HERE ARE HOUSES THAT SIMPLY OCCUPY LAND, AND THEN there are homes that become inseparable from it. On a dramatic point overlooking Lake Lanier in Flowery Branch, Georgia, one family built the home their cherished property always deserved. With 270-degree views stretching across the water and a history reaching back 30 years, this 10,132-square-foot modern timber-frame craftsman represents the culmination of patience, vision and an unwillingness to settle for anything less than extraordinary.
The clients purchased the land in 1996, drawn to an existing house that would become their family gathering place for holidays and summers spanning three decades. But as the years passed and the family grew to include children, grandchildren and their friends, it became clear that the home could no longer serve their needs. When they first approached builder Brody Dernehl of The Dernehl Company and Derek Hopkins, principal at Harrison Design, renovation seemed like the natural path forward; the sentimental attachment to the original house ran deep. However, sometimes the kindest thing you can do for land you love is to start fresh.
After careful examination, Dernehl and Hopkins discovered what the untrained eye couldn’t see: expensive problems lurking beneath the surface that would make renovation nearly as costly as new construction. The lot presented its own formidable challenges, including a steep 60-foot drop in front that made the approach unpleasant to navigate. But rather than view these obstacles as deterrents, the team saw opportunity. Working closely with Hannah Seaton, a landscape architect at Ed Castro Landscape, they reimagined a new home and a gentler arrival that would properly introduce visitors to what awaited them.
The partnership assembled for this project is a roster of Atlanta’s finest. The Dernehl Company, with nearly half a century of expertise in luxury estates, brought the kind of management prowess that massive projects demand. “We pride ourselves on helping clients who want something above the ordinary standard,” Dernehl says.
Hopkins, with 27 years at Harrison Design, brought both experience and an established relationship with the clients. The architect’s history with The Dernehl Company proved equally valuable. “We’ve partnered on many projects in the past, and we prefer to work together whenever we can,” Hopkins says. Interior designer Susan Lapelle of Susan Lapelle Interiors rounded out the team and was tasked with the delicate challenge of integrating the family’s extensive collection of furniture and treasures into a cohesive, sophisticated whole.
Because this would serve as a second home, the clients prioritized low-maintenance materials without sacrificing aesthetic impact. The exterior features fieldstone and shake siding, chosen to harmonize with the lake and surrounding landscape. The real drama, however, comes from the custom-cut Douglas fir timbers used for trusses, an architectural gesture that deliberately blurs the distinction between inside and out. Hopkins designed these structural elements, and the builder commissioned custom steel plates to hold them in place.
Approximately 15,000 square feet of stone graces the exterior, including substantial custom limestone caps that anchor the design with appropriate weight and permanence. The front entrance makes its own bold statement: custom-designed metal and wood double doors, each 5 feet wide, create a dramatic 10-foot entry that signals this is no ordinary lake house.
Visitors are greeted with a wow moment that begins before they even cross the threshold. The front doors are predominantly glass, offering a preview of the home’s most spectacular feature: the lake itself, framed at every turn. The foyer functions as a central hub, with views extending through the living area to free-floating stairs and a catwalk connecting the upper-level wings. This spatial generosity and visual connectivity announce the home’s essential character, a place designed for gathering, for celebration, for watching generations of family create new memories.
Turning right at the entry, visitors encounter the owner’s suite wing, a private retreat that includes a spacious bedroom, a luxurious bathroom and a substantial closet. A private terrace extends the living space outdoors while a fireplace set within a carved limestone surround provides focal interest and warmth. The bathroom features marble surfaces throughout, a generous tub and an oversize shower. Even from the bathroom, lake views remain constant, ensuring that the owner’s connection to place is never lost.
The great room feels both intimate and grand, a gathering space scaled for the whole extended family. This vaulted, open space features extensive cut stone on the interior, culminating in a showstopping fireplace that required significant engineering forethought. The stone header piece spanning the fireplace opening is a single 10-foot length, set above a massive 6-foot firebox. The builder had to incorporate structural steel to support the floor-to-ceiling stone wall, which contains an impressive 10 tons of carefully fitted stone. Above, a custom five-tier chandelier stretches 12 feet high, an artisan-made piece that the team sourced and collaborated on directly.
The great room flows seamlessly into the dining area, an intentional choice that creates an open-concept entertaining space ideal for the family’s needs. Oak timbers define the ceiling treatment, adding warmth and craftsmanship to a space designed for lingering over meals and conversation. The kitchen continues this sense of abundance and careful planning, featuring two islands that serve distinct purposes. One functions primarily for food preparation, while the other encourages gathering and socializing. The homeowner requested multiple zones so several cooks could work simultaneously without conflict, and the design delivers on that practical requirement.
Special attention was paid to storage, particularly for the client’s extensive collection of china and linens passed down through generations. A dedicated linen and china storage room provides proper housing for these treasures. The kitchen also includes a wet bar and beverage center positioned away from the cooktop, allowing younger family members to help themselves to drinks without disrupting meal preparation. The cooking area itself provides its own wow moment, with a stone backsplash, beautiful custom hood and quartzite countertops. The entire kitchen remains open to the dining area, preserving those crucial lake views that make the property so special.
Adjacent to the kitchen, the scullery offers additional storage and service space. The homeowner hand-carried European pots and pans home from a trip abroad, and they now hang from a custom-made pot rack, which is both functional and decorative. These personal touches, scattered throughout the home, root the new residence firmly in the family’s story.
The sunroom, positioned to capture light from the rear of the house, emerged as a particular point of pride. “This is my favorite room because of the richness of materials and the view,” Hopkins says. A limestone mantel anchors one end, and white oak paneling and a reclaimed brick and oak floor add textural interest. The room features abundant windows fitted with recessed Lutron shades, a fireplace for cooler evenings and ceiling treatments that demonstrate the design team’s commitment to making every surface interesting. The combination of materials creates depth and warmth, and the windows ensure that nature remains the primary focus. The main level also accommodates practical necessities, including a laundry room, powder room and access to a three-car garage.
The staircase, constructed entirely of white oak with open risers and a timber-frame design, is a sculptural element that connects levels. The upper level continues the home’s generous approach to family living. Two bedrooms occupy the right side and three are on the left, all connected by a catwalk open to the great room below. This arrangement maintains a connection to the home’s heart while providing privacy for each suite. Two bunk rooms, designed specifically for grandchildren, feature bathrooms with multiple vanities, while the upper-level laundry room adds convenience, eliminating the need to shuttle loads between floors.
On the terrace level, a den serves as the main gathering space, featuring a cut limestone fireplace with another 6-foot firebox. The kitchen and loggia feature fully opening doors that erase the boundary between inside and covered terrace, creating a seamless transition to the pool deck. The team took particular care to minimize the step from the basement level to the deck, and the patio’s slope incorporates narrow drains with three-eighths-inch gaps in the tile, which help maintain clean sight lines on the surface. Two islands provide ample space for poolside entertaining, and a billiards area and wine cellar offer additional diversions.
A 16-foot-wide steel door in the den retracts into a pocket in the wall, opening to a screened-in, covered loggia that adapts to weather and mood. The pool features an infinity edge that appears to merge with the lake beyond, a designed illusion that makes the property feel even more expansive than its already generous reality. A pool bath, grill area and a guest suite complete this level, which functions almost as a separate residence.
Throughout the home, the quality of craftsmanship elevates the design. “The woodworkers and stonemasons were fantastic. None of it was easy,” Hopkins says. All decks are constructed of steel and concrete, rather than wood, and are built to last for generations. Kingdom Woodworks fabricated all cabinetry throughout the home, ensuring consistency and quality at every turn. The partnership with best-in-class craftspeople reflects the builder’s philosophy that extraordinary projects require extraordinary execution.
As expected on a project of this scale, the challenges faced during construction were substantial. Fitting the driveway approach, the size of the house the clients desired and the septic field within the lot’s constraints required creative problem-solving. The vision of full-height windows and doors demanded careful engineering. All windows and doors are custom steel, with sizes that pushed the limits of manufacturing. Single panes measuring 6 by 10 feet and weighing 1,200 to 1,400 pounds each required special handling and installation expertise.
The two-year construction process allowed for refinement and adaptation. “It was a collaborative, creative process,” Dernehl says. “We made changes along the way, all for the better, as the homeowners started to realize how great the house was going to be.” That flexibility, that willingness to adjust the vision as it took physical form, speaks to the trust and communication among all parties. “It was a fun project for us, and it was for them, too,” he adds. “They’ve built other homes but hadn’t done anything like this.”
The integration of the family’s collected pieces required particular sensitivity from the interior designer. “Susan was great to work with; she and the clients hit it off from the start, and she did a great job with the interiors,” Dernehl notes. “She rose to the challenge of integrating the new elements of the home with all of their collected furniture.” This balance between new architecture and treasured belongings gives the home its soul, preventing it from feeling too precious or untouched.
Now complete, the home serves exactly the purpose its owners envisioned, providing space for the extended family to gather and create new memories on land they’ve loved for three decades. “They’re very happy, and the whole family has been enjoying it,” Dernehl says. *
Robin Howard is a freelance writer in Charleston. See more of her work at robinhowardwrites.com.
