Decades before she would ever hold the keys, Callie Khouri drove past the charming Tudor-style house in Nashville almost every day. Long before she penned the Academy Award-winning screenplay for Thelma & Louise or created the Emmy-winning television drama Nashville, Khouri was simply an admirer of the historic structure’s storybook facade.
"I just looked at it and thought, ‘Boy, I want to go in there someday,’" Khouri recalls.
That "someday" materialized years later, after a successful return to Music City to helm the very television series she named after it. Following two seasons of temporary hotel living, a "For Sale" sign finally appeared in front of the historic property. Her real estate agent offered a word of caution, warning that behind the quaint exterior lay an architectural layout that was exceedingly particular. Khouri’s response was immediate and resolute: "Well, I’m kind of a very particular person."
Today, the residence is shared with her husband, legendary producer, songwriter, and multi-Grammy winner T Bone Burnett—a longtime collaborator of Bob Dylan and the sonic mastermind behind landmark cinematic soundtracks including O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain, Walk the Line, and Crazy Heart (the latter of which earned him an Academy Award to match his wife’s historic win).
Following a meticulous two-year renovation helmed by local designer Roger Higgins and architect Blaine Bonadies, the house has been transformed into an artistic sanctuary. It is a space where music history lives, where a lifetime of collected treasures are proudly displayed, and where Academy Awards stand sentry on mantelpieces.
Main Facts: A Collaboration of Preservation and Provenance
The historic Nashville residence bridges a century of American architectural heritage with the eclectic, highly curated tastes of two titans of the entertainment industry. Spanning multiple levels, the home features preserved 1920s craftsmanship, meticulously restored woodwork, and a rich, autumnal color palette.
Key details of the property include:
- Historic Wallpaper and Millwork: The home retains its original hand-blocked Zuber wall covering (Les Côtes de Villefranche) in the living room, alongside original ceiling paneling, leaded glass windows, and ornately carved mantels.
- The Creative Team: Interior design was spearheaded by Roger Higgins, whose background in historic preservation guided the project, working in tandem with architect Blaine Bonadies.
- Art and Accents: The residence showcases extensive collections of contemporary and vintage art, including works by Larry Poons and John Mellencamp, alongside a formidable display of the couple’s collective Grammy and Academy Awards.
- Custom Craftsmanship: Bespoke elements, such as custom brass and stainless-steel range hoods, antique gas-lamp-inspired lighting, and specialized paint finishes, were commissioned to ensure the house feels as though it has evolved organically over generations.
Chronology: From Daily Drive-Bys to a Two-Year Masterpiece
The 1970s: The Infatuation Begins
Long before Hollywood fame found her, Khouri frequently passed the Tudor-style house during her daily routines in Nashville, planting a decades-long seed of architectural admiration.
The Return to Music City
Decades later, Khouri returned to Nashville to produce her hit television series. After enduring two years of hotel living, the property unexpectedly hit the market. Khouri seized the opportunity, acquiring a home that matched her distinct aesthetic sensibilities. She was soon joined by Burnett, and the pair began conceptualizing a comprehensive transformation.
The Two-Year Renovation Process
Partnering with designer Roger Higgins and architect Blaine Bonadies, the couple embarked on a rigorous, two-year restoration. Their shared goal was not to turn the home into a pristine, untouchable museum, but rather to honor its English structural bones while modernizing its functionality for daily life.
Walls were re-imagined with rich lacquers and artisanal wallpapers; historic details like swinging doors were converted to pocket doors to maximize spatial efficiency; and lighting was carefully redesigned to banish harsh recessed fixtures in favor of dimmable, ambient glows reminiscent of "magic light from nowhere."
Supporting Data: Design Elements, Materials, and Provenance
The interior architecture relies heavily on rich textures, historical reverence, and deeply personal artifacts gathered from the couple’s previous residences and professional sets.
- Living Room: Anchored by the original Zuber wall covering, the room features walls painted in Sherwin-Williams’s Favorite Tan, vintage Fortuny window panels, and chairs upholstered in Scalamandré fabric. A George Smith sofa upholstered in Mark Alexander blue velvet shares the space with a tufted leather ottoman brought from Khouri’s former Santa Monica home.
- The Library: Covered in Morris & Co.’s Snakeshead wall covering above quarter-sawn oak paneling, the room features a fireplace surround lined with reclaimed glazed brick from Atlanta’s Architectural Accents. The intricate mantelpiece, discovered by Burnett, frames the couple’s Oscars on either corner.
- The Dining Room: Higgins lacquered the walls in PPG’s Amaretto and applied hand-laid gold leaf to the ceiling to capture and amplify candlelight. Dining chairs were reupholstered in Moore & Giles Burnham leather in Sunflower, complemented by Jim Thompson drapery trimmed with Samuel & Sons cordage.
- The Kitchen & Utility Spaces: Featuring marble-topped islands and custom brass-and-stainless-steel ventilation hoods, the kitchen maintains a rustic, functional charm. An adjoining utility kitchen serves as a functional throwback to historic country-house larders.
- Offices and Studios: Burnett’s downstairs workspace functions as an acoustic sanctuary, featuring green-painted bookcases lined with his collection of Grammy Awards, vintage tube recording equipment, a historic turntable, and a striking painting by musician John Mellencamp. His upstairs office is anchored by Art Deco rosewood chairs and a desk acquired from the Nashville Antiques and Gardens Show.
- Primary Suite & Bathrooms: The primary bedroom utilizes Sherwin-Williams’s Escape Gray to bring the garden’s outdoor palette inward. The primary bath exudes grand-hotel luxury, featuring Calacatta Regina marble surfaces from Renaissance Tile & Bath, a Maidstone Marella soaking tub with California Faucets fittings, and a hand-painted Capo di Monte fruit bowl sourced locally.
Official Responses and Creative Philosophy
The philosophical core of the renovation centered on the idea of continuity. Rather than imposing a modern, trend-driven aesthetic onto a historic shell, the design team focused on uncovering and respecting the narrative already embedded within the walls.
"What do you do when you get handed that?" designer Roger Higgins remarked regarding the home’s robust English architectural framework. "You go to William Morris, and it always looks like the right answer."
Higgins described his role not merely as an interior designer, but as a puzzle solver. "Sometimes I feel like I’m not as much a designer as somebody that works puzzles," he noted, emphasizing that success meant achieving a final product that looked "like maybe it was always like this."
For Khouri, every salvaged piece represents a commitment to the home’s history. Whether repurposing an old roofline to frame a garden gate or insisting that the irreplaceable century-old Zuber wallpaper remain untouched, her philosophy is rooted in preservation.
"Anything I can do to keep every little piece that was here, I do," Khouri said.
Implications: A Blueprint for Historic Preservation and Artisanal Living
The successful revitalization of the Khouri-Burnett residence offers a compelling counter-narrative to modern architectural trends that favor demolition, open-concept minimalism, and sterile smart-home automation. By demonstrating how historic architecture can be thoughtfully updated for contemporary living without erasing its past, the project serves as a masterclass in adaptive reuse at a residential scale.
Furthermore, the home highlights the enduring cultural intersection between Nashville’s physical spaces and its creative class. Long known as a crucible for musical storytelling, the city is increasingly recognized as a haven for artists who value historical provenance, material authenticity, and craftsmanship. In preserving a 1920s Tudor home and outfitting it with decades of collected personal history, Khouri and Burnett have created more than a comfortable dwelling—they have crafted a living monument to artistry, where the echoes of cinematic and musical history resonate in every room.
