“Those little unexpected moments take a house and really make it a home.” “It’s very much the highlights and the details: the hand-painted floors, murals, hand-painted medallions, and wallpaper,” says Jason. It’s touches like these, along with Jason and John’s exuberant use of pattern and color, that bring the home to life. The living room has plenty of spots to sit or set a drink, and the card table in the corner encourages guests to play a hand or two. “We don’t ever do spaces that we don’t use,” says Jason. Jason and John are also consummate entertainers and devised spaces that are guest-worthy but still comfortable enough for them to just kick back with the dogs. They took cues-and used actual pieces-from the homes of legendary tastemakers such as Bunny Mellon, C.Z. “In addition to making a home feel livable, we really want to create a storyline and sense of history,” says John. They also brought a historical perspective to the design. Once they were securely below the Mason-Dixon Line, the couple got to work bringing the home “back to its heyday” and adding their signature whimsical style. So they put their Brooklyn brownstone on the market, packed their three dogs in the car, and headed south. “It feels like it’s been plucked from the edge of Regent’s Park in London, and that’s very much our sensibility and style,” says Jason. But it was the charming 1930s Regency Revival home they found that sealed the deal. They’d been visiting High Point, NC, for the past 20 years to attend the biannual design market, and they decided this could be a place where they could get involved and help the community flourish. They felt that it was time to downsize, city-wise. After 27 years in Brooklyn, Jason Oliver Nixon and John Loecke, the designing duo behind the celebrated firm Madcap Cottage, were ready for a change.

Madcap cottage collection