Tish Cyrus Gives AD a Tour of the Cyrus Family's New Nashville Home

Carson Griffith
Updated

Tish Cyrus is known for a lot of things these days: She juggles a career as a television and film producer, while managing the career of her youngest daughter, singer Noah Cyrus. She's the mother to international pop sensation Miley Cyrus and the wife of multiplatinum recording artist Billy Ray Cyrus. And as of late, she's one half of Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design and Conquer, the interior design competition reality show.

But the mother of five admits that she hasn't always had an eye for design. "When Billy Ray and I first got married, we lived in a frame house in Kentucky, and I didn't even know you could get drapes made—I used to get drapes from Dillard's," she laughs. "Once I hired a designer to help decorate that house was when I discovered a passion for designing. Billy Ray was always on the road; I was always alone with the kids, and it gave me something to focus on. I became very close with the interior designer."

Viewers have been able to watch Cyrus flex those self-developed interior design skills since May, when her show first premiered on Bravo. But the basic premise—Cyrus and her oldest daughter, Brandi, take on interior design clients and compete against each other to see whose design the client likes best—of the show is rooted in actual reality. Take the fourth episode, for instance, when the mother-and-daughter pair teamed up to renovate a dilapidated barn that belongs to the Cyrus family. The final result: a guest house for Miley when she returns to Nashville from Los Angeles. The project wasn't just for show (or, the show, for that matter), but part of the Cyruses' renovation of the Nashville property they purchased approximately a year ago.

"It looks really small from the outside, but the whole thing opens up," Tish Cyrus says of their new Nashville home.
"It looks really small from the outside, but the whole thing opens up," Tish Cyrus says of their new Nashville home.

The family originally owned a 500-acre-farm in Thompson's Station, which is about 30 miles south of Nashville, but the property practically sat empty for over ten years. "When we moved to Los Angeles to do Hannah Montana, we only got back to the farm three times in ten years. It kind of just sat there," admits Cyrus. "We were just so busy. We didn't have time. I always told my family, to me interior design and how my house feels is like their music. But my husband hates change, so he never let me redo it! So I said, if you don't let me do it, I'm going to have to find somewhere else to live without you!"

Billy Ray, however, finally gave in to his wife's wishes. She had been eyeing a small house with a barn closer to the city for quite some time, and despite it not having a "for sale" sign, she decided to drive her husband by the property one day. "It's the weirdest story," she says. "He knocks on the door, and the house is empty. He asks a couple of neighbors and they say it was for sale, but the sign is down."

The couple soon became the proud owners of the 1,200-square-foot 1940s home, but had a lot of work to do: The house had been purchased by the previous tenants to flip it, but "it was not done well at all," Tish confesses. "Most everything, every material, needed to be replaced." This included the kitchen backsplash, the kitchen island, and the hardware throughout the house.

TK CAPTION
TK CAPTION
The kitchen needed some serious work, including a new backsplash, hardware, and kitchen island.
The kitchen needed some serious work, including a new backsplash, hardware, and kitchen island.

The house, which is now 3,000 square feet and five bedrooms including the guest barn, underwent a full renovation. The deck is now a screened-in porch, which sports one of Tish's favorite attributes: a huge tile wall she personally designed. "People walk up and are like 'Whoa, that is so cool!'" she says.

But perhaps the biggest undertaking was Miley's barn. "When my husband suggested redoing it, I was like, there is no way!" Cyrus exclaims. "There floors were dirty; there was no flooring at all; and I thought the contractors were going to say we had to tear it down. But we ran the plumbing and we ran the electrical." It wasn't that easy, however. The city of Nashville then told the family that any property with electrical and plumbing would need to be attached to the main house, which resulted in them physically picking up the barn and moving the structure. "I was so upset! It was literally during the winter and the ground was saturated!" she says. "I was watching on Facetime because I had to be in L.A. for The Voice with Miley, and they couldn't even gaurantee it was going to work. But as much of a pain in the butt it was to move, it actually turned out amazing with the breezeway you can walk through."

Cyrus says Miley's guesthouse was decorated to be particularly "spunky," just like her daughter. "It's so cozy, and the loft is all lit with twinkle lights," she gushes.

As for the rest of the house, she used a mix of online vendors, such as Chairish, Etsy, and One Kings Lane, as well as vintage and local stores. "Nashville has grown so much and there are so many unique, cool boutiques popping up around. When I lived there 15 years ago, there was only one store to shop for furniture and accessories," she says. "I was actually out with Miley shopping for clothes for The Voice when I ran across a vintage midcentury chair for what we call the television room." Her favorite purveyor for vintage goods: Savant Vintage in the 12South neighborhood of Nashville.

See How Tish Cyrus Transformed Her Family's New Home Base

"It looks really small from the outside, but the whole thing opens up," Tish Cyrus says of her family's new Nashville home.
"It looks really small from the outside, but the whole thing opens up," Tish Cyrus says of her family's new Nashville home.
"I am huge on rugs, they are literally some of my favorite things ever!" Cyrus says. "Like everyone, I'm obsessed with Moroccan rugs." Chairish or Etsy are her go-tos for Moroccan and antique Moroccan rugs.
"I am huge on rugs, they are literally some of my favorite things ever!" Cyrus says. "Like everyone, I'm obsessed with Moroccan rugs." Chairish or Etsy are her go-tos for Moroccan and antique Moroccan rugs.
"I like things to be white with pops of color," says Cyrus.
"I like things to be white with pops of color," says Cyrus.
"Because I did every single thing, every single piece of hardware, the house is truly so special to me," says Cyrus.
"Because I did every single thing, every single piece of hardware, the house is truly so special to me," says Cyrus.
"Even the little pieces of art have a theme of Nashville!" Cyrus says.
"Even the little pieces of art have a theme of Nashville!" Cyrus says.
Tish replaced all the tile on the front entryway.
Tish replaced all the tile on the front entryway.
The kitchen needed some serious work, including a new backsplash, hardware, and kitchen island. The cabinets were freshened up with a new paint job.
The kitchen needed some serious work, including a new backsplash, hardware, and kitchen island. The cabinets were freshened up with a new paint job.
"I have always loved to go the Parker in Palm Springs, and I loved this "Drugs" sign. It was a real pharmacy sign, and I thought that was so cool that it was original from the '30s. It's one of my favorite pieces in the house," says Cyrus about the custom item. "Things like that, I just loved, and I always knew I wanted it in my house."
"This was all me," Cyrus says. "I did ask Brandi for advice." Another mostly white guest bedroom is offset with a colorful vintage rug.
"This was all me," Cyrus says. "I did ask Brandi for advice." Another mostly white guest bedroom is offset with a colorful vintage rug.
"My children are my life," says the mother of five. Memorabilia of her loved ones' careers are strewn throughout the house. On the mantel: images of her husband, Billy Ray Cyrus.
"My children are my life," says the mother of five. Memorabilia of her loved ones' careers are strewn throughout the house. On the mantel: images of her husband, Billy Ray Cyrus.
An outdoor sitting area and fire pit can be used nearly year-round, but for colder weather, the family screened in the attached deck.
An outdoor sitting area and fire pit can be used nearly year-round, but for colder weather, the family screened in the attached deck.
Upgraded light fixtures and hardware throughout the house gave the home, which had been "flipped" by the previous owners, a more luxurious and customized feel.
Upgraded light fixtures and hardware throughout the house gave the home, which had been "flipped" by the previous owners, a more luxurious and customized feel.
The barn was decorated specifically for Miley as a surprise, to serve as a place to stay when she returns from Los Angeles. The aesthetic? "Spunky," just like her, according to her mother.
The barn was decorated specifically for Miley as a surprise, to serve as a place to stay when she returns from Los Angeles. The aesthetic? "Spunky," just like her, according to her mother.
The formerly 1,200-square-foot home has been upgraded to 3,000 square feet, and now has five bedrooms and four baths.
The formerly 1,200-square-foot home has been upgraded to 3,000 square feet, and now has five bedrooms and four baths.
Tish says she has yet to sleep in Miley's "barn," but it's so cozy, complete with a kitchen area and bathroom, she can't wait to try out the loft.
Tish says she has yet to sleep in Miley's "barn," but it's so cozy, complete with a kitchen area and bathroom, she can't wait to try out the loft.

Perhaps the piece that is dearest to her isn't newly acquired, but one that came with the couple from that original frame house where they first lived in Kentucky. "Truly, if I had one piece that is special, it is the Native American art. It is from when Billy Ray and I first got married, and he paid so much for that piece of art that I couldn't believe it at the time," she says. "It meant so much to him because he's always had such a passion for the Native Americans, and it was the centerpiece of our very first home. It's kind of come full circle for me, for it to now be in this home, too, that I've designed myself."