estled in the foothills of the Berkshires, Kate Figler’s hometown of Kent, Connecticut, radiates early New England nostalgia, from the pre-Revolutionary colonial that now houses the Kent Historical Society to the old Fife ’n Drum Restaurant and Inn on Main Street.
The Fife — a bustling, multi-generational family business founded by Figler’s grandfather, Juilliard-trained pianist Dolph Traymon — gave Figler her first job. Back then, working in the restaurant was a bummer that ate up school breaks and summers. But now, Figler sees the line that led straight from that kitchen to her own business, design firm Kate Figler Interiors.
“I’m so grateful,” says Figler, who now lives in Nashville and designs homes across the U.S. “It is the most practical education, I think, in terms of running a business. I mean, I’m ultimately in client services at the end of the day.”
The Fife ’n Drum embodied (and embodies) high-touch client service. Figler’s dad, George Potts, once told a local magazine how Kate and her sister Sarah got a quarter docked from their pay every time they failed to greet a customer and shake their hand. They learned the lesson well, he said. The family business always beamed creativity and conviviality too. For decades, diners ordered and ate while Traymon made the Steinway by the bar sing. Today, Potts plays guitar for the Fife faithful.
Figler took it in and took it all to heart, from creative passion and personal attention to the classic design aesthetics preferred by her grandmother Audrey Traymon and her mother, current Fife ’n Drum proprietor Elissa Potts.
“My grandmother was very formal, very traditional — you know, silk draperies and tassels on everything,” Figler says. “My mom also loves very traditional, sort of British design. So I feel like that tradition, that love of antiques and traditional florals, that definitely is in my DNA. But at the same time, I love to bring in more whimsical aspects too.”
– Kate Figler
MIXING CLASSIC AND COLORFUL ON ENSWORTH
That particular push and pull — the pendulum swish between genteel chintz and playful prints — comes through comfortably in Figler’s recent top-to-bottom design for homeowners Brian and Amanda Tolbert.
The couple wanted their stately estate on Ensworth Place in Nashville to reflect a love of traditional architecture and design. They needed it to accommodate a busy schedule of entertaining friends and family. And they hoped it would radiate the fun energy of their two boys, while giving Amanda’s love of the color green a place of prominence.
“That was the starting point for us,” Figler says, “along with knowing (Amanda) had a painting in her dining room that we were gonna want to display. So we started with, ‘OK, there’s a little pop of yellow, some
blues, some greens, some purple.’ And we started weaving those colors throughout the home.”
The butler’s pantry, color-drenched in high-gloss green, makes a statement against the elegant dining room, framed by classic floral drapes. In the kitchen, green pendants pop against light cabinetry, warmed up by unlacquered brass. In the scullery, Inchyra Blue from Farrow & Ball makes functional fun.
It feels personal but timeless, and that’s intentional.
“We tend to lean in classic directions,” Figler says. “I always want to use a finish that people have used forever.”
WELL-CHOSEN WHIMSY
These entertainment-centric spaces were key to the project’s success. Like Figler, Amanda Tolbert grew
up working in a family restaurant. So, like Figler, Tolbert has a heart for hospitality.
“That was such a fun connection,” Figler says. “She loves to cook and entertain, have people over to her house. It’s one of those ‘door’s always open’ sort of houses. So making sure that the kitchen and scullery were not only highly functional but inviting and warm — that was definitely top priority.”
Each room came through embodying livable luxury, and like many Kate Figler designs, with a bit of well-chosen whimsy, mostly around the walls.
In the powder room, tiger illustrations prance on grasscloth. In the boys’ baths, bold prints that they helped choose add youthful energy that’s grounded by classic tile choices.
“I would wallpaper every room in every house if I could,” Figler says. “I think it is one of the most transformative things you can do to a room.”
One of the designer’s favorite touches in the Ensworth house, though, is purely classic, harking back to New England.
Since the house Figler grew up in had no air conditioning, doors were louvered to let air flow freely, adding function and form in equal measure. The Ensworth property sits a long way from the coast, but between the shimmering pool and the sun-seeking architecture, it invited more splashes of easy, breezy energy. And Figler knew just how to engineer it.
She added louvered details to the home’s exterior, carrying the texture through into the mudroom, adding interest and allowing “the interior and the exterior to speak to one another.”
“It reminds me of sleeping in the heat of the summer,” Figler says, thinking back on childhood, on Kent, on family and the Fife ’n Drum. “It’s the ocean air, flowing through the louvered doors.”
