Another Round

A new build in Nashville offers a toast to unconventional touches- including a hidden Irish pup.

- Meghan Shouse

DINING AREA

Under a 23-foot vaulted ceiling that stretches over the open-plan living room and kitchen, Marie-Joe Bouffard of JFY Designs set apart a dining area using custom banquettes and a round table.

Table: Branch Home. Rug: Fibreworks. Chairs: Hickory White. Hutch: vintage.

DESIGNING A brand-new home to feel lived-in is complicated, but it's a request Marie-Joe Bouffard commonly hears from clients.

Creating an attached Irish pub-and making it look and feel coherent with the rest of the home-was an entirely new challenge. When the founder of JFY Designs sat down with her clients-a family of five who had relocated from California to Nashville-the husband's first order of business was clear: He told her, "Driving through the Irish countryside, you'll suddenly come across what looks like an old house-but it's actually a pub. That's exactly the feeling I want." Always ready to try something new, Bouffard and the homeowners hired an Irish Pub Company consultant to advise them on, and source items for, the project, complete with a whiskey snug and vintage cash register. "Everything was shipped from Ireland and then installed in place," Bouffard says, from wall cladding to furniture.

Positioned above the home's attached garage, the bar, named The Master Plan, connects to the house via a set of stairs and a narrow hallway.

There, ancestral photos and an antique sconce create a transition from family home to fun hangout.