Life is Better at the Lake
“If the water is calm, the boat is also calm.”
My phone photo shows a vignette of our lake house's progress. The windows’ water view below, their original artwork, and a love of blue and white porcelain inspired our added layers.
The calming effects of a water view, some distance from traffic, and all things too “peopley” attracted my clients to purchase their current lake home. While we were in the process of the remodel of their historic city dwelling, this oasis was a welcome refuge from all the hammering and clatter. After a couple of years, they decided it was time to bring some of the improvements they enjoyed in their updated residence to the lake.
The primary bath, closets, and kitchen were the main focus areas for significant changes. However, we also refreshed the main level by refinishing flooring, adding architectural elements for improved aesthetics, painting, wallcovering, new lighting, furnishings, rugs, and accessories. The main living area quickly moved up the list for attention.
The before: The fireplace needed work, and the previous owners had left outdated surround tiles. We also needed to find a way to blend the different windows and angles while adding character. Our shiplap solution worked best as it draws the eye side-to-side.
The fireplace wall in progress.
A closer glimpse of the transition between the wood accent wall and the corner. We used a variation of the original creamy yellow to balance the blue. Look at that tranquil water view! Previously, several paintings by Kathy Cousart had been placed in the city home’s dining room and landed at the lake. New swivel chairs provide cozy seating. And the new stone slabs! They make your heart flutter!
The after results are a clean, crisp, and classic combination of a twist of New England meets across-the-pond British flavor with a dose of southern hospitality. Interior designer: Wanda S. Horton, General Contractor: Frederick Begley.
I’ll share more snippets of this project and others as I get back into the habit of writing. As always, I appreciate your stopping by!
All my best - Wanda
Afterword: Why am I back to blogging?
I’m happy to be back at the keyboard after a bit of an absence. It does take some time and thought to put together posts; however, I realized much of my time, aside from life and work, had been devoted to working the ‘Gram’ and other social media outlets. Oh, the journaling I could have done in lieu of that!
Another excuse reason was photography. It takes a lot of time to schedule, style, and execute this for projects and around clients’ schedules. I’m learning how to take and edit some of my shots. While not replacing the pros for my portfolio page, I’m getting better at this and don’t feel embarrassed to use them in my storytelling. After all, that’s what designers do. We help clients express who they are in their homes while sharing the “why” and “how” to accomplish it.
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Because I like to pay it forward, I’ll share links to some of my favorite blogs. We used to do this in the early days, and I think it’s time we got back to populating our websites since the social media landscape—aka algorithms—keeps changing.