Let the lakefront be the star.” That was the design ethos that Charlotte-based interior designer Teri Thomas encouraged when she worked with her client of more than twenty years on their new vacation home.
The married couple, who had recently retired and downsized to a condominium in Charlotte, sought a gathering place for their four adult children, grandchildren, and friends in a location that’s accessible to Charlotte and “had beauty and serenity at its core. We wanted bathing suits and dinner parties to happen in the same space,” the client says. And they decided that Uwharrie Point on Badin Lake, just about an hour from Charlotte, was the right spot for their getaway home. “We both grew up on Lake Michigan, so a lake was enticing to us,” the client says.
The couple had never built a house before, so they commissioned Thomas, founder of Teri Thomas Interiors, to expedite the design from the start. “We designed on paper what we thought would be a perfect house,” the homeowner explains. “Teri helped us put together a team of Bruce Clodfelter for landscape design and Don Duffy for architecture, and she attended every meeting, knowing our style and what we were comfortable with. We found an inspiration house online that helped us, too.” Thrilled to be a part of the project’s construction from the ground up, Thomas says, “Collaborating with Don was great because we had a couple of pictures, and he made our ideas stand up off the ground.”
With the intent of creating a single-level home that’s casual and suited to three-generational family gatherings, Thomas devised a design scheme that accomplished these project goals while exploiting the waterfront locale. “They didn’t want anything that was too fancy for babies and young children,” Thomas says of the five-bedroom home. “They wanted easy living with fewer, bigger spaces.”
At the core, Thomas designed a massive living space that includes the family room, dining space, and kitchen. The adjacent porch mirrors these spaces with the kitchen connecting to the grill area, doors in the dining room linking to the outside dining space, and the interior family room expanding to the exterior living room, complete with fireplace and television.
Retractable screens open up the porch to the lake just outside. The guest foyer and guest hallway leading to three of the guest rooms are set behind the kitchen’s butler’s pantry at one wing of the house, while on the opposite end, the master suite, den, and remaining guest bedroom are tucked behind the living room. “That floor plan lives so well. And then all those doors open up straight out to that porch, which is literally an extension of the indoor space—so you’re living twice as big,” Thomas explains.
“And it’s ground level, so you can pull up those retractable screens on that porch and walk out into the yard to the lake.” By employing copious amounts of glass, Thomas incorporated lake views into the interiors. In fact, from the front facade, there are clear sightlines through the house to the lake, whichinfluenced the interior color palette. “Certainly, the blue design elements reflect the water,” notes Thomas, who says she layered in color with neutrals. “I tried to use color where it made sense. I think having some color and pattern lends a more casual feel.”
Similarly, with regard to the materials, Thomas says, “We tried to use materials like wood, concrete, and iron, mixed with a few old pieces so that things didn’t feel too new.” Rather than selecting pristine white tile for the kitchen, she opted for a metallic tile that plays off of the island’s concrete countertop. “I think that people are tending to be a little cookie-cutter, if I may be so bold,” Thomas offers. “To me, that subway tile is a nod to that industrial look; it’s actually a bronze color that felt a little more special and different.” The tile behind the range extends to the ceiling to amplify the height of the space, and it’s capped with a wooden-slab ceiling that elicits a feeling of warmth. The shiplap material used throughout the ceilings and on the walls of the living room and den offers a subtle reference to the home’s lakeside locale.
Overall, the interior design is grounded in an effort to foster an environment that’s indicative of how this family actually lives. “The design is meant to provide ample opportunities for all to connect and be comfortable together. We have had two Thanksgivings here with fourteen to sixteen people, and everyone felt they had space,” offers the client. “The decor has a more contemporary style with bold light fixtures, hidden sliding doors (to conceal the television), fabric choices, and design that makes you want to sit in every spot in the house. Teri also incorporated our art and helped us pick out some new pieces to give the house character.”
The homeowner adds, “Just approaching the house, you can see through to the lake and Uwharrie Forest. That gives us that instant peace and relaxation that a vacation home should be.”