Apartment Tour: A Great Find

Devan Netcott Brings His Talent Home

By Charlotte Atchley • Photos by Jennifer Kettler

With 24 years of experience in floral arrangements and now employed as a designer at Petals For You, Devan Netcott has a natural eye for decorating and his design process is simple. “I find things that I like, and I make them work,” he says. 

His talent for combining found pieces is evidenced in the eclectic and cozy apartment above O’Donoghue’s Steak and Seafood that he shares with JJ Williams. The apartment is filled with contrasts—an ornate coffee table stands before a sleek neutral couch and shares the living room with a zebra print chair. His grandmother’s tarnished silver adorns a wall in the dining room. Netcott confesses he kept the tarnish for two reasons: the antique look it gives the pieces and because he didn’t want to have to polish them.

Even the apartment was a great find for Netcott, one that he stumbled across when he wasn’t looking. Four years ago, Netcott and Williams, an employee at O’Donoghue’s, were living in Columbia and commuting to Jefferson City for their respective jobs. Out of curiosity, Netcott toured the apartment above the restaurant one day when he heard owner Juanita Donehue mention the space was available for rent. The apartment was so unique and perfect that Netcott and Williams decided to move.

“There is really nothing like this in Columbia,” says Netcott. “I thought this would be really cool.”

The building, built in 1895, was originally occupied by the Kaullen Mercantile Company. Juanita and Sam Donehue purchased and restored the building in 1998, creating three apartments upstairs and turning the lower level into the restaurant. 

Although their Columbia home reflected contemporary style, Netcott decided this apartment called for a cozier feel that showed off his eclectic taste and better fit the historic setting. 

“Ninety-percent of everything came from Petals for You,” says Netcott. Most of the remaining items come with a story, much of them belonging to Netcott’s grandmothers. Among Netcott’s family pieces are several Victorian chairs and a red quilt. He turned basic household items that were once owned by his grandparents, such as an antique inkwell and the crowning adornment from a broken lamp, into display pieces now housed in an entryway curio. 

Netcott inherited one of his favorite pieces, an abstract painting, “Cock Fight,” from his grandmother. The vibrant colors and theme of the painting inspired the décor for the entire kitchen.

While the painting in the kitchen may be Netcott’s favorite piece, the living room is his favorite place. “I just feel good when I’m in there,” says Netcott. The space presents design challenges: Three walls are open, leading into adjacent rooms, and windows occupy the fourth wall, leaving little area to set furniture against. To address the issue, Netcott angled the furniture, saying the angling not only makes use of the space but also gives the room more interest. 

Despite the randomness of the pieces, the décor does not clash or feel thrown together. Netcott attributes that to the unifying effect of the color red. Dark red the dominant color in every room of the apartment, popping up in pillows, blankets, curtains and upholstery and bringing the whole home together. 

The apartment comfortably mixes Netcott’s flair for style and history, but it’s not just the interior that Netcott appreciates. One of the best views in Jefferson City, the apartment gives him a great vista of the Capitol building. The Donehues’ investment in the building has improved the surrounding neighborhood over the past 10 years, and Netcott’s niche makes an appropriate statement, an eclectically chic transformation.

“I didn’t think I would leave Columbia,” says Netcott. “I didn’t think a place like this existed in Jefferson City.”