Chateau Monroe

05 Mar Chateau Monroe

Once upon a time, there was an abandoned house on Monroe Street in Nashville.  It had become quite sad, with people coming in off the streets to get out of the weather and use the facilities. I wouldn’t call it an ugly duckling from the outside because it still had character.

But it had definitely seen better days.

Even so, real estate investor Cindy Maxwell could see the possibilities and soon after she started dating someone special, she made another commitment.  She said yes to this house. Obviously, Cindy has vision and knew this would take some elbow grease.

It meant gutting the downstairs and removing the existing upper floor but clearly this mother of seven has patience.

♥

The plan was to modernize this 1900’s house so Cindy and her  new husband Kent Maxson could live downstairs and turn the upper level of the house into a Vacation Rental by Owner or commonly known as a VRBO.  With a blank slate upstairs, you can see how this evolved, but wait til you see it completed!

This bright and trendy feeling upstairs with a definite nod to Music City can now sleep twelve people and has a full kitchen with a large upper terrace that adds even more room for guests to enjoy when the weather is nice. It has its own entrance for guests with parking in the back and a lower level porch too.

 

Here’s a look from the street at the side of the house.

Cindy and her songwriter husband, Kent Maxson, who she calls Max, have added so many clever touches, from a special guitar guests can play…..

To a music themed headboard in one of the three specially appointed guest rooms. And each bedroom has its own en suite modern bathroom.

 

Carefully selected accessories add so much charm to each room.  All the tile she used in the upstairs and downstairs, as well as the flooring came from Floor & Decor located in Antioch.

There’s also a sleeping loft you reach by a spiral staircase. Here’s a shot taken during the construction.

And today! A double bed with four twin beds adds room for six more people.  Obviously you’d want to bunk up here with good friends or family, right?!?

It’s so cozy.  It’s my guess they’ve had a few bachelorette parties here and guests who enjoy music.

But there’s more.   You have to see the before and after photos to appreciate the downstairs renovation where the couple lives full time.

 

The quartz island and cabinets came from Markraft.  Cindy ordered the faucets from Wayfair.  And the glass tile is beautiful with a 3D looking style. It, like the rest of the home’s tile, came from Floor and Decor.  Cindy and Max cook a lot and enjoy entertaining in this large open kitchen.

It’s a thoroughly modern and well appointed kitchen with all the bells and whistles.

Even though the couple repurposed old timbers and kept some of the house’s original woodwork and an exposed brick wall, it has all the amenities of a modern, smart house that allows them to control lighting, the thermostat and locks on doors while they’re at home or away.

Max even has his own high end audio mixing board in an office where he can work his magic.

He’s quite the award winning songwriter. See that gold record on the wall?  That’s a Gold Record for his hit single, “From Where I’m Sitting,” recorded by Gary Allan.

Garth Brooks says, “The real deal…Kent Maxson is all about the music. What you see is what you get…and you’re going to love it.”  Wow. Here’s his new CD.

Between Max and Cindy, there’s a lot of creative talent in this home.

And they’ve got room for you, too, if you’re looking for an escape to their urban Chateau on Monroe. Maybe you could even get Max to pick his guitar. Maybe.

 

Thanks to Cindy and Max for opening their home and VRBO to Stylish Retreats.  What a great couple with a very cool space they’ve created.