5 Design Tips We Learned From Kelsea Ballerini's Nashville Home

Kelsea Ballerini's home is the perfect representation of the award-winning country singer: welcoming, fun, and full of personality. From the custom dining table perfect for game nights to the patterned wallpaper adorning her office or her tearoom, Ballerini isn't one to shy away from a bold design choice.

"I think your home should reflect you," Ballerini says. "For me, I love to have a space where people feel like they don’t have to take off their shoes, but they can if they want to. Come over in your sweatpants and if you spill wine, that’s okay, nothing’s going to ruin the space. I wanted something that reflected that kind of energy."

With the help of her interior designer Lindsay Rhodes, Ballerini transformed her new build home into a personalized oasis.

"I love the idea of collaborating on rooms because if I just walk into a white room, I don’t know how to make it cool," Ballerini explains. "I love working with someone like Lindsay who does know how to make it cool, and then having an opinion amongst that."

Though it's hard to pick a favorite part of her space, here are the five design takeaways we learned from her stunning home. Bookmark this for your next renovation!

1. You Can Never Have Too Much Velvet

Kelsea's home has no shortage of soft and cozy fabrics from a green velvet stuffed chair in her office to a curved velvet sofa in her tea room to a velvet sectional in her living room. The wealth of textures makes the home extra inviting.

"It’s interesting when you have kind of a big, white room, how do you make it feel like you can cozy up in the corner with a book?" Ballerini asks. "That was kind of our challenge, but I think we did that by using darker colors and those textures and kind of overstuffed furniture and that kind of stuff."

2. Add Inspiration Everywhere

Kelsea's office boasts many accolades, including a CMT Artist of the Year trophy, but tucked up on one of the shelves is a piece of artwork with a simple phrase, "Be who you needed when you were younger." By Nashville brand Old Made Good, this picture struck Kelsea immediately.

"I just feel like I often do a lot of work in therapy and whatnot to connect with my younger self," Ballerini says. "I feel like when I have high moments in my career or low moments in my personal life, I’m always just thinking about that: be who you needed when you were younger. I like having it up here with all of this other stuff because I feel like it's grounding."

3. Embrace Family Heirlooms

Nothing makes a home feel cozier than family treasures, whether it's a handwoven blanket or a special piece of artwork like this fruit basket still life by Kelsea's grandfather.

"He painted some beautiful, beautiful portraits and landscapes," Kelsea explains. "When he passed, everything got divvied up, and I picked a couple. I loved the smaller ones and just having them around the kitchen and the pantry just makes me happy."

4. Be Bold With Lighting

Kelsea isn't afraid of a statement piece, including this gorgeous gold light fixture she affectionately refers to as "a taco."

"There’s a couple light fixtures that we kept from the builder that were really beautiful, but that one Lindsay added in as a really focal point in the middle of that room," Ballerini explains. "It looks like a museum piece or something, like a sculpture."

5. Build in Areas for Hosting

Though the house was a blank slate when Ballerini bought it, she could tell it had potential for wonderful get togethers.

"I love the big island in the kitchen, and I love just having areas where people can spread out and hang out," Ballerini says. "We can hang out outside, in the screened porch, or the tearoom, or here, or the island. There’s a lot of space for a lot of people, which was definitely important to me."