You Would Never Guess That Inside This Tennessee New-Build Hides an Authentic Irish Pub – Designer Marie-Joe Bouffard Created the Entire Home Around It

From the outside, this new-build home in the rolling hills of Arrington, Tennessee, looks as though it has been sitting in the landscape for decades. Stone, timber, weathered finishes and a palette that echoes the surrounding countryside give it an established, storied quality. And indoors, that sense of soul continues – all the way through to the Irish pub. No, not a 'pub-inspired room', but a genuinely authentic Irish pub, hand-built in Ireland and shipped over to Tennessee.

'It all started with the pub,' says designer Marie-Joe Bouffard of JFY Designs. When the homeowners suggested that a quintessential Irish pub should sit above the garage, Marie-Joe met this idea with pure excitement. What followed was a home designed around a family of five, with space for extended family and friends, hidden nooks for the children and, importantly, a sense that nothing should feel too shiny or new. The couple wanted a house that felt as though it had evolved rather than been built in one go, so they layered in reclaimed woods, vintage and patinated materials, antiques, and pieces with a sense of history. The result is a playful home that manages to feel both wonderfully old and very much of its time.

The biggest challenge was making a brand-new home feel as though it had a past. 'We created a sense of history and permanence by layering materials and details that felt as though they had evolved over time rather than being chosen all at once,' she explains. Marie-Joe describes the homeowners as 'somewhat maximalist when it came to charm, storytelling, antiques, and lived-in elements,' with a style that fuses historic-traditional and industrial in a 'playful and organic way.' Even the materials in the home have a story: walnut from a tree on the property became the floating staircase treads, while the husband made its metal components himself. 'It not only felt very intentional and meaningful,' says Marie-Joe, 'but the two combined turned out beautifully and are truly the focal point of the front hallway.'

The same thinking shaped the furniture and decorative layers, with vintage pieces treated less as finishing touches and more as essential ingredients in the story. There was plenty of treasure hunting along the way – sometimes hours on the phone with the clients, sending finds back and forth and imagining where they might belong. 'The antique pieces add the story, the spunk, the character to the space,' she says. 'A key to designing for timelessness is weaving new with old.' It’s this mix that stops the new architecture from feeling too pristine: contemporary elements are softened by timber, patina and pieces that already have a life of their own.

For all the thought that went into making this new-build feel as though it had grown organically from its surroundings, the most unexpected part of the brief was laid out from the very beginning: an authentic Irish pub above the garage. The idea grew from the homeowners’ love of Ireland, but it was also a deeply personal project – an homage to the husband’s great-great-grandfather, who came to the US from Cork, and a tribute to the couple’s own love story. Even the pub's name, 'The Master Plan', nods to the life they have built together. Marie-Joe describes the clients as 'dreamers' ('no idea was too lofty!') and the pub set the tone for a house designed around family, entertaining, and the things that genuinely mattered to them.

Naturally, they didn’t stop at making it look Irish. The pub was hand-built in Ireland by The Irish Pub Co., with everything shipped over in sections, while the furniture, fabrics and accessories were carefully selected to recreate the authenticity of a traditional Irish pub. Inside, the walls are adorned with family photos and sketches by an Irish artist of every pub the couple has travelled to. 'It is built with true authenticity to the pub culture and layouts of Ireland, featuring a Slide Snug, Whiskey Snug, Open Snug, and Bed Seat,' she continues. The result is a long way from a glamorous home bar.

Back inside the 'main house', as Marie-Joe describes it, the entry immediately shifts the mood from the grandeur of the exterior to something much more relaxed and lived-in. A long, weathered console topped with substantial ceramic lamps, a softly patterned runner, and a mix of antique timber pieces give the space an easy, collected feel, while the tall black-framed arched glazing and custom staircase add a more architectural edge. 'Because the treads float, we utilized the space underneath the stairs for a little vinyl nook, so right off the bat, you have an entrance with a surprise and a deeper meaning than what first meets the eye,' she adds.

The house then opens up into its impressive central axis, where the kitchen, dining room and living room flow together beneath the vaulted ceiling. It’s a generous space, but Marie-Joe was careful to make sure all that volume still felt like somewhere you’d actually want to settle in – helped by the long stone wall that runs through the main hall and anchors the rooms. In the kitchen, pale cabinetry and quartzite counters keep things light, while warm walnut shelving, brass hardware and the mossy green range bring in plenty of character. 'The little eating area off to the side' is one of the designer's favorite details, with a vintage Belgian table and petite banquette creating a relaxed spot for the children right beside the action. 'We envisioned this space for the three children to have a charming space of their own near the kitchen,' she says, 'as we all know, everyone gathers there.'

Tucked just off the main kitchen, the scullery has a slightly more practical feel while still carrying the warmth of the rest of the home. Cream cabinetry, open shelving, and dark countertops create a calm backdrop for an eclectic collection of earthenware, glassware and everyday pieces. The room was actually designed around an antique 1800s French farm table – exactly the kind of characterful find that helped give this new home its collected feel.

The dining room makes the most of the home’s setting, with fifteen-foot windows framing the rolling hills and pond beyond. 'The room called for a round table with a large, curved banquette,' Marie-Joe explains, before revealing just how seriously they took the hunt for the right finishing piece: 'I think we spent two years hunting for the perfect antique vitrine cabinet.' Set against the stone wall beside the double-sided fireplace, that beautifully weathered cabinet is almost as much a character in the room as the view.

On the other end of the kitchen, the living room has a more relaxed mood. 'Despite the height of these spaces, I would argue that because of that stone wall, there is a sense of a lived-in footprint that makes each space cozy and inviting,' Marie-Joe continues. She deliberately kept the room comfortable rather than overly precious, using performance fabrics alongside a vintage leather chair and a contemporary take on the classic wingback. 'This room invites leisure,' she says. A pair of black-framed metal dividers, made by the husband himself, separates the kitchen from the living area, adding just enough edge to the otherwise warm, layered space.

The primary bedroom takes the palette in a quieter direction, with soft creams, warm taupes and muted natural tones allowing the sculptural four-poster bed to take center stage. The restrained scheme feels particularly restful against the greenery beyond the black-framed windows, and is part of the wider approach to using color as a way of connecting the interiors to their surroundings. 'Greens play a huge role throughout the home,' she explains, noting that the intention was to 'blend with the landscape' – while the creamy white used elsewhere in the house, Piano Room by Portola Paints, adds subtle texture and the feeling of something gently weathered. Here, that quieter palette lets the architecture and views do the talking.

The children’s rooms take the home’s more neutral palette and give it a playful little twist, with soft blues, muted pastels and plenty of pattern. 'We layered deep blues and taupes as well as muted pastels for the kids’ spaces so that they felt youthful in a subdued way rather than sharp and bright to ensure there was a timelessness,' she explains. In one, twin beds are paired with vintage-style trunks and a soft paneled backdrop, while a built-in bunk room turns bedtime into something of an adventure, with a world map covering the walls and a cozy reading corner. 'They truly wanted to lay a foundation that would allow their children to fully be children,' Marie-Jo adds.

As you move through the house, you'll find the 'homework hall' – a space between the kids' bedrooms designed as a dedicated spot for creativity and schoolwork. Three vintage schoolroom desks sit beneath a chalkboard, while the walls are finished with thin-plank wainscoting that gives the space a cozy feel. A slide leads down to the children’s secret playroom, where wallpaper continues across both the walls and ceiling, creating an immersive little world below. 'These two rooms with the slide exemplified the couple’s intent to build a home that paved the way for all of the chapters of childhood, and that really meant a lot.'

The bathrooms blend the same old-meets-new sensibility with a little more drama. In the powder room, a beautifully irregular stone basin sits atop an antique wooden vanity, while a deep green mural gives the tiny space an indoors-outdoors feel. 'The home comprises an amalgam of layers, from textures to patterns, to pieces new and old,' Marie-Jo notes. The main bathroom takes a more contemporary approach, pairing a moody dark tub and warm timber vanity with pale tile and a generous black-framed glass enclosure that brings in those 'touches of modernity and a little bit of edge,' she was hoping to achieve.

For all the unexpected reveals and beautiful rooms in this Tennessee home, some of its best details are the ones you might miss at first glance. Marie-Joe's approach was to think about 'each individual element and piece, and how they all come together,' creating a home that feels cohesive despite the fact that its furnishings, materials and architectural details were accumulated through years of treasure hunting. And that is ultimately what makes the house feel so much older than it is. 'The patinas and stories behind each piece are what makes this home so special,' she adds. From the materials pulled from the local surroundings to the antiques, treasures and an entire Irish pub, every element has a story to tell.

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