Fresh Take at the Lake

A couple leans on Southern Luxury Homes to build and design their personal masterpiece

by DANA W. TODD / photography by Holger Obenaus

The lower level recreation room is an adult’s dream escape. Along with a glass-enclosed wine room, quartzite stacked-stone backsplash, and horseshoe bar with its fluted detailing, there is something to see at every turn.

For a couple looking for their forever home, the community in which they’d been living for a little more than a decade—Reynolds Lake Oconee—was the place they wanted to remain. They wanted a new home, however, that addressed their current needs and those they anticipated in the future. Stylistically, their tastes had changed, but they also needed accessibility for three generations to visit and stay in the home, with special accommodations for aging parents and lounging spaces for entertaining friends and family. Since this home was to be the one in which they ultimately retired, they also wanted to include aging-in-place features that would make the home easier to navigate at any age.

Because Kevin Aycock, founder and CEO of Southern Luxury Homes, builds ultra high-end custom homes exclusively in Reynolds Lake Oconee, the couple was well aware of his company’s capabilities. The Reynolds lifestyle embraces an active lake life, including seven golf courses, boating and other outdoor activities, dining and cultural performances on 12,000 acres of Georgia’s inland coast. Aycock’s team has been helping homeowners design and build bespoke homes in this particular community since 2018. “We build about 25% of the custom homes in Reynolds Lake Oconee, so we understand the community well,” he says.

In the combined kitchen and dining area, a zinc vent hood, sleek quartzite countertops, rectangular-back Wesley Hall barstools and geometric Visual Comfort pendants provide modern appeal.

The homeowners owned the lot next door to their current home. Once they decided Southern Luxury Homes was the right builder to build a new home on their lot, they contacted Aycock about designing and building a larger residence than their current one to fit their new desires and needs. Aycock listened, reviewed their inspiration photos, and pulled the best parts of several floorplans to create a new blueprint for a three-level, 10,000-square-foot home that could accommodate all ages of family members while providing significant entertainment space. “I actually was familiar with almost every home from which they pulled inspiration photos and could understand what they wanted,” says Aycock.

The couple already had worked with designer Kelly Berumen, founder and CEO of ARDIN Interior Design, who had designed their current home, so they tasked her with implementing their vision for this final residential project. “Since they wanted to accommodate visits from aging parents and were also looking ahead to their eventual retirement and older age, we added aging-in-place elements to help address those goals,” says Berumen. “We incorporated several zero-entry showers and installed an elevator, for example, to help with accessibility. One of the homeowner’s mothers often stays in the lower-level primary suite, where she can easily walk out to the pool deck and enjoy the entertaining space.”

Detailed ceilings are a theme of this home. The circular one in the stairwell is constructed of white oak with a pulley system that raises and lowers the chandelier.

Aging-in-place features, also known as universal design, are customized to make a home more functional and spaces mobile for homeowners of all ages and physical capabilities. Universal designs are aesthetically pleasing and requested by homeowners not only for their functionality but also because of their clean lines and modern look. Curbless showers, for example, impart a spa feel in a bathroom; higher toe-kicks in bathrooms and kitchens are as desirable for their contemporary lines as they are for their accessibility. Larger windows allow more natural light for those who are visually impaired and are equally valued for their ability to bring the outdoors inside.

Berumen characterizes the home as having classical features with modern sensibilities. “It is a fresh take on a lake house with a neutral color palette that lends itself to a modern aesthetic. We wanted to use textural, natural elements with neutral colors and a few darker tones to create interest and contrast because ultimately the lake is the hero. We didn’t want interior color to steal the view. This palette allows the entertainment spaces to be serene and relaxed while creating a beautiful home to entertain friends and hold events,” she says.

The great room is accessible through an arched opening from the foyer and is open to both the kitchen and dining room. It features a comfy sectional and easy chairs by Century Furniture and spool lamps by Regina Andrew.

Berumen chose all new furnishings since the home was a stylistic departure from their previous traditionally decorated residence. She worked with the homeowner to select every interior finish, down to the door hinges. “This is a totally customized home; there are fun details at every turn,” she adds. Custom features and a hint of the traditional home’s modern twist start at the contemporary steel front door and continue into the foyer with a custom-designed iron stair railing on the curved staircase. The staircase is the first hint of a round motif, which continues through an arched entryway to the great room and on the modified coffered dining room ceiling. The other public rooms on the main level feature an array of ceiling designs. The great room’s vaulted ceiling is accented with white oak beams. While the kitchen and dining areas are open to the great room, their lowered, rounded tray ceiling inset with white oak boards visually separate them from the nearby spaces. An octagonal study with a coffered ceiling continues the interest on the main level, with stained white oak paneling that wraps the room and a fireplace that signals coziness. The primary suite on this floor features a beamed ceiling and lake views.

The round motif continues downstairs on the terrace level, where a horseshoe-shaped custom bar is the showstopper in the rec room. Its round, antique brass bespoke liquor storage “cabinet” hangs above the bar. “The homeowners saw a similar design in a commercial application and took photos of it to include in this home,” Berumen explains. The bar design, with fluted detailing, provides lots of seating for friends to hang out. A three-sided glass and steel wine room next to it provides another piece of “art” to enjoy. “The circular display of liquor that hangs above the bar is a smaller scale model of one in a Reynolds Lake Oconee clubhouse,” adds Aycock.

The keeping room, off the larger lower-level recreation room, is a place to retreat for quiet conversation.

A glassed-in arcade, powder room, comfy sectional and lounge chairs pulled around a custom-designed steel fireplace, and a TV viewing area complete the rec room space. This level also features a second primary suite, a spa with a steam shower and an octagonal lounge stacked under the main-level octagonal study.

The top level is reserved for guests, with four en suite bedrooms and a sitting room. A covered porch off the sitting room provides private outdoor lounging space for visitors. A fifth bedroom on the top floor of the carriage house provides even more overflow space.

With plenty of lounging space under roof, Southern Luxury Homes also ensured the homeowners had just as much outdoor entertainment spaces for their friends and family to enjoy. Three levels of porches and terraces on the back of the home facing the lake provide both open air and screened options for outside lounging. An infinity-edge pool with dual waterfalls spills over into a kiddie pool for the grandchildren. A spa is a coveted relaxation space for the adults, while a fire feature and separate sun patio attract everyone. An outdoor dining space and outdoor kitchen allow the party to stay outside around the pool during an extended fun day.

The strictly neutral primary bedroom is accented with a white Made Goods chandelier and upholstered Wesley Hall bed. Sleek white Vanguard nightstands are counterpoints to fluffy, luxurious bedding.

Southern Luxury Homes’ team designed the exterior of the house for longevity and low maintenance, with stone and James Hardie fiber cement siding. Its U-shaped design allows for an interior motor court that ends at dual garages. Attached walkways lead into the home and around to the backyard entertainment areas. The architectural design allows for a large expanse of glass on the back of the home that provides unobstructed lake views in many rooms.

Detailed ceilings continue in the study, where coffered ceilings painted a single color feel expansive while showcasing architectural finesse.

As with all of its residential projects, Southern Luxury Homes’ philosophy is based on a desire to create beautiful houses that become homes. Its team includes specialty employees, such as a customer concierge and millwork and iron designers, who along with construction managers, incorporate the newest innovations, combining them with the best quality materials and craftsmanship for homes that embrace the details inherent in bespoke design. “We believe homes should be tailored exactly to a homeowner’s wants and needs. That’s why we build custom homes to reflect the personality and taste of the owner,” says Aycock.

The home contains outdoor living spaces on all three levels and spills out into a large backyard on the shores of Lake Oconee.

Berumen brings her signature fresh, timeless designs to both new construction and residential renovations. “We have garnered a reputation for beautifully balanced spaces that feel refreshingly modern and endlessly classic,” she says. This Reynolds Lake Oconee home fits squarely into the firm’s wheelhouse as an extremely detailed project, and she is as pleased as the homeowners with how all the pieces tuck together to form a place that the family calls their forever home. She adds: “The clients were fantastic, and we all worked seamlessly together. This project was like building a home with a good friend.” *

Dana W. Todd is a professional writer specializing in interior design, real estate, luxury homebuilding, landscape design, architecture and art.

More Information

Southern Luxury Homes

1011 Park Place Blvd.

Greensboro, GA 30642

404.668.7674