In Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick’s North Carolina Home, Southern Hospitality Meets Modern Charm

The home was, decidedly, not love at first sight for Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick. "One of the rooms had caved in; there was water pouring in through the ceiling," Decker says of the first time the couple saw the Charlotte, North Carolina, Georgian-style house.But even in its dilapidated state, the 1960s-era home was still intriguing: It was located in the favored neighborhood for the young family, and its traditional, elegant proportions were still evident through its disrepair. At first it was Roddick, the former number-one men's singles tennis player, who urged Decker to keep the house on their short list. Soon model and actor Decker, who grew up in nearby Matthews, warmed to the chance to rehabilitate a proper Carolina home with details like dental crown molding and classic brick. “We’d moved so many times [before this house],” she says. "And we were excited to try something new. For us, that meant a historic house with some old Southern bones."

In the entry, Roddick is seated on a vintage sofa covered in a Zak and Fox fabric. Decker stands next to the walnut staircase built by Masterpiece Staircase and finished by Tony Montognese. The custom chandelier is by Kalin Asenov, the rug is vintage, and the artwork is by Kieran Brennan Hinton.

The family’s living room, clad in mahogany paneling, is Decker and Roddick’s favorite space in the whole home. The fireplace was designed by Decker, fabricated by Tyler Ernsberger, and stained by Tony Montognese, with animal carvings done by Stan Dunham. The 1930s coffee table is by Paul László, and the light fixture is a vintage Longobard for Poliarte. The chairs, clockwise from top right, are by BDDW, vintage Swedish sourced from PRB Collection, and a vintage Guglielmo Ulrich Decker in the living room.

The home’s foyer received the biggest glow-up, with the staircase being entirely redesigned from a curving one. Chandelier and flush-mount light designed by Decker and Kalin Asenov, sideboard by BDDW, the mirror and sofa are vintage, millwork by Bill Truitt Woodworks (with finishes by Tony Montognese), and the walnut flooring is by Richard Marshall Fine Flooring.

Decker and Roddick were no strangers to home renovation, but as evidenced just from their first walkthrough, this latest undertaking would be on a scale they had not yet explored. The home had been little touched since its construction in 1964, and the couple would only be the second owners. Aside from obvious fixes like leaking ceilings and sagging floors, the layout, which was chopped up into a warren of tight quarters, needed a full gut to allow the space to breathe and gain more light. “We were parents of two young kids,” Decker says. “So the question was, How do we respect the grandeur of the house but also make it feel hospitable to a young family and one that can live up to the demands of everyday life?”

The dining room shows off many of the home’s thematic colors, including red, yellow, and green. Drapery fabric by Kravet, the pink chairs are vintage Kerstin Hörlin Holmquist, dining chairs by Studio Valle de Valle, antique farm table sourced from Obsolete, painting by Tyler Buck Guinn, and the pendants are by Of Enso, made with a vintage silk gingham from Decker’s personal collection.

The first-floor front room continues the nature theme thanks to its hand-painted custom mural. The sofa is a vintage Carl Malmsten upholstered in a Rose Uniacke fabric; the blue club chairs are vintage and sourced from Eneby Home; the leather chair is a vintage Hans Wegner; coffee table designed by Decker and fabricated by Dunham and Ernsberger Custom Cabinetry; and the armoire is a vintage walnut wet bar sourced from 1stDibs.

The kitchen hall’s allover paneling was fabricated by Bill Woodworks and installed by Blockhaus. Flush mounts by The Urban Electric Co.; the painting is a vintage William Skilling; sideboard by Bicyclette; and the rug is vintage found on Etsy.

The kitchen is painted in a muted shade of Decker’s favorite color: green. The double islands were designed by Decker and Dunham and fabricated by Ernsberger Custom Cabinetry; the pendants are by Roman and Williams Guild; the fittings by Waterworks; and the painting is an antique signed by Adelaide Briggs.

To help with the transformation, the couple engaged both Ruard Veltman Architecture for the architectural design and Stanwick Dunham for contracting. The group transformed the nearly 7,000-square-foot structure into a home that celebrates its lineage without being mired in the past. Nowhere is this effort more evident than in the gracious entryway, whose original carpeted staircase curved up from stark black and white tiles. And while that design wasn’t in poor taste, its severity read as both formal and cold. The solution was twofold: both to square-off the staircase and to clad the entire area in rich walnut paneling. The result not only allows sunlight to flow down from the second story, but showcases warm millwork. “We wanted it to look like it predicted our arrival, and also be a bit more humble in its materials,” Decker says.

Another view of the bedroom spotlights the family’s dog finding his light. Art by Tyler Hays Studio, nightstands by BDDW, vintage daybed from 1stDibs, and the vintage chair is sourced from Evan Reid.

The couple's closet displays shoes almost in a museum-like setting, inside an antique French shoe cabinet sourced from 1stDibs. Ottoman from John Derian, the paint color is Farrow & Ball White Tie, and the chandelier is from RH.

For the home’s interior design, Decker had no need of hiring a professional: She’s become a decorator herself. Over the last six or so years and mostly by word of mouth, the actor has spearheaded a variety of design projects (her latest, along with her design partners at By Idiots, being the interiors of Intown Golf Club’s new properties in Houston and Raleigh). For her family home, the letter was to keep the Georgian influence while updating the aesthetic. And it remains an evolving one: “Whenever I see that furniture dolly out, I know I’ll be involved at some point,” Roddick says.

Decker achieved the cozy yet elevated mix through color, using muted shades of green (her color), red, blue, and yellow; wallpaper with natural images like leaves or rivers; and plenty of vintage patterned rugs to soften up the wooden floors. “It was originally old English meets early Georgian meets Shaker,” she says. "But when our kids became older, we really wanted to incorporate and take seriously what they wanted. Because, how cool to be eight and actually have something say in the space around you? So now the house is a hodgepodge of explosive color, a lot of which is totally inspired and dictated by them."