Angela Cook.

As owner of Grandview Gallery, a wholesale lighting company, Cook’s tastes lean more modern, and after purchasing the Mississippi home to be closer to her son and granddaughter, she sought Anderson’s help to refresh her new living space. Located in northern Missippi, adjacent to the area’s famous Natchez Trace Parkway, a historic 715km trail that crosses three US states. “The area has lush, rolling terrain and small winding connecting roads. Not far down the road is the birthplace of Elvis Presley,” says Anderson.

As for the design, Anderson was keen to “honour [Cook’s] personal aesthetic”, but was allowed to interpret this freely to suit what was needed for the home. “The interiors pursue a modern interpretation of classic living,” he explains. “The floor plan lends itself to more traditional function, and I wanted to honour that in how the spaces were appropriated.” The result? “A softer, relaxed aesthetic with rich textures and soothing palette.”

Certainly, the French provincial exterior of the home led Anderson to pursue a transitional interior design style that skilfully blends the original structure with modern revisions, like the addition of a scullery to improve the previously “disjointed and isolated” kitchen space.

Cook and Anderson sought the help of architect David Anderson to recalibrate the layout so that the area connected more organically with the rest of the home. “[David] is really talented when it comes to spatial planning,” says Anderson. “The flow and layout were greatly improved by his contribution.” Considering the large size of the home, all the interior and exterior gut renovations took around 18 months to complete.

The kitchen is rather a source of pride for Anderson, who was able to tick off one of his “design bucket list” items by cladding the entire kitchen in marble. “Ten slabs of honed Mont Blanc were used to cover three of the four kitchen walls,” he says proudly. “This was a very stone-heavy project—24 slabs in total were used throughout the renovation, and you can see more stone walls in the bar and scullery. Four slabs alone were used to create the fireplace mantle [in the living room].”

In fact, it’s a close tie between the kitchen and living room for Anderson’s favourite space, with the latter allowing Anderson to incorporate the aforementioned Mont Blanc stone fireplace alongside other statement pieces. “I love the scale of the room and the natural light, so I was able to create a really beautiful, functional layout using sculptural pieces from really talented manufacturers.”

In addition, Cook gave Anderson free reign to create a few custom metal designs for the kitchen and foyer. “I was able to take some artistic liberty, which was exciting new territory for me,” he shares “I’ve been exploring metal fabrication for a couple years and was able to apply some great custom metal designs. The vent/range and the Sub Zero enclosures were both custom designed and fabricated out of raw waxed steel.”

Anderson also played a hand in choosing some of the art, such as the wooden wall sculpture, Butte I, in the dining room, which was crafted in collaboration with a woodwork artisan in Memphis.

On the whole, the refined and modern interiors are a source of pride for the designer, who has elevated the southern home into something personal for the owner. “The home strikes a balance between contemporary and classic that feels both elevated and welcoming,” he explains. “The environment is grand, but not intimidating. I wanted there to be a familiar air in this new, pristine environment by strategically incorporating a selection of antique objects throughout the home.”

It’s a sentiment that was underscored by Cook’s amazed reaction when she stepped into her newly renovated home. “She was truly blown away that this was the same home,” says Anderson. “Not a lot changed structurally, but the home took on a completely new life, completely catered to her aesthetic and lifestyle while still honouring the prior structure. I don’t think she expected for the home to evoke the emotions it did. I still hear from her regularly about how much she loves it.”