Text: Blake Miller
Photos: David Christensen
From the water, you could barely see the house. Overgrown rhododendrons, vines, and pine trees were so tall that just the top floor of the wooden structure could be seen from Lake Rabun. Built in 1982, the home had been the centerpiece for the family of four siblings and their immediate families for decades. The small, unair-conditioned four-bedroom cottage could only accommodate so many, but the family would make do—taking advantage of the screened-in porch or throwing down sleeping bags anywhere they could find space inside. “It gave us a place to all gather as a family,” says the wife. “So we never thought too much about how small it was for so many people. But looking back, nothing about the house made sense for a large group of people.”
It wasn’t until 2020, when the couple purchased the home from his siblings and his parents had passed, that they decided to raze the cottage and start anew. “We told our architect that we wanted it to feel cozy and cottagey but also look like it had been there for years,” says the wife. “We didn’t want it to look like a big new structure that popped out of nowhere. And it had to accommodate our whole extended family comfortably.”
Architect Bob DeFiore set to work drafting the plans for the home, which would include a large family room and kitchen with sweeping lake views as well as a renovation of the adjacent boathouse outfitted with a large alfresco common space. From the meandering hydrangea-lined gravel drive, the home is unassuming—“It looks like a quaint, one-story cottage,” says the homeowner. Once inside, though, the home unfolds into a breathtaking lakefront sanctuary. Eleven-foot ceilings and a large open living space with oversized windows with expansive lake views greet visitors. The large family room and dining room seamlessly flow into a grand kitchen, where a vaulted ceiling clad in a creamy white shiplap envelops the space in warmth.
Architect Bob DeFiore’s goal was to create an unassuming facade from the pea gravel front drive. Landscape firm MountainScapes was tasked with designing a mature landscape plan that looked as though the home had been there for years.
The couple wanted their home to be a departure from the traditional, neutral aesthetic of their primary home in Atlanta, less than two hours away. And designer and longtime family friend Pebbles Nix knew just how to achieve the colorful, happy, and relaxing family getaway her client friends were envisioning. “The wife absolutely loves color—lots of pinks and oranges,” says Nix, who also designed the interiors of their full-time residence. “Color was going to play a role in the home from the start.”
In lieu of a home awash in color, Nix instead opted for small doses of bold hues atop a neutral backdrop. “We didn’t want to do the typical ‘lake colors’ of all blues and whites,” she explains. “We wanted you to wake up and feel happy because of the color but also feel relaxed.” To create a cohesive, soothing aesthetic, Nix painted the shiplap walls, ceiling, beams, and millwork a creamy tan. While pops of oranges, blues, and pinks dot the living space, Nix also complemented with natural materials, such as wicker and metal accents for a modern touch. “We really didn’t want the home to feel flat,” says Nix, who layered the different materials to create interest while also elevating the home from traditional lake house to a timeless escape that the homeowners won’t tire of.
Just as important were heirlooms from the husband’s family, which had been collected and saved post-teardown. Worn wicker furniture from the original 1982 home was salvaged and given new life with a fresh white lacquer and adorned with new cushions swathed in durable performance fabrics in aqua and hot pink with accent piping. On the ground floor of the boathouse, the husband’s collection of metal signs are hung like a gallery of vintage artwork, while onetime broken floor lamps the homeowner saved were refurbished by an electrician. “Found objects mixed in with family heirlooms turn a house into a home,” says Nix. “That was especially important here because family is such a big part of this home. When you can use things that include memories of your past, it transforms a design.”
With gathering comfortably also at the forefront of the home’s design, Nix took advantage of each space providing ample seating for all. A custom 10-person dining table crafted by Nottingham Antiques and the neighboring kitchen island with Serena & Lily counter stools accommodate large parties. Just outside the kitchen window on the screened porch is a second large custom dining table and benches by Emory Woodworks, where family and guests can dine on cooler spring and fall nights. A nod to the original, the newly designed sleeping porch off the downstairs living quarters was outfitted with bunk beds and cushions covered in performance fabrics and allows for yet another place to lay a head at night.
Nix turned color on its head by keeping the loft room walls neutral and adding muted greens via the trim and cabinetry as well as the Thibaut fabric on the window seat. The artwork is by Zuzka Vaclavik, and she found the vintage chair through Circa Who.
Now completed, the couple sneaks away as often as they can to their lake home. The home is a refuge from the stressors of work and life for the couple, who will soon be empty nesters. So far they’ve hosted one family Christmas, but they both know that there are many more holidays and long summer weekends down the road—it was, after all, why they built the home. Says the husband, “It exceeded all of our expectations of coming together as a family. The home is beyond a dream.”
What is this exterior paint color?