This family’s beautiful Lake House Retreat is made for memories

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Vacation homes often harbor cherished memories: late-night bonfires, sunny days on the water, and special meals with friends and family. But as the years pass, the family dynamic changes. A home that once worked for a family with small children may no longer be suitable in twenty years when those children themselves are adults. Bedrooms become too small, bathrooms are dilapidated and suddenly the space no longer functions as it used to.

That’s exactly what happened to a Chicago family after decades of owning their lakefront vacation home near Lake Michigan. “They now have two grown children and were ready to build what we called ‘the legacy lake house’ – the home that would be there for their children and their grandchildren,” says Rachel Alcorn, owner and lead designer of Two hands interiors.

Alcorn was tasked with expanding this family’s summer cottage into a modern living space that could provide shelter for friends and family for years to come. renovation processwith a nautical theme in mind. Think shades of blue, coastal decor and wood accents.

Enter the coastal-inspired great room.

We all know the saying, “You never know how many friends you have until you have a beach house.” Or in this case, a lake house. Alcorn made sure the kitchen, dining and living room were suitable for entertaining. It was important for the homeowners to accommodate many guests without having to worry too much about anything breaking or getting damaged.

“This family is all about entertaining friends and family. We want the kitchen to work super hard for large groups of people – lots of space on the island, lots of chairs at the table to play games and eat,” says Alcorn. “We don’t want anything too expensive.”

Take a seat on the island or relax in the conservatory.

If the seats on the kitchen island are all occupied, that is not a problem. Just a few steps to the right is a beautiful conservatory with even more seating. Because who doesn’t love a dining area?

“Through the windows you can see the dune in the background and that is a very private place in the house,” says Alcorn. “The family could sit there and not need window coverings. They gain insight into the changing seasons.”

Embrace nautical life in the home bar.

Including meaningful artwork was important to this family, especially pieces that added to the coastal feel of the space. Coincidentally, the husband of this household’s parents were anglers in Florida, and his mother actually caught the marlin pictured above the house bar in the 1970s.

“That hung in his parents’ house for a long time,” says Alcorn. ‘And now they said: ‘We have to hang the marlin somewhere, but where?’ We were like, ‘Let’s lean into it, you know?’ How cool is that?”

Exit from both entrances.

Whether it’s the sand that gets walked in or the wet water shoes and dripping bathing suits that are always going in and out, lake houses can get messy pretty quickly – which brings us to our next stop, the entrance and utility room. On the left is the entrance to the front door, walls decorated with Orissa Panel Schumacher wallpaper. The space has plenty of closets, or what Alcorn likes to call “overflow closets.”

To the right is the downstairs mudroom, which the homeowners and guests can enter after spending time on the lake. ‘That must be an extremely functional mudroom. There is a laundry room down there. It’s where they’re going to wash all the beach towels and where all the stuff is stored,” Alcorn said.

Sleep with friends in this outdoor bedroom.

How many college-age boys can you comfortably sleep in one bedroom? That, according to Alcorn, was the million-dollar question. With three beds and two sofa bedsit turns out to be a maximum of 10. To match the bunkhouse vibe, Alcorn opted for a camp, woodsy theme for the space, decorating the walls with flannel wallpaper.

“This room is located at the front of the house, so you have a view of the forest rather than the beach. We were leaning against that green, kind of Boy Scout kitschy palette there,” says Alcorn.

Go upstairs and relax in the reading corner.

What better way to bring the lake ambiance indoors than with gold fish accents on the wall, yacht wiring along the stairs and a giant rope light fixture hanging from the ceiling. “It’s such a big staircase and it’s such a part of the house,” says Alcorn. “It looks fantastic.”

The best part? The homeowners can take it all in while relaxing comfortably in their reading nook.

Doze off to cool blues.

Sticking with the nautical theme, Alcorn used shades of blue in these two bedrooms, incorporating more family history into the home. “The cool thing about this bedroom (left) is that those flags used to fly on the woman’s father’s sailboat,” says Alcorn. “They are family heirloom flags that we framed and installed in the room.”

Alcorn took on the second bedroom with a slightly more saturated shade of blue. “We liked the idea of ​​shiplap in that room because it is one of the smaller bedrooms. And so if a space is smaller, sometimes we want to make it cozy,” says Alcorn.

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