Lake House Peek

We got the curtains up in my dad's lake house this week and it made such a difference.  We still have a lot of work to do but it's really starting to feel good.  Curtains always seem to make a house a home.  It suddenly feels warm & lived in (in a good way.)   As you might remember, I had curtains made from my new textile line for the house and for some of these patterns, it was the first time I'd actually even seen them. 

My dad's a fisherman & I played around with a few of his things on the walls:

{Sometimes I like a touch if kitcsh and I hung my dad's old wooden fish on a nail}

I used my "Live Paisely" linen in antique beige for the living room curtains.  My dad built a fireplace out of massive stones and I brought the curtains right up to fireplace to soften it a bit and create a little more drama:

{Sorry for the grainy pictures...  The room was dark when I took these pics.}

Like I mentioned before, my dad's renovation of our family's lake cottage has been a sloooow process but it's now almost finished.  {Let the decorating begin!!}  The main areas are done and just need paint (I'm going a little bluer in the living room above and some walls have never even been painted} and the new basement is being drywalled this month.  The existing living room furniture is headed down to the new basement (sometimes I think basements are where furniture goes to die) and I'm bringing in new upholstery.  I think I'm most excited about adding new lighting to replace empty sockets & builder grade fixtures.

Like I've mentioned before, my dad and I have butted heads like CRAZY on this house.  He wants me to design it but deep down inside he thinks he's a very gifted decorator and fights me every step of the way.  He has a little old Italian lady inside him (maybe my grandma??) and mixed with his macho man attitude, it makess for very over-the-top more-is-more granny decorating:  Crown moldings can never be large enough (even when the proportions are wrong for a room) and everything needs to "POP."  Shiny is always better and any sign of age on something means it's junk.  (aaaaaahhhhh)   We fought like cats & dogs about the massive $10,000+ oak Thomasville media untit & bedroom set he owned & bought in the early 90s.  TVs don't even fit in the hole anymore but he refuses to part with it because he spent so much on it.  (The piece is now in storage...  another place I htink furniture goes to die. ;) 

My dad is my toughest client by faaaaaaaaar.  Anyway, he's always thrilled when I do something to the house & I think (hope!!) that he's finally starting to trust me & won't undo everything when I leave this time.  It always ends with "you were right," but decorating this way can be kind of expensive because I have to undo a lot.  (Why not just give up you ask?  I really don't know...  I guess it's because I love this house so much & it has so much potential.)

He finally agreed to paint over the newly installed knotty pine beadboard on the front porch ceiling and to tear down the Victorian cobwebs he'd added to the {very simple} house.  He also finally let me paint the porch spindles solid white instead of white with gray beads the way theyd' been for years and even though they "popped" so nicely.  I  removed the new red gingham cushions on the wicker furniture and replaced them with simple tan and put out an indoor-outdoor rug I'd bought years ago and I couldn't be happier:

{And my dad's happy too.}

This house has definitely been a labor of love (and war!) but it's all worth it in the end.   I'll take pictures of the other rooms & share soon!!

xoxo, Lauren

ps- love you dad even though I complain.  You're the best!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

31 comments:

Laurel-Dawn McBurney said...

Wow! The drapes look gorgeous! I love the large paisley.. it really softens up the space. I can't wait to see the entire space!

abodelove.blogspot.com

Teresa Hatfield ~ Splendid Sass said...

Beautiful job, Lauren. I love your fabric too.
Teresa
xoxo

pve design said...

I need to send this old poem about "It takes a heap o liven to make a house a home!"
love your grainy pictures and that your father has a built in designer - daughter to add love!
pve

Debby said...

I loe the fabric that you made the drapes from. Love the large paisley.
I miss my lake house.
Cute picture of your little one on the porch, grat porch.

Pam said...

How sweet of you, I know change can be difficult ;) Those curtains and that fabric are gorgeous!

Carolyn@Sweet Chaos Home said...

I love what you've done. Those curtains are gorgeous! You can come decorate my house... I wouldn't fight you one bit :)

Karena said...

Lauren it is perfect. The curtains along side both the stone and the wall vignette of your dads fishing basket, wooden fish, etc!

Working with our beloved families can be a challenge!!

xoxo
Karena

Art by Karena

JoAnna of re-U creating new spaces said...

Beautiful place. Would like to see the "before" pictures :)
It's always the hardest working for/with family. My dad is very similar. He once lost paint sample's for their home exterior that I had spent hours selecting and just went to Lowe's and picked out what he thought was close...Yikes!!
Gotta love Dad's :)
-JoAnna
www.re-Ublog.com

autumn said...

so pretty. i love your textiles. the paisley is beautiful!

Sjn said...

decorating my lake house was one of my most favorite things to do! I loved shopping for unusual furniture and shabby chic items to fill the space. Everything has a purpose b/c the house is small, but I love it all!

H.G. The Countess said...

Those drapes are beautiful and I love the fisherman styling!

Amber B (Simple Dwellings) said...

That's sp wonderful to be working on your dad's lkae house! It looks amazing. I love the drapery pattern. I also love the idea of putting them up against the stone wall- rustic with beautiful! :) Happy Weekend!

Anonymous said...

hahaha that's so funny. Decorating at it's best! My mom gets sick at everything I do to our Swedish house that's not along the lines of what she has liked for 40 years...this so cracked me up

An Urban Cottage said...

LOVE the large pasiley print! I'm sure you're aware the paisley look like fish. It's genius really.

Dana Frieling said...

Totally identifying/laughing with you! My father-in-law wants me to design a few rooms for him and it makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. He thinks he can "make it" for less ALL the time. You've done a great job as usual!

The enchanted home said...

Love the gorgeous fabric its perfect!! And that front porch with the wicker chairs...perfection!

Mona Thompson Providence Ltd. said...

Lauren, I'm in love with drapes. They are awesome. That fabric is beautiful. Working with family is soooo funny. My husband is the worst. He fights me on everything. I love my home but it's still a big compromise. You can't get too grungy for me and it's a real stretch for him. So is replacing something we already own. I tell him constantly that I would be out of business if all our clients were like him.

Have a great weekend. Mona

Marianne said...

Really beautiful, Lauren. I'm sure he is thrilled with the results! Enjoy your weekend.

kayce hughes said...

Looks great. Can't wait to see all of the pictures.

Kerry Steele- Design du Monde said...

I just adore the curtains! Some clients are so hard to convince. I had a dear friend/client who passed away earlier this year that told the most hilarious story of me painting Ben Moore Rust in a big square on the wall and telling them to "live with it". In telling the story she always made some stereotypical designer flourish with her hands and finished with, how crazy she thought my ideas were but great in the end.

Cynthia and the farm house said...

Love it!! Dying to have you make over my house(when my dream farm finally comes into my path!)
Can not wait to see more of your creativity!
Cheers!
Cynthia

Kacey @ www.shesnomartha.com said...

LOVE THIS! What a lucky guy! Where can we get that fabric?! It's perfect.

under spanish moss said...

Labor of Love! We can so agree to some…most all of our projects. We just posted on a victorian house that nearly made us completely gray! Your dad is fortunate!

Have a wonderful rested weekend! LOL

XO,
Renee and Angela

vignette design said...

Oh Lauren, I love what you've done to your Dad's house. Those curtains are amazing. I think I need that fabric for myself! Is it available? Love the porch and how you simplified it. Great photo of your son too. Truly, a labor of love that you should be very proud of. ~Delores

Loretta Fontaine (EcoHappy Blog) said...

Lauren- I can tell what a special place this is for you and your father. The new curtains against the stonework are so pretty. I can imagine how proud your father must be to tell his guests his daughter designed the fabric!

I couldn't imagine working with my parents. I know the color I'd paint their stained wood trim and which interior wall I'd knock down in their house, but let my daydreams end there. They don't spend a cent on their home!

Loretta

Anonymous said...

Lauren,
The house is looking so cute! Love new details to the porch. Can't wait to see more photos!
xo E + J

Elizabeth said...

curious, what was your process for painting over the grainy wood? i have an upstairs attic and want to paint if for my daughter to have a playroom. i want to paint it white, but i'm not sure how to go about covering it.

Jennifer said...

a labor of love and war - too funny! the curtains look great. maybe one day I'll get my hands on some of that Queen Anne's Lace!

Rachel said...

This is so funny! When my parents were building the house that they now live in, they would ask me for advice all the time. Usually, I'd hear "Hmmm... Well, I'll think about it". Which means "I know I asked for your opinion, but since it doesn't jive with mine, I'm not going to take it." ;-)
Nevermind that they paid for me to go through the Interior Design program at TCU....
I do have a little vindication, though. They have French door combination (that is actually a door on one side, and a stationary window on the other) that is next to their fireplace and leads outside to their patio. Because of how they wanted to arrange their furniture, which would cause the door to be crowded behind a large chair, I told them that they needed to switch it with the one in their bedroom that had the door on the opposite side. This was right after they were put in, mind you. Did they take my advice?? Nope. And now, you have to squeeze behind that chair every single time you go outside.
Best "told-you-so" ever! ;-) (and I dearly love my parents!)

beyondbeige said...

Your fabrics look like Les Indiennes rip offs. sorry. not.cool.

Olivia said...

SO beautiful