Rod Henson is a songwriter and salon owner. His backhouse does have a hair-washing bowl, but it functions as a music studio. So ladies, please don’t show up. While Henson works out of his eponymous East Memphis salon, his Hein Park Tudor home does act as a salon. But only when defined as “an assembly of guests in a fashionable household.”
Henson and his husband, Chad, moved from Germantown to the historic property in 2018. They were first attracted to the architecture of Hein Park and eventually fell in love with the true sense of community. “People take pride in their homes. It’s a walking neighborhood. We are connected both to Rhodes and the V&E Greenline.”
“As we walked through initially, I thought, I know how to live in this house,” he says. His goal was to create defined, unique spaces in each room. His dining room table would fit perfectly, and there was room for a piano in the bar room. The formal spaces are all downstairs. This means upstairs: “My bed is unmade right now.”
It started as a restoration project, but not in the gut-job sense. Rod and Chad are only the fourth homeowners since the house was built. Everyone who has lived there has been an actor, musician or somehow affiliated with the arts. The couple still uses two skeleton keys that open every internal door throughout the house. “The house was built in 1923, and I wanted to honor that,” he says. The previous owners took down all of the crown moldings. He would soon change that.
Rod tapped longtime friend and interior designer Cindy Owen for the move. “She helped me create continuity. I love color so much,” he says. “I needed her to connect all of the dots. Cindy has taken all of my pieces and helped me elevate every room." Rod selected Schumacher’s Lotus Flower wallpaper in the entry foyer. It extends to the second-floor hall. “It was an investment. And then I learned it was created in 1923. It was my gift back to the house,” he quips.
“There were two things I always wanted in life as a gay man – a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens and a formal living room,” he says. “And now I have both.”
The curved living room sofa is a family piece from Chad’s grandmother, Shorty, who owned a hair salon in Senath, MO. They recovered the zippy mauve piece in a moody blue. The room has a mix of art deco, mid-century and chinoiserie accents- which feels like the inhabitants have grown up in the house from the beginning.
The music lounge and bar might house the most interesting pieces in the home. Rod has lugged the 66 Rock-Ola Jukebox to “every crappy apartment he ever lived in,” he notes. Chad built the bar out of burned pine wood. An accent table made from a vintage marching band drum has found its home, too. A trophy case highlights Chad’s career as a third-generation race car driver and Sprint car owner.
Rod sold a baby grand piano to make room for a 1923 (yes, 1923) American-made, red Naugahyde piano. He pulled into a Habitat for Humanity ReStore on a whim, thinking he would find some windows. The studded piece is now perfectly situated for songwriting and singalongs.
If this room description makes you think of Elvis, you are on to something. Actress Cybil Shepherd’s grandmother lived in the home. As the urban legend goes, Elvis would climb up to the second-story bedroom for a visit with Cybil. That room is now husband Chad’s current closet.
“A modern adaptation of an old home- it can be done right,” Rod remarks. “And these spaces now inspire all of my creative pursuits.”
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“There were two things I always wanted in life as a gay man – a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens and a formal living room,” he says. “And now I have both.”
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“A modern adaptation of an old home- it can be done right,” Rod remarks. “And these spaces now inspire all of my creative pursuits.”
