Written by Cindy Podurgal Chambers
Clarksville, TN – “Our whole purpose in life is to entertain,” Jim Vickers says firmly. The home he shares with partner Brian Schafer is a testament to that philosophy. Burnished antiques, vintage table settings, and a glowing fireplace reflect a time when entertaining was an art, rather than a chore.
Brian echoes his sentiment of overdelicate finger sandwiches and dainty cups of perfectly brewed tea. “I don’t think Jim could thrive without entertaining. He has a gift.”
The couple boasts the perfect setting to display that gift: Their Clarksville home has welcomed guests for nearly three-quarters of a century. Designed by architect Clarence Speight, who also developed the historic Glenwood district adjacent to Madison Street, the 4,000-square-foot house originally included only two bedrooms. Every other foot of the “Hollywood Regency”-style home – from the cozy walnut-paneled family room to the chandelier-draped living room – was created to wrap visitors in indulgent luxury.
In a home built to impress, first-time guests might easily feel intimidated. But Jim and Brian work as a team to ensure that visitors are both comfortable and catered to. “People have different kinds of spiritual gifts,” says Brian. “The gift of hospitality is ours.”
Hospitality starts with making guests feel special and “extremely privileged,” Jim says. They learn their guests’ preferences, whether it be their favorite hand-crafted cocktail or a meatless meal.
They choose a small mix of talkative people with something in common, often placing food on several tables so guests can move and mingle while they nibble. In warmer weather, the party flows from tree-shaded patio to family room with ease.
The home’s unofficial “chef de cuisine,” Jim chooses a main dish for a seated dinner based on seasonal offerings or – he adds with a smile — “whatever’s on sale at Kroger.” He typically prepares a simmering roast or stew that allows him to leave the kitchen and join the conversation.
Brian is the chief baker, turning out everything from hand-decorated petit fours to rich pound cake topped with fresh strawberries. The pair work together to create tablescapes – Brian arranges the perfect floral displays while Jim selects from a vast collection of treasured dinnerware, crystal, and linens. The final effect is a blend of casual elegance steeped in tradition.
Jim says that tradition reflects his mother, Dorothy, who shared the sprawling home with his father Hubert. “My mother had tremendous style, and was always elegantly dressed. She taught me the art of entertaining.”
Jim started hosting dinner parties while still in high school at the newly opened Clarksville Academy, bringing ideas inspired by family trips to “museums and estate sales and fabulous old homes and restaurants,” both domestic and abroad. One of those restaurants was his father’s own local dining landmark, the Gastronome, where Jim worked and became “a doer of all.”
That combination of early training and innate creativity led Jim to initially study Art History at Austin Peay State University. A self-professed dilettante, he ultimately took classes in “everything he could” and graduated with a degree in Philosophy. From there, he worked as a high-end wallpaper specialist for many years. He met Brian, an Indiana native, in Nashville in 1998. They were soon sharing a five-level, mid-century modern home in the city.
How the pair came to own the home in Clarksville is a story both personal and poignant.
“My parents’ historic home on Franklin Street was destroyed in the tornado of ’99,” Jim recounts.“ This house was on the market, and besides being easier to navigate with just one story, it was perfect for their social lifestyle. It took a while, but I finally convinced them to buy it.” Jim’s mother immediately put her impeccable taste to work, furnishing the home, decorating it with a mix of family heirlooms and timeless treasures acquired on her travels.
Tragically, Dorothy passed away in 2015 after a sudden illness, and the very next day, Hubert was diagnosed with dementia. Jim and Brian made the decision to move in to care for his father until he died just five years later.
Little has changed in the house since then. Collections of everything from porcelain dogs to silver services top inlaid tables; petit point designs grace stately dining chairs; marble busts of Romeo and Juliet perch on matching marquetry pedestals; stunning ceiling medallions surround crystal chandeliers that glitter like hundreds of candles.
The home seems perfect for the pair. One of its most unique features is a walk-in bar just off the chef’s kitchen. What started as a former owner’s photographic darkroom now resembles an exclusive speakeasy, with gleaming red lacquered wallpaper, a gold foil-dappled ceiling, framed vintage liquor ads, and black-and-white photographs of Hollywood royalty.
Hundreds of bottles and glassware of every description bear witness to Jim’s reputation as a gifted and gracious mixologist.
Work is also underway in several rooms to repair the damage from straight-line winds that sent giant branches crashing through the roof in March of 2023.
Restorations will follow a time-honored formula: Furnish with the perfect blend of provenance … and people. In the home of Jim Vickers and Brian Schafer, history truly loves company.
