Y’all loved the snap I shared of our lake house dining nook in the evening, so I thought I’d share a little recent progress. Aside from the punch list items left behind by flaky contractors, most of the heavy lifting of our remodel has come to an end.
Last year was a constant hum of renovation stress and a slow drip of hefty bills. This summer season, we have been reaping the fruits of our labor with long lake weekends at last. Here’s a peek at our newly finished dining nook, featuring the oval travertine table I’m obsessed with…
This is an iPhone snap from the day we were touring the house as buyers. We actually drove up to look at another house, only to discover that this one — a few doors down — had just been listed. The only positive of this mysteriously ancient shag carpet and dark particleboard wall paneling, which we lived with for quite some time, is that it made the transformation that much more satisfying…
Here are my favorite upgrades to the space:
New windows: Previously, all of the lines from the window frames broke up the view, which is, dare I say, the preeminent feature of the house. Our new oversize Marvin picture windows frame the Shadow Mountain waters and national forest views. We had some trepidation about not being able to open the windows since we don’t have AC in the mountains, but it has not been an issue in the least.
Moving and swapping the light fixture: We moved the placement of the overhead light fixture so that it was centered in the space — one of those small changes that made a dramatic impact. This silk pumpkin lamp from Oi Soi Oi is one of my favorite finds for the house: structured but soft, with a touch of eastern influence. Headquartered in Copenhagen, the lighting company makes their pendants using traditional techniques in Vietnam. The quality is beyond — I fully intend to uninstall and reinstall it in my homes for the rest of my years.
Smoothed walls and new hardwood floors: Do not cry over the “character” we removed from the walls — the panels were made of particleboard, not real wood! We kept the real pine ceilings, but drywalled the walls with a smooth finish to bring the house into the 2000s and painted them in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. We also installed new European white oak plank flooring throughout. The warmer white walls and oak floors toned down the orange of the pine ceilings.
Travertine table: During a dark internet nighttime scroll, I came across Hamam Decor, which makes bespoke marble pieces — from consoles to dining tables to coffee tables. Though I couldn’t find any reviews from anyone who had commissioned a table from them, I took a chance (my husband sports-bets, I Turkish-travertine-table-bet… we all have our vices). Upon arrival, it was everything I dreamed of for what I thought was such a fair price: solid, sturdy, stunningly made. The oval shape allows for plenty of circulation in a tight space, and the travertine is quiet but impactful. I reached out to Hamam Decor to ask if they would share a code, and they kindly obliged: TER15 for 15% off.
We’ve had a handful of friends and neighbors over for long, lingering summer dinners as of late… when the silk lamp casts a warm glow over our meals as the sky darkens over the lake, it’s like dining under a full yellow (2700k, obvi) moon. Just magical.
Travertine dining table: Hamam Decor (use code TER15 for 15% off)
Silk pendant light: Oi Soi Oi — I purchased from Claude Home during a sale, but also available for a better price on Royal Design
Woven dining chairs: Williams Sonoma (discontinued), similar here and obsessed with these here
Outdoor tables and chairs: Polywood Modern Studio 3-piece set
Wall color: Benjamin Moore Simply White
Oak floors: ADM Padua white European oak
Picture windows: Marvin Direct Glaze windows
Linen drapes: Custom with Gray Lines Linen in Judy33A Flax
What parts of the remodel would you want to know more about? Let me know in the comments. And if you enjoyed this post, tap the heart to help more readers discover it — it means more than you know!
P.S. The journey to buying a lakefront home and our renovation goals.
you're a magician !! how does one get invited to the lake house..
What a transformation! This gives me so much inspiration and motivation for our cabin in the mountains. Thank you for sharing!