After 25 years of working and living in New York City, creative multi-hyphenates Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke were ready to make a significant change. Hoping to move somewhere warmer, more laid-back and less overpriced, they ventured south in search of a new home.
They made frequent trips to High Point, a small town in North Carolina that’s a one-hour flight from NYC and is dubbed the furniture capital of the world by the American media.
The High Point Market is the country’s largest furniture trade show that attracts design professionals and aficionados to make a bi-annual pilgrimage to the otherwise sleepy town in April and October in search of the freshest pieces and the rarest vintage.
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Jason and John have been making that trip for more than 15 years. On one of their trips to the city in 2014, the couple hunted for a house and stumbled upon a 5,000 sq ft white brick 1930s regency revival house situated on almost 1ha of land with a meandering stream straight from their dream.
Partners in both work and life, Jason and John are interior designers, product developers and authors who practise under the banner of their studio, Madcap Cottage.
AT A GLANCE
Who lives here: A couple in their 40s and four dogs
Type of home: 1930s regency revival landed home in High Point, North Caroline, USA
Size of home: 5,000 sq ft
ID: Madcap Cottage
“We knew at once that we had unearthed the next Madcap marvel,” shares Jason. “Being diehard Anglophiles, we immediately fell under the spell of the home’s plucked-from-across-the-pond sensibility. The place appear to have stepped straight out of Bath, England, thanks to its elegant proportions and gracious flourishes.”
They bought it for one-sixth of the price they got for selling their Brooklyn townhouse, piled their four pound-rescued dogs into their Subaru, bid NYC adieu and spent the next year renovating the home they christened The Bedlam House.
Originally designed by North Carolina architect Louis Vorhees in 1937, it featured three bedrooms and four bathrooms with darling details like the Greek key pattern that wrapped the grand living room’s mantel and fluted mouldings.
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It had also undergone multiple, ill-considered renovations by previous owners that included fluorescent lighting and a dropped ceiling. Jason and John removed these unfortunate ’90s additions and returned the 1930s era home to its roots while adding heaps of prints, pattern and colour – a Madcap signature.
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“It’s traditional, but with a twist,” says Jason. “Luxury is not about money or labels; it is about the experience. Luxury is celebrating a life well-lived.” The result is an unabashedly exuberant home that showcases the couple’s design practice. Each room is a tribute to their favourite icons of influence.
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The stunning foyer, for example, features hand-painted walls and a ceiling inspired by British muralist Rex Whistler, all of which complement the room’s restored hand-painted floor.
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In the living room, low-slung vintage furnishings, red-lacquered secretary and antique Nicols rugs are paired with bespoke Gracie Studio wallpaper with varnished papers that date from the home’s 1930s origins and are a nod to Anglo-American interior designer Nancy Lancaster.
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The dining room is inspired by the Gritti Palace Hotel in Venice, where the Murano glass chandelier is paired with floral wallpaper and custom fretwork, all in a rich, pastel palette.
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The kitchen is wrapped in tiles a la 18th-century Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England.
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The pistachio green, lattice-clad sunroom tips its hat to English fashion photographer and style icon Cecil Beaton’s Wiltshire country escape.
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The striking sunroom features a latticed ceiling and Madcap Cottage fabrics.
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The master bedroom upstairs features a medley of prints, courtesy of linens from the Madcap Cottage bedding collections and inspired by the historic Kelmarsh Hall in the UK.
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The canopy bed was acquired from the estate of late, old-Hollywood actress Joan Fontaine.
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The settee and bathtub clad in decorative panelled timber in the master bathroom.
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The powder room features Asian-themed wallpaper and knick-knacks.
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Of all these names, Jason and John are most proud of the antique furniture pieces by Otto Zenke, an NYC native and a prolific interior designer with a distinct style, who was, unfortunately, not widely documented, making him a hidden gem of sorts in the history of American interior design, who moved to High Point in 1937. His vibe was a mix of tradition and theatre, the historic and the high-flying.
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Here, Otto’s works pepper the house from the gilt-glazed shell sconces in the master bathroom, a rolled-arm bench in the bedroom to sconces in the foyer, a painting in the basement and a mirror in the living room. Touring the home, one would never run out of things to talk about as the interior is a constellation of influences the owner-designers treat like old friends.
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And it is no wonder that the house is featured heavily in Jason and John’s latest book, Prints Charming by Madcap Cottage: Create Absolutely Beautiful Interiors with Prints & Patterns. Five years after settling into their new home, Jason, John and dogs Weenie, George, Cecil, and Amy Petunia have gone native.
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A series of framed old prints against a red background creates a striking visual in this corner of the study.
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The charming bay window at the study.
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“We are happy, the dogs have a yard, and the business is flourishing. John has taken up saying ‘y’all’ and, ‘bless your heart’, and I have taken to drinking sweet – well, half and half – tea. We have also opened a design studio up the road and dove head first into home renovation,” shares Jason.
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They also love visitors. “Come visit. We love guests,” he adds, “There’s always a bottle of rosé – or six – chilling in the custom refrigerator. Crank up the Nonono, turn on the disco ball and let’s kick up our heels. It’s time to pump some blood.”
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