Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler Procure Tony Hobby Farm Near Nashville

Just weeks after reality television veteran and neophyte lifestyle maven Kristin Cavallari and professional footballer Jay Cutler listed their nearly 20,000-square-foot Nashville area mega-mansion comes word they’ve substantially downsized to a luxuriously appointed hobby farm near the tiny, celebrity-favored village of Leiper’s Fork just outside Franklin, Tenn., about 30 miles southwest of downtown Nashville.

By Mark David  LOS ANGELES (Variety)

Online resources, including the eagle-eyed property gossips at Realtor.com , indicate the couple shelled out $4.23 million for the unquestionably plush but casual, family-friendly farmhouse-style mansion and the ten acres it sits on while additional online resources suggest the Cavallari-Cutlers spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 million more for approximately 35 additional acres of mostly wooded surrounding property.

Cutler, who last quarterbacked for the Miami Dolphins during the 2017 season on a one-year, $10 million contract, and Cavallari, who got her showbiz start as a teenager on the pioneering reality series “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” and, after a not particularly successful stab at being an actress and, while still in her late 20s, a 2016 memoir titled “Balancing in Heels,” has dipped her toe back into the reality TV pond with the currently airing unscripted series “Very Cavallari” that documents the opening a brick and mortar version of her online retail shop, Uncommon James , in Nashville’s fashionable Gulch district.

Presiding over the high point of a low, sun-bathed hill that gives the property it’s whimsically pretentious name, Highbrow Hill, and where it benefits from serene, wrap-around views over the rolling landscape, the 10,307-square-foot, porch-fronted mansion — roughly four times the size of an average American home — comfortably sleeps up to sixteen in eight bedrooms with eight full and two half bathrooms. Presented with the relaxed allure of a traditional farmhouse but proportioned more like a suburban macmansion and outfitted with a laundry list of up-to-date creature comforts, the home features lustrously polished hardwood floors, rugged, rough-hewn ceiling beams, reclaimed wood plank paneling, and unfussily elegant traditional ceiling moldings and mill work.

A deep, wrap around porch is a quiet spot from which to look out over the rural spread and the front door opens to an interconnected series of open-plan living spaces that include a generously wide entrance hall lit by a delicate crystal chandelier. A music room is perfectly proportioned to showcase a baby grand piano; the large living room is anchored by a homey, raised hearth stone fireplace between built in bookshelves atop firewood storage bins; and a spacious dining area that easily accommodates a dozen flows right into an arguably somewhat compact country kitchen outfitted with dark, faux-distressed wood cabinetry and a butcher block topped center island under a trio of pendant lights crafted from rusted milk pails. There’s also a dining porch with built-in grill and a finished lower level contains a recreation room with wet bar as well as an en suite bedroom suitable for overnighting guests or live-in domestic help.

Guest, family and/or staff bedrooms are spread throughout the house — one of them includes a private sitting room — and the exceptionally expansive master suite, more than big enough to accommodate numerous sitting areas, occupies a private wing on the upper floor under a steeply vaulted ceiling lined with wood-paneled ceiling beams. Completely open to the bedroom, a windowed alcove holds a freestanding, copper soaking tub and a fully tiled, multi-head shower space is flooded with natural light through a round window while, instead of a more customary and prosaically practical chair or stool, a dressing room lined with mirrored wardrobes features a rope swing with a narrow, wood plank bench hung from the ceiling in front of a hair and makeup vanity.

 

A plethora of porches and terraces amid verdant gardens give way to scenically sloping fields and a tranquil pond encircled by thick woods. The property also offers a large tree house, a raised bed kitchen garden, an equestrian barn and fenced pasture, and, for the amateur farmers in the Cavallari-Cutler family, a chicken coop, a goat shed, and a sheep barn.

Other showbizzers who maintain country spreads in the Leiper’s Fork area include Justin Timberlake and country music royals Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Naomi, Winona and Ashley Judd all maintain homes in the area as do Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman who have their nearby rural retreat of nearly 36-acres up for sale at just under $3 million after first giving it an unsuccessful go last year at close to $3.5 million .

The Cavallari-Cutlers former residence, a 25-room Mediterranean influenced behemoth with seven bedrooms and ten bathrooms on about 8.5 acres in the wealthy, semi-rural suburbs south of Nashville, was acquired by the couple in 2012 for $5.3 million and currently available at $7.9 million .

Listing photos: Zeitlin & Co. (via Zillow)