Retro lake house

29 Jul Retro lake house

” Indestructible. Good time. I want to feel like I’m somewhere different than home.”  This is how Cindy Waggoner describes her Center Hill lake house and how she wants it to feel, and it does with what I’d call retro style! But before I take you inside, you have to see the charming front of the Gambrel barn style home with Pinky Winky hydrangeas and a wooden pelican welcoming you.

 

  Cindy and David bought the house back in 1994 from a cabinet maker who built the house himself in the mid 1970’s.  Gambrel roofs are often seen on Dutch Colonial houses.

  The iron hitching posts out front are just some of the features that add character to the retreat tucked in the towering trees.

We are good friends of the Waggoners who invited us up for the weekend. With camera in hand I asked Cindy if I could feature the house on my blog. It took some convincing, but I think the old reporter in me resurfaced and she relented! There are just too many interesting and clever features I wanted to share. Like the retro kitchen with 1970’s style bar stools and the ox yoke chandeleir.

The former owner left quite a few pieces in the house that they kept including the bar stools she had reupholstered. Cindy also added the antique school house light globes to the large light fixture.

 

     Cindy is one of the most creative, resourceful and talented people I know. She can do almost anything and she knows where to find good building supplies.  For example, the beautiful wood plank flooring.  The house used to have shag carpeting and linoleum on the main floor. At first, they replaced it with tile and then she found these heart pine planks for sale on Craig’s List.  Yes, she’s a surfer on Craig’s List. An old church was being demolished in Columbia, Tennessee so Cindy bought the wood for a good price and had it installed.

     And those pictures on the wall above the couch? They are part of a series called “The Gay Philosopher” by Henry Major that used to hang in her parent’s den.  A sentimental and funny decorative touch.

       

  It’s such a comfortable lake house with so many stories, memories and of course a clever name.

LesBarJac is the name of the cabin, which combines their three daughter’s names, Leslie, Barbara and Jaclyn.  And Cindy has done some creative lettering in other spots throughout their retreat, like on a guest bedroom wall where she wanted to camouflage a few things.

The crawl space doors were an eye sore so Cindy decided to add the fun sayings, some lake related, to the front of them, and carried on the theme with a door panel underneath with the similar lettering and again on the mirror frame.  So fun!

A guest room upstairs has its own style with punches of color, and wallpaper Cindy hung years ago that highlights one wall with more quotes, and another with stripes.

 

     I’m seeing a philosopher theme throughout the home as I write this! Of course there’s humor sprinkled throughout in so many touches.

    You reach the downstairs guest area via a spiral staircase with skis leaning in the corner, and then you get more of the retro vibe with a classic formica table and chairs.

 

 

    But the main reason they come here so often is for this. 

  The million dollar view from the deck is the magnet that draws so many Nashville people to this gorgeous lake. And if you’re not in the mood to boat, there’s always a porch swing to lull you into a relaxed state. That is if the raccoon doesn’t jump on you!

 We had such a fun couple of days at LesBarJac.  Mornings on the deck, and sunset on the water is hard to beat.  

 

Thanks to the Waggoners for entertaining us and letting Keith drive the pontoon boat.  He misses ours so much.  Now that we don’t have our own lake house, it’s so nice to have friends that invite us to be lazy on a weekend with them!

Cindy loves to frequent estate sales around Nashville where she’s bound to find something interesting.  And as I mentioned in the article, she surfs Craig’s List too. She’s always coming up with a way to repurpose something! I really appreciate her letting me feature their little piece of paradise. If you are reading this and thinking you’d like to share your place or know someone else with fun ideas, just shoot me an email.  Amy@stylishretreats. I love featuring all kinds of spaces, whether classic, modern, bungalow or farmhouse. Creativity and sharing resources is what I love!