Designer Kelly Kole and her family love to spend most of their weekends nearly three hours from their Atlanta residence to take in the serene sights and sounds of Lake Santeetlah in North Carolina. The lakeside vacation home they bought was originally built in the 1970s and was in need of a major remodel.
After a nearly one-year renovation, the house features a modern farmhouse style with white shiplap walls, wood ceiling beams and a stylish mix of new and vintage furnishings. “It’s a comfortable, casual and relaxing space,” Kole says. “But please don’t call it a cabin, it’s definitely a home.”
Photos by Lauren Rubinstein Photography
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Kelly Kole, her husband Mike and their two daughters
Location: Robbinsville, North Carolina
Size: About 2,400 square feet (223 square meters); three bedrooms and three bathrooms
Designer:
The exterior of the house has new vinyl siding that looks like wood shingles on the left side and board and batten on the right. “The advancements in vinyl siding are pretty amazing,” Kole says. “You can get the look of classic wood shingles but not have to worry about all of the upkeep.”
The new front door is a bright yellow hue from the door manufacturer. Kole chose the cheerful color because it complements the gray vinyl shingles and provides a warm welcome for guests. She had the vintage tricycle painted in a matching shade of yellow.
Door color: Animated Yellow, Pella
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The front door opens directly into the kitchen. To make the space feel larger and brighter, Kole removed the original 9-foot ceiling to take advantage of the pitched roofline. New decorative walnut beams with a gray wash stain add character and dimension to the ceiling.
The new walnut cabinets also have a gray wash stain to match the ceiling beams and give them “an old-timey feel,” Kole says. The same walnut was used for the furniture-style island and custom range hood.
Ivory and cream mottled quartz countertops and a white subway tiled backsplash provide a stark contrast to the dark walnut.
Kole bought the brass pendant lights over the island because they reminded her of lights from an old train depot. The vintage wood bread boards hanging on the wall are from France and Hungary.
The floors throughout the house are a wood-look luxury vinyl tile. The white walls on the upper level are painted in Pure White by Sherwin-Williams.
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The living room is a cozy space that comfortably accommodates the whole family for movie and game nights. The walls are covered in white shiplap, and a decorative walnut ceiling beam visually connects the area to the nearby kitchen.
A large gray sectional is topped with a collection of custom pillows that Kole made out of vintage Indian kantha quilts. The coffee table and the end tables have rustic wood tops and blackened metal legs.
A telescope is positioned in front of the window to take in the night skies. “The stars here are stunning,” Kole says. “They impressed my husband so much that he nicknamed the house ‘Stargazer.’”
Kole had Atlanta-based artist Carrie Willard emblazon the home’s nickname “Stargazer” onto a salvaged piece of wood, and then hung it on the living room wall next to the flat-screen TV.
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The dining room has a large white oak table that comfortably seats eight. The six side chairs are white oak with cream upholstery. To mix up the look, Kole added black wicker host chairs.
A lantern-style light fixture and pleated window curtains provide more pops of black and a stark contrast to the white shiplap walls. The black curtains have a subtle floral pattern. “The colorful flowers on the curtains reminded me of a field of wildflowers that we pass every time we drive up to the lake house,” Kole says.
An antique bar cart with turned wood legs provides a stylish vignette in the corner of the dining room. “I love to mix and match new and antique pieces in a room when possible,” Kole says. “And I’m a real sucker for turned legs.”
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Sliding glass doors in the dining room lead to a covered deck that overlooks Lake Santeetlah. Kole decorated the area with outdoor sofas and chairs centered around a glass-topped wicker coffee table. The outdoor cushions are covered in a weather-resistant fabric from Sunbrella.
“When the weather is nice, we often eat our meals out here on the deck,” Kole says.
Kole wanted the master bedroom to be a serene space with white walls and vintage-inspired furniture (an upholstered bed with brass nail heads and a pair of whitewashed bedside tables). The only pop of color comes from the blue-and-green window curtains that Kole chose to complement the lake and trees seen out the windows.
Siding glass doors in the master bedroom lead to another covered deck that Kole and her husband like to use to relax and read books. A pair of dark gray wicker chaise lounges provide a comfortable perch underneath a ceiling fan. A planter box on the exterior wall contains bright fuchsia colored petunias.
Kole also commissioned artist Carrie Willard to create the wood sign that reads “Lake Santeetlah” hanging on the exterior wall.
The girls bedroom is on the lower level. It includes a pair of queen-sized beds with white bedding and Indian kantha quilts. “I love these quilts. They’re the perfect weight, and they add a fun, colorful pattern to the space,” Kole says.
A pair of vintage wood trunks at the foot of each bed store additional bedding and blankets. And an antique glass-and-wood curio cabinet in between the beds serves as a nightstand and book storage.
The white walls on the lower level are Highly Reflective White by Sherwin-Williams.
The lower-level guest bathroom has white shiplap walls, a white vanity with matte black hardware and a dark gray quartz countertop. The floor is covered in concrete-look porcelain tiles. The area rug adds a touch of color and pattern to the space.
Kole converted a former storage area on the lower level into a bedroom alcove with a cozy day bed that’s ideal for overflow guests. Black-and-white family photos in rustic wood frames hang above the bed. A vintage-style area rug completes the stylish scene.
The floating wood deck is anchored to the shore and provides a platform for swimming and taking in some sun. The pair of pink resin Adirondack chairs were a custom order that Kole says she just had to have. “I wanted to be the only one with pink deck chairs.” The chairs and the breathtaking views are indeed something to behold.
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