photograph by stephanie rawlinson
A formal dining room is set off by Maggie Clarke Interiors with a light and bright blue tone called “quietude.” Traditional furniture complements the family’s curated antiques.
Once upon a time, a pandemic wreaked havoc upon the land and all its supply chains. And while the health threat may never leave us entirely, the good news is that now, four years later, supply chains have apparently rebounded. At least that’s the word in the home remodeling business, according to Ryan Anderson, president of RKA Construction.
“There was a period during and immediately after Covid where almost everything was impacted,” he recalls. “It was difficult to maintain project schedules. But in the last six to 12 months, we have definitely seen more normal lead times. It’s much easier for us to maintain reasonable timelines now than it was a few months ago. On the other hand, while we have seen a leveling of prices for construction materials, there has not been any significant price reduction.”
Even with the high costs, homeowners are breathing a sigh of relief, happy that the raw materials for their home improvement dreams are available again. And, according to Anderson, Memphians are following those dreams more than ever, albeit with a few changes in priorities since those days of lockdown.
photograph by julie wage ross / ross group creative
Maggie Clarke Interiors excels in the use of vintage twentieth-century elements.
“Certainly some trends that came out of Covid sort of stuck, while others were maybe just a blip,” he says. “We did a lot of home offices and home gyms and things like that during Covid, and as people have gone back to a normal routine, those things have gone down the wish list a little bit. Other things, like outdoor living spaces, are as popular as they’ve ever been. There was a demand uptick through Covid for those and that’s that stayed pretty strong. We still get a lot of calls for screened porches and outdoor kitchen areas. Also, porches with fireplaces and heaters and other amenities like that, so they can be utilized more throughout the year, are popular.”
photograph by julie wage ross / ross group creative
A “sunny traditional” approach to a remodeled bathroom by Maggie Clarke Interiors “which brought it back to a more classic design that will stand the test of time.”
One can only speculate about the pandemic’s impact on other, more subtle trends in home interior design, but perhaps health concerns led to the wave of interest in very antiseptic-looking kitchens a few years ago. “A lot of the kitchens we were doing featured white cabinets and white countertops,” says Anderson. Nowadays, tastes are moving in the opposite direction. “We’ve definitely seen more of a shift toward more natural materials like white oak, and toward darker and moodier colors, like darker greens, darker blues. Designers are putting some more color into their spaces than they were just a few years ago.”
This applies to more than kitchens. Color is flowering in myriad ways as homes are given a new look that harkens back to traditional approaches. “We’re also seeing a lot of wallcoverings now, so that goes along with this theme of more color,” he notes.
Memphis, of course, has a plethora of classic homes where such old-school flourishes can really shine. And perhaps such approaches never really went away here. According to Anderson, the classicism of so many Memphis homes makes for less dramatic swings in preferences than other locations might experience.
“If you do use an antique, that’s one less thing that has to be made, and less material. It’s reducing and reusing. Most of the fabric vendors we buy from are really big on that, especially within the past year. It's eco-friendly, better for the environment.” — Maggie Clarke, Designer
“Memphis is historically a very traditional town,” he says. “Some of the trends that you see in other markets doesn’t have as much of a foothold here. But there is a lot of design talent in Memphis and I think Memphians in general have really good taste. So you do see some of these classical details in the houses that we build, and it’s stuff that will remain timeless. We’re not going to be going in there in two or three years and changing it up, necessarily. I’d love to do that, but I also appreciate doing something that is timeless.”
photograph by julie wage ross / ross group creative
A dining room in Collierville sports “the perfect fusion of modern touches in a historical space.”
A classic approach, according to Anderson, requires an uncompromising attention to detail, including “the cabinetry and millwork, the trim details, the type of hardware that’s put on the doors and the cabinets, and the type of light fixtures that may be used. In the end, it results in a really nice product that’s very comfortable, very livable, very warm, and can remain current for a long period of time. And we’re lucky to get to work with a lot of really good designers who are mindful of that approach.”
One such designer is Maggie Clarke, who’s very aware of the need to harmonize new designs with an older home’s aesthetic. “I have seen a trend within the design community of trying hard to create a space that goes with the era that the house was built in,” she says. “For example, we just did a house in Midtown, probably from around 1910. But there was a fireplace put in later, probably in the ’90s, and it didn’t have a mantel or a surround. To make it look like original to the house, we had our trim carpenters match the crown molding and replicate that on the fireplace mantel. And we chose a tile that was the same size and shape as something that you would find in the early 1900s. And I can tell other designers — not just in Memphis but all the ones that I follow on Instagram — are really trying hard to be true to the home’s history.”
In that context, the vagaries of remodeling fashions may not even apply. “I’ll be honest with you: I don’t like the word trend,” admits Clarke. “I just encourage my clients to buy what they love. If they truly love it, they’re going to love it for the next 10, 15, or 20 years.”
photograph by julie wage ross / ross group creative
A pool area was reimagined by Maggie Clarke Interiors in the “sunny traditional” style.
Having said that, Clarke notes that more and more homeowners are embracing classicism, and it has enough momentum that many are calling the trend Grand Millennial. As she explains, “Millennials that grew up in the 1980s and ’90s are bringing back the floral wallpapers and the pleated skirts on their sofas.”
That suits Clarke just fine, and she relishes searching for vintage furniture to complement that tendency. “We go to High Point, North Carolina, every spring, which is considered the vintage capital of the world. Most designers go there once or twice a year to source not only old furniture but lighting and new furniture as well.”
Beyond that, Clarke adds that furniture restoration is also a big part of her work. “We use Blake Soule a lot. He is a master of antiques. He can basically fix anything, and he’ll be able to tell you whether something’s worth repairing or refinishing or not. We recently had a client in Midtown who inherited a truckload of antiques. Blake met me over there and went through them, saying, ‘Yes, redo this one, redo this one.’ He redid them and repaired them, and they look like they’re brand new. They still look antique, but without a scratch. They’re perfect and they’re beautiful. We also use Wilson-Babb Upholstery for vintage upholstered pieces.”
Finally, all aesthetics aside, Clarke notes another unexpected benefit from embracing vintage elements in home design: less waste. “If you do use an antique,” she says, “that’s one less thing that has to be made, and less material. It’s reducing and reusing. Most of the fabric vendors we buy from are really big on that, especially within the last year. It’s eco-friendly, better for environment.”
The same goes for buying quality furniture versus buying from a big-box store, just in terms of all the waste. “The big box store furniture doesn’t last years and years,” she says. “So instead of buying a new sofa every 10, 15, or 20 years, we recommend that you use the same frame but just reupholster it. At Maggie Clark Interiors, we want to sell our clients furniture that’s going to last forever and that can be handed down to future generations.”
