The property in Nashville has plenty of outdoor space, parking for a lot of cars, and even a lookout tower
It would seem obvious that country music legend Kenny Chesney knows a bit about tractors since he wrote a hit song entitled “She Thinks My Tractor Is Sexy” and owns a 56-acre estate in Franklin, Tennessee. According to the six-time Academy of Country Music Award winner and four-time Entertainer of the Year, he has two of them.
“I think he liked his tractors so much that he took them with him,” explains the realtor to French King Fine Properties Laura Stroud, who is listing Mr. Chesney’s spectacular Nashville-area home with colleague Lisa Wilson.
It is reported that Chesney, 53, purchased the Tuscan-style villa in 2009 for $9.25 million as a spec build. The building was designed by Nashville architect Brad Norris using some of the most authentic materials available by builder Jimmy Franks of Old South Construction, called Bella Luce, Italian for “beautiful light”.
There’s 150-year-old brick and stone on the exterior walls and Santa Fe clay barrel tiles on the roofs. The interior has reclaimed walnut floors, hand-carved Mesquite-wood doors, and massive cedar and Douglas fir exposed wood beams.
“What makes my heart sing are the exquisite Venetian plaster walls throughout the entire house,” adds Stroud. “It involves a remarkably time-consuming, and expensive, process where several layers of plaster are hand-troweled and then given a wax finish to produce this beautiful luster and sheen.”
Obviously, security and privacy were the original attraction of the property for a high-profile artist like Chesney. A half-mile-long driveway leads to the stunning, brick-paved circular motor court of the tree-shrouded home off Franklin’s Lake Valley Drive.
According to Stroud, Chesney quietly acquired additional plots for added privacy and investment over the years after acquiring the estate. “If a buyer wanted to, there are parcels that could be developed and sold off while still keeping the property as a very sizable estate,” she says.
There are four elevator-connected floors in the home, which totals over 12,000 square feet of living space. There are two 25-foot-high limestone fireplaces on each end of the main ground floor, which feature soaring beamed ceilings, giant wrought iron chandeliers, and giant chandeliers. The home’s spacious yet cozy kitchen/dining room/family space features a marble-topped island, professional-grade appliances, and a stone fireplace with an archway leading into the space.
You’ll also find the stylish master suite on this level, which features wooden beams, vaulted ceilings, and Romanesque stone pillars, along with a sitting area, a dressing room, and French doors leading to a private patio.
On the second floor, you will find three more ensuite bedrooms with balconies overlooking the grounds, each with its own balcony. The whimsical lookout tower offers 360-degree views all the way to Music City. One more elevator ride up brings you there.
A state-of-the-art gym was built in the cavernous 2,538-square-foot basement area, which Chesney dubbed “the fittest man in country music.” There are also oversized leather recliners in the movie theater, billiards room, and elegant office spaces with built-ins and arched glass doors that open onto covered terraces in the main house.
A saltwater pool with a waterfall feature, a covered outdoor kitchen, and covered terraces total over 3,000 square feet. “The outdoor spaces are truly exceptional,” details Wilson. “Because the home sits on a hilltop, the views across the meadows to the large pond are spectacular. There is a real feeling of peace and serenity here.”
Chesney built a detached four-car stone garage in addition to the existing attached six-car garage. He also added two 500-gallon fuel tanks for his tractors and his collection of cars.
Stroud describes the estate as “a little slice of Tuscany less than 20 miles from downtown Nashville. While there are other large estates in the area, none have this level of character, this kind of architectural style, and this much over-engineered quality.”
