• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Partner
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Southern Hospitality

Adventures in Decorating, Thrifting, Cooking, Fashion & Gardening

  • My Home
  • Categories
    • A+ Blogs
    • My Blog Story
    • Decorating
    • DIY/How-To
    • Family
    • Gardening
    • In the Kitchen
    • My Home Tours
    • Thrifting
    • Travel
  • DIY Gallery
  • Fashion
  • Feature Friday
  • Shop My Home
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Ruby Moved in the Lake Cottage

February 8, 2015 By Rhoda 122 Comments

7737 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

So, it’s been an exciting week!  My friend, Ruby, and her hubby, Bill, moved into their new lake cottage last weekend.  I could hardly wait to get over there and see the finished project.  Well, it’s mostly finished.  As with most new construction, there are still things to get completed and touched up.  That punch list will be going for awhile.

And with any new construction, things don’t always go as planned, so Ruby has had to go with the flow in working with her builder and his sub-contractors.  You know how that goes.  Communication doesn’t always happen, so there were a few things along the way that Ruby wasn’t completely happy with, but overall she is ecstatic to be in their new house.  Some of the things that didn’t get done to her satisfaction will be fixed and some she and I will work on making them better.  But, I have to say this is one pretty lake cottage and I would be so thrilled to live in it, as I know they will be.  They are so grateful to get this house and the builder is a friend of theirs and gave them a good deal on building the house.  So, along the way, paint colors didn’t all get communicated well and a few other glitches happened.  But, they are things that Ruby and Bill can live with.  They have a beautiful  new home to enjoy for years to come!  And they are on the lake!

What is not to love about that?

Lake cottage plan

lake cottage plan

I posted about this lake cottage project last fall and showed the tear down house that was once in this spot.  Wow, has it come a long, long way since September!  Six months later and the house is done!  The new detached garage is in the same spot as the old one and they reused the concrete slab from the old garage.

house exterior road view

Since we were there last, the big circular driveway was poured and it all looks great.  One big tree was left out by the road, but everything else was taken out and they can do a landscape plan in the future. Ruby loves planting and landscaping too.

house exterior from the road

The driveway is nice and wide for the spacious 2 car garage and it curves in a circle in front of the house so they can get in and out from both directions.

garage

The 2 car garage has unfinished space above which can be finished later if they choose. The breezeway connects the garage and the house.

Rustic cedar columns have been added along the front of the house.

house

The body of the house siding and shingles are painted Backdrop by Sherwin Williams. I love the rustic columns and how it all works together. I think the plan is to do stone steps too. They have to wait a few months to stain the front porch and back deck, but eventually those will be stained to go with the house color too.  The stone adds such a great look, so there will be more stonework added before it’s completely finished.

railing and second garage

A railing was added between the house and the lower 2nd garage, which they are really going to enjoy having.  They will put their golf cart and some day will get jet skies for the grandkids and this will be great storage for that.

 

front door

Front porch and front door, with a beadboard ceiling.

Many have asked the stone color on Ruby’s house and here it is:

Mossy Creek Ledge stone by Horizon

Siding color:  Sherwin Williams Backdrop

front door 2

I love the stained front door and all the glass around it.

front porch

Front porch windows with beautiful lanterns across the front porch.  Love those lanterns.

rustic columns

Those rustic cedar columns add such a nice touch too.

stone and siding

Board and batten and stone.

porch stone and siding

Another look at the stone.

front door inside

Front door from the inside.  The paint in the main areas of the house is Benjamin Moore White Dove.  All the trim was supposed to be painted that color too, but somehow communication didn’t happen and it was painted this taupe/khaki color, which I think is the same color as the outside trim work.  Luckily, it really works with the house and does look great, so it will stay.  I think she may change it in the guest bath to all white, since there is white beadboard in there, but it does look pretty and she likes it.

arch to bedrooms

This arch doorway goes to the left bedroom area, with 2 bedrooms and a bath on this side of the house.  I love that arch detail.  All the lighting came from Progressive Lighting.

guest room

Guest room #1.  This will be where I stay when I visit.  I’m looking forward to spending the night there soon.

bedroom carpet

I helped her pick carpet and hardwoods and she was able to get this pretty diamond pattern in a soft taupe color as a bit of an upgrade.

All the bedrooms have this carpet and I love it.

office

Bedroom #2 will be hubby, Bill’s home office.  Hi, Bill! Not much of their furniture is here yet, that will happen soon.  And she and I will be shopping for a new living room sofa and chairs.  That door to the right goes out to the back porch.

guest bath

In between the bedrooms is a guest bath, with white beadboard and navy walls,  Naval by Sherwin Williams.

guest blue bath

Pretty little bathroom.  We will have fun decorating this room too.  Ruby loves blues, so this house will have lots of blue in it.

door to basement

Peeking back to the greatroom and kitchen.  This door goes to the basement.  We’ll go down there in a minute.

front door to dining

Lighting inside front door foyer, looking to dining room.  We found these 2 rugs you see pictured at Ballards Outlet months ago and they will be used somewhere, not exactly sure yet.

greatroom

Dining room to greatroom view.

greatroom 2

Greatroom to kitchen.  There is a lot of light coming in this house from all directions.  I just love this floor plan!

dining room

Dining room to kitchen.  I love how open and spacious the house is.

dining room 2

Looking back to the dining area.

greatroom french doors

The greatroom has a gas fireplace and 2 sets of French doors going out on the large covered back porch.

outdoor porch

Looking out to the back porch, this space will be well used.  Ruby has some nice wicker furniture which will be so nice out here.

porch

It’s large and spacious and that far door goes into Bill’s office.

back yard

Looking down to the finger of the lake, which has no water now, but will soon.

back stairs

Steps to the back yard.  That arch will not stay there.

back porch 2

The back porch is so nice!  I can’t wait to sit out here and have coffee with Ruby.

kitchen to greatroom

Greatroom and fireplace.  We are still pondering furniture layout in here, but we will figure it out. Those stairs to the right of the fireplace go upstairs to an unfinished space for now.  Eventually, that big bonus room will be finished out with drywall and an extra bathroom is stubbed up there already. It will be a great place for the grandkids to hang out when they visit.

fireplace

Another rug from Ballard Designs outlet.  I think there is going to be more stone added to the top of the fireplace, it’s not quite done yet.

kitchen

The kitchen is open to the greatroom and has a nice big island.

kitchen sink

This ceramic farm sink is Italian and is so pretty.

kitchen 2

This side has narrow cabinets, but those will come in handy for storage.

kitchen backsplash

Backsplash of creamy tumbled marble in a small subway tile.

kitchen to laundry

The island is another area that missed communication.  Ruby thought it was going to be one dark island in a furniture finish all the way around.  It has a knee wall with corbels added and the granite overhangs so she will add some small stools here.  So we are trying to figure out how to save this one.  She may get a carpenter to come in and do something with it, not sure yet.  She had so many things going in the house at one time and had to pick her battles.  She sent me more than one exasperated text along the way. That’s the way it is with home building.

kitchen to dining

Kitchen island to dining room and front door.

kitchen 3

Standing in greatroom looking into kitchen.

laundry

To the right of the kitchen is the laundry room and the breezeway to the garage. They will add some upper cabinets and shelving in here later. The wire shelf will come down.

greatroom to master bedroom

Left of the kitchen is the master bedroom.  Don’t you love the arch details on the doorways?  I sure do.

master bedroom

Now keep in mind, they had just moved in, so don’t judge!  They got their bed set up, but not much else and the furniture pod hadn’t even been delivered yet.   Wall color in here is Sherwin Williams, Oyster Bay. 

master windows

The master bedrom has 3 large windows looking out in the backyard.

barn door to bathroom

A sliding barn door was built for the master bath.

master vanity

Master bath with porcelain tile planks and a long dark wood vanity.

master shower

Master tiled shower.

stairs to basement

Now let’s head to the basement.  To keep some costs down, they used pine treads and stained them to match the hardwoods.  Turned out great!  Of course, they are dusty right now, but things will get cleaned up soon.

basement

The downstairs basement is very spacious with a concrete floor and lots of room. This space will be a downstairs man cave with big TV and leather sofa and chair.

basement 2

The door on the right is an extra full bath and the door on the left is a bonus room that is huge.

basement bonus

Ruby is talking about finishing out this bonus room and making it a nice guest suite, so we will see how that evolves.

walkout basement

She and I took on a project last week and painted these concrete floors.  I used the same method I did in my laundry room and used concrete porch and floor paint from Sherwin Williams and added a glossy topcoat.  I’ll be blogging about that project and showing you the process. It turned out great and now these floors are nice and fresh and clean!

downstairs patio

The walk out basement has another concrete patio space below the porch upstairs.

extra garage

This house has so much storage space, with this extra garage bay under the house next to the basement.

extra garage 2

The other end of the garage bay.

We can’t wait to get going on the decorating and I’ll be sharing all of that with you all along the way.  Ruby is just beside herself with joy and I can’t say that I blame her.  It’s going to be a fun process of helping Ruby decorate the whole house and I can’t wait to get started. This is a dream come true for her and I’m thrilled for my friend!

For those of you who want the floor plan of Ruby’s lake house, it’s the Merveille Vivante floor plan. Click that link to go to the website. The plan is 1400 s.f. and they enlarged it to 1,800 s.f.

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Related


Don't Miss a Post, join my list!

Filed Under: Projects and How-To, Travel 122 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. patty says

    February 11, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    This is absolutely stunning. Love the open floor plan and the kitchen/great room is to die for. I would have preferred if the crown molding was repainted white dove to give it a less boxy look. I love it on the doors and the floor trim.. I think it would give the illusion of a higher ceiling if the top crown molding was the same as the wall.. just my 2 cents… beautiful home Rhoda!

    Reply
    • patty says

      February 11, 2015 at 1:12 pm

      just the crown molding at the top of the wall – floors moldind and door trim looks awesome!

    • Rhoda says

      February 11, 2015 at 1:56 pm

      Patty, I think that crown molding might be changed eventually. I know she did get it changed in the master bedroom to all white. I agree with you on that.

  2. Tracey says

    February 28, 2015 at 8:23 pm

    Beautiful home! Can you tell me the color of the outside trim and garage?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      March 1, 2015 at 4:39 pm

      Hi, Tracey, not sure of the trim color, she thinks it was custom colored. A good match on the inside concrete floor that we painted is Tony Taupe by Sherwin Williams.

    • Tracey says

      March 9, 2015 at 11:03 pm

      Thank you! Do you know the name of the stone that was used on the house? I love it!!

    • Rhoda says

      March 9, 2015 at 11:41 pm

      HI, Tracey, I don’t know that right off hand, but I’ll try to get more of the materials when I do another post.

    • Tracey says

      March 11, 2015 at 8:23 am

      Great! Thank you

    • Rachel Gilmor says

      March 31, 2016 at 9:31 pm

      Adorable house! Love the stone! Were you able to get the brand/color of the stone?

      Thank you!

    • Rhoda says

      March 31, 2016 at 9:33 pm

      HI, Rachel, not yet. I’ll have to ask my friend next time I see her and see if she has it all written down.

  3. Kathy says

    March 3, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    Beautiful home! Would love information about the hanging lanterns above the kitchen island.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      March 3, 2015 at 4:45 pm

      HI, Kathy, all lighting is from Progressive Lighting.

  4. Marissa Paton says

    March 24, 2015 at 6:18 pm

    Hi There! I am just wondering what colour of exterior siding or paint that is? That is the exact colour we are looking for! Thank you in advance.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      March 24, 2015 at 10:31 pm

      HI, Marissa, I don’t have the colors yet, but when I do I will post them.

    • Laura Chafin says

      March 27, 2015 at 11:50 am

      Anymore info on the floor plan yet? Thanks!

    • Rhoda says

      March 27, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      HI, Laura, I added the link in this post just now, see bottom of post! I had added it to the last lake house post I did too, so now people can find the link.

  5. Savannah says

    May 5, 2015 at 9:12 pm

    Rhoda~
    I was wondering if you know the color of shingles used? We are building our first home and I’m such a visual person…picking a shingle color without seeing it in large scale is very overwhelming. Seeing the roof on this home helped tremendously, and I would love to start with this color. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      May 5, 2015 at 10:54 pm

      HI Savannah, I can see if Ruby knows, but it might take a few days for me to get to her and find out if she knows.

    • Savannah says

      May 6, 2015 at 5:47 pm

      That would be great-Thank you so much!!

  6. Dani says

    May 13, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    What did they use to stain the columns

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      May 13, 2015 at 3:02 pm

      HI, Dani, I don’t know that process. I’ll have to ask Ruby if she knows.

  7. Ashley Wrenn says

    July 5, 2015 at 11:26 am

    My husband and i are wanting to build this exact same house plan. Would it be possible for us to come see her house to make sure its big enough for us? If you know any other houses with this house plan in the area as well, we would love to know, we live in south carolina.

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      July 5, 2015 at 1:03 pm

      HI, Ashley, I’m not sure that she would want to open it up for people to see and I only know of one other private house like this one. Maybe you can contact the architect and see if there is something in your state.

  8. Heath says

    July 21, 2015 at 12:45 pm

    Rhoda,
    We are in the process of building a house a in the North GA Mountains in Dawsonville and I have been trying to find a gray house with cedar beams to get ideas from. What a task picking out colors can be. Could you ask Ruby what color of windows she went with?

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      July 21, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      HI, Heath, I will ask her. We are going to do a final photoshoot and I hope to include many of her sources then, she was finishing up some things before we do that.

    • Colton says

      March 4, 2016 at 4:14 pm

      What was a very rough cost to build estimate this was my number one Floorplan choice and I’m planning to build a house the next few months. I work for a contractor that will be doing a lot of the work. So I’m sure that will help. I understand if you can share this information.

    • Rhoda says

      March 6, 2016 at 7:06 pm

      HI, Colton, but I don’t have those $$ to share.

  9. Amanda says

    July 28, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    I would like to know the paint color brand and names for the outside of the house.

    Reply
  10. April says

    December 9, 2015 at 3:24 pm

    Have the cedar porch columns been stained? If so, would you mind sharing the color and if it is a Sherwin Williams stain? Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Lisa Smith says

    June 18, 2016 at 9:52 pm

    What color stain did you use on the porch columns? Love that color!

    Reply
  12. Lor K says

    June 24, 2016 at 8:07 pm

    On my goodness, so beautiful! Do you know what the whitish exterior trim color is?

    Reply
  13. Ashley says

    July 15, 2016 at 8:31 pm

    What is the exterior trim color? So beautiful! Stumbled upon this via Pinterest and love it all!!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      July 16, 2016 at 9:12 am

      HI, Ashley, I don’t have all that information handy, but might be able to find out.

  14. Jolene says

    July 22, 2016 at 11:51 am

    Love this house! Can you please share stain color used on porch posts.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      July 22, 2016 at 2:51 pm

      HI, Jolene, sorry but I don’t have that information at the moment.

  15. Jeremy says

    September 14, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Gutter colors!?

    Reply
    • Jeremy says

      September 14, 2016 at 12:18 pm

      And siding color!?

    • Rhoda says

      September 14, 2016 at 3:13 pm

      Jeremy, I’ll have to see what I can find out from Ruby. She’s been traveling a lot this summer and I haven’t talked to her in awhile.

    • Jeremy says

      September 14, 2016 at 6:32 pm

      Okay, thanks for getting back to me. I was guessing the gutters were a really dark bronze?

  16. Cherie says

    December 4, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    Congrats Ruby and Bill!! Your home is beautiful!! Thank you so much for posting these pictures, Rhoda. My husband and I are building this house in Creston, British Columbia. It was so hard to pick a home from just a floor plan alone, but seeing these pictures made me realize we picked the right one.

    Reply
  17. Stephanie says

    February 17, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    Can pictures of your actual floor plan be sent to me or posted online? I love your house and want to build one like it. Great job!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      February 17, 2017 at 10:47 pm

      HI, Stephanie, I just sent you the link, but maybe you already saw that. Ruby won’t see this post. She won’t be able to share her exact plan size, it was modified by her builder.

    • SusieH says

      August 2, 2017 at 10:39 pm

      Can you send me the link to her plan?

    • Rhoda says

      August 3, 2017 at 7:48 am

      HI, Susie, here’s the link, it was at the bottom of the post:
      https://www.thehousedesigners.com/plan/merveille-vivante-small-2259/

  18. Julia Tallent says

    March 2, 2017 at 10:48 pm

    Hi! I am in love with this house and floor plan. Can you tell me where in the house they expanded? It looks like they added length to the kitchen. Just trying to get a feel if the main living area in original plan will be large enough for our family. Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Rhoda says

      March 3, 2017 at 9:02 am

      Julia, I know they expanded the greatroom living room out a few feet, but I’m not exactly sure how much.

  19. Nichole Powell says

    March 19, 2017 at 11:51 am

    Beautiful home ! Thanks for the wonderful tour and information. I know alot have asked for specifics and you have been so kind to try and get info out. I was wondering if you found the stain color used for the front columns? I am having a terrible time getting mine the right color. Thanks for any help.

    Reply
« Older Comments
Newer Comments »

Trackbacks

  1. Navy Bathroom Decorating Ideas says:
    September 7, 2016 at 2:42 am

    […] Southern Hospitality […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Thanks for stopping by! I’m Rhoda, from Atlanta, GA and I love decorating and DIY projects. Decorating a home doesn’t have to cost a fortune and I’ve spent years thrifting at antiques markets and yard sales, finding those treasures that make a home unique. I’m here to inspire and encourage other women to find their own inner creativity. Won’t you join me?

Click Here

Click Here

Email Series
How to Decorate in
Classic Timeless Style
.....without breaking the bank!

House Renovation Journey!

Our Paint Colors

Archives

Categories

Footer Widget Header2

Featured here:

Better Homes and Gardens
Atlanta Magazine
Better Homes and Gardens

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Partner

Copyright © 2023 · Southern Hospitality · Blog Design by Little Blue Deer
Privacy Policy

Get my FREE Email Series How to Decorate in Classic Timeless Style....without breaking the bank!
After years of decorating my own homes, I've learned a few tricks on how to create a classic home on a budget. Hope you'll join me!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.