We are so honored to feature this space on the blog today! Elsie and Emma recently attended the grand opening of The Russell, a gorgeous new boutique hotel in Nashville. This isn’t any ordinary hotel—it’s actually housed in a 115-year-old building that began as a church and they support an amazing cause (more on that below). The original stained glass windows are SO incredible, and it’s such a colorful, bright, and magical space.
Here’s what it looked like before:
Keep reading to learn more about the space (and see some amazing photos) from Brittany Wilson, the hotel manager.
“The entire design of The Russell was based on and inspired by the stained glass windows in our lobby! We knew when we saw them we wanted them to be the cornerstone of the entire design process. They are incredibly unique, with custom stained glass created in Venice, Italy.
We cleaned them and kept them exactly how they’ve always been, designing the rest of place around them.
The most difficult part of converting a church into a hotel was that our building is located in the historic neighborhood of Edgefield in East Nashville. This building has been a part of this community for 115 years, so we wanted to make sure we heard and worked alongside the neighbors in the area while planning out The Russell. Once all of the planning was finished, the hardest part during construction was all of the hidden costs that came up throughout the project that we needed to do to preserve as much of the history and structural integrity of the building as possible.
However, both of these “most difficult” parts of this process were so worth it. We firmly believe that not just being in, but being a part of the East Nashville community is worthwhile. Our building has served the East Nashville community by providing refuge, safety, and belonging to people in need. We love this legacy and believe in continuing it, which is why we decided to expand our Rooms for Rooms program to The Russell.
We give away a generous percentage of each night’s stay to local nonprofits who are helping those experiencing homelessness here in Nashville. All of these organizations love Nashville’s homeless community by providing a safe place to find relief, resources, and the support of a community. The average weekend stay provides one of the following options:
-6 nights in a bed
-100 free showers
-30 free meals
We love that The Russell turned out so colorful and full of character; it’s unlike anywhere else.”
If you’re in the Nashville area, you have to visit! We’ll definitely be back. xo.
16 Comments
This is INCREDIBLE. I can’t stop looking at the images and drooling. I need to stay here ASAP.
K A T E L A T E L Y || fashion & lifestyle blog
http://www.katelately.co
I actually thought the space looked good before – now it looks even better! Love the refresh! ❤️✨
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I am obsessed with these tapestries. Do you know the artist?
Here’s her IG!
https://www.instagram.com/smellby/
Absolutely gorgeous!
It’s incredible!! We are in Columbus, OH and def adding this to the must-visit list. Thank you for sharing it with us!
Those stained glass windows are absolutely stunning. They did such a great job preserving them & creating a welcoming space around it!
The design elements of this space are amazing!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
The church pews turned headboard+nightstands is absolutely brilliant. Complete with integrated outlets. Amazing.
Also I need that rainbow bubble light fixture for my office/studio.
o my gosh look at all those colors! Thanks for sharing, cannot wait to stop by!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com/
Before we had kids, we’d drive to Nashville for long weekends of music and cruising East Nash before it got fancy’fied. But we’d sit in front of that church with the sales flier and daydream what we could do. They created our wildest dream come true ❤️❤️
Wow. My best friend and I take a trip together every year and we have been looking for some fun new locations…. this is definitely being added to the list! Thanks for sharing!
Wow!! This place is absolutely stunning!!! It fuels my desire to travel to Nashville even more!
I love the nod to its former occupation as a church and its reinvented colorful new self! Awesome in every way!
Could I ask where you those colorful rugs underneath the beautiful stained glass are from? Those are so lovely!
They used the old pews as part of the bed frames…????????????????????????!
Remarkable.