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The lakeside retreat is designed to take full advantage of its views. The exterior is painted Benjamin Moore Iron Mountain.
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The Moss Studio sofa in the great room is upholstered in a linen-like performance fabric. The dining table is by Ethnicraft, the dining chairs are by Andreu World, and the light fixtures are by Visual Comfort.
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The entry doors are by Pella; the light fixture is by Low Country Originals.
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The stone firepit on the patio is clad in the same stone used on the facade. The furnishings are by Four Hands.
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A lake view topped the Sloans’ list of must-haves. In the primary bedroom, the iron upholstered bed is custom, the nightstands and bench are by Four Hands, the bedding is by Brooklinen, and the long lumbar pillow is from Target.
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In the living room, the fireplace is clad in Cultured Stone’s Sculpted Ashlar in grouse. The ceiling beams are white oak timber. The carpet is by Annie Selke, and the ottoman is by McGee & Co. “The Lake,” a print by artist Laurie Anne Gonzalez, rests on the mantel.
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The table in the den is by Knoll Studio, the console is by Blue Dot, the rug is by Annie Selke, and the flooring is gray concrete.
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An exercise bike looks out to the lake.
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The four full-size bunks in the bunk room are custom made of white oak with black metal ladders, with a five-drawer custom dresser in between. Each has an individual reading light.
It all began with a work trip.
Kristen Sloan, a director of human resources for a large manufacturing company, was brainstorming with colleagues on a flight from Atlanta to Arkansas to assess a project that involved Richmonder Mark Williamson. They wanted to convince their talented, Virginia-based co-worker to move to the company‘s Atlanta headquarters.
“Someone said that he would not leave Richmond because his wife had a very successful design business there,” Sloan recalls.
She wanted to learn more. Sloan and her husband, Chris, had just purchased property on the shores of Georgia’s Lake Oconee with the idea of building a second home. The couple and their two young daughters wanted a place where they could retreat from their busy Atlanta lives with the idea of moving there full time in the future.
“The next day, Mark was in Atlanta and walked by my office,” Sloan says. “I said, ‘Mark, I heard your wife is a designer.’ He said, ‘Yeah, she can do curtains and stuff, but her specialty is [designing] spaces.‘ I asked if she had a website, and so that day he sent it to me. I immediately reached out on her website‘s inquiry form and on the line that asked how you heard about her, I put, ‘Your husband,’” Sloan says with a laugh.
Mark’s wife, Jessica Williamson of JTW Design, contacted Kristen that night. “We just hit it off,” Kristen says. “We are very similar, and I was like, ‘You have got to design this house for me.’”
It was the first vacation home design project for Jessica, who recalls thinking immediately that she would need to visit the property and meet with her new Georgia-based clients and the contractor hired for the job, Robby Shannon of Shannon Construction and Remodeling. It was late 2019.
“Then COVID hit pretty quickly, and nobody was traveling anywhere,” Jessica says. “We just didn’t have an opportunity to have in-person meetings at first, but then we just didn’t need to. We had great communication with the contractor, and Kristen and Chris were very clear with the direction they wanted to go in. They respected the process and were very trusting of me and the contractor and our ability to coordinate every step of the project.”
That’s not to say the Sloans were hands off. At the outset of their remote but collaborative journey, Kristen shared Pinterest boards and images of spaces she liked with Jessica, who used them as springboards for the design process, asking her new client what she liked about each.
“I love design, and I know what I like, but I’m not able to articulate that very well. I knew I wanted something that was timeless, minimalist but would also feel like home. Jess asked me the right questions and really listened to me,” Sloan says.
Williamson was able to translate their conversations into concepts that would serve as guideposts for the design of the Sloans’ new lake house. “Kristen and Chris wanted a house with a clean, modern style that would also feel easy and approachable,” she explains. “Knowing that they wanted a vacation home that they planned to live in for a long time, the modern-leaning design thread woven through the house could not be taken so far that it moved into trendy.”
We really needed someplace where we could all get away.
—Kristen Sloan
Selections and presentations of design elements were handled over Zoom meetings with some materials, including flooring and tile, shipped for final approvals. As she had with other clients, Williamson employed software applications that enabled her to create visuals detailing floor plans and furniture and even potential artwork options to share with the Sloans. As the process evolved with choices presented and decisions made, she created a virtual lookbook of the whole house. “The presentations were very comprehensive and gave them a really strong understanding of the project,” Williamson says.
Rooms are arranged to reflect the lake home’s first goal: to serve as a place for rest and relaxation with friends and family. Living and dining spaces are central, with large windows connecting interiors with expansive views of the lake. Bedrooms are just off the main living area, underscoring the familial feel the couple sought. “It’s designed to celebrate guests,” Williamson says.
She wove classic style into the home’s modern-leaning palette by layering its crisp, white spaces with comfortable furnishings in neutral tones accented by muted blue pillows and soft, cream-colored rugs. Arched doorways and white oak floors throughout the home’s upper level provide warmth. “The design lends itself to modifying over time,” Williamson notes. “We made durable, easy-care fabric choices that offer a lived-in feel that is welcoming.”
The home’s ground level opens out on an expansive terrace furnished for entertaining with a firepit clad in the same stone chosen for the fireplace and chimney. Inside, concrete floors provide worry-free access to the outdoors. Equipped with a hangout space for their daughters and friends, a full bathroom, an exercise room, a bunk room, and office space for both Kristen and Chris, it’s designed to serve as multifunctional space.
The Sloans moved in almost immediately after the construction was completed in early 2021. "We are a very close family, and we love hanging out together,” Sloan explains. “Both my husband and I have very stressful jobs, and we really needed someplace where we could all get away. We absolutely love this house. Friends and family come as much as they can. We celebrate holidays at the lake. It’s our retreat, and Jess did such an amazing job. It‘s just crazy we have still never met each other in person.”
