A Beautiful Reflection

The master bedroom is a prime example of how the owner and designer worked as one. “Ann and I have a mutual love of natural stone and off-white tones combined with rock, and reclaimed wood mixed with metals,” says Jones. “The jolts of color in the tile, furnishings and artwork sing against the natural palettes. It’s truly a signature of the two of us when we work together.” Yellow chairs, South of Market. Pendant light made of buoys, Jeff Jones Design. Bedside lamps, Pollen. Painting by Courtney Garrett.

A birch bed that the Veals bought years ago gets a punch of color from an old French sheet that Jones dyed a rich gold. Painting by Libby Mathews.

Guest bedrooms throughout the house are intentionally small, like boutique hotel rooms, Pritchett explains. (You’re at a lake, a retreat. You want guests to come downstairs and spend time as a group.) The “flag room” features a headboard made from vintage survey sticks, with the bed facing a framed 48-star American flag.

The space is outfitted with twin beds covered in Utility turquoise blankets and matching shams, while fishing nets suspended from the ceiling create the illusion of headboards.

A Danish chest in one of the guest rooms echoes the blue hue found on the nearby blankets. Reflected in the mirror above is a pair of Georgia Nagle cow paintings.

A family photo gallery in the foyer is a kinetic work of art itself. Made of jute string and clips, it constantly changes and grows.

Given the home’s steep site, visitors enter on the second level, where reclaimed floors and sliding barn doors lend an air of rusticity while neutral hues, punctuated with a pop of color, speak to the owner’s preferred palette.

A hatch door, raised and lowered via a pulley system, allows maximum light into the kitchen a floor below, and the voices of the owners, grandchildren to echo throughout the house.

In the master bath, an Italian Agape tub focuses squarely on a see-through fireplace, which can also be enjoyed in the adjacent bedroom, that’s surrounded by pebble stone on both sides.

Walk-in showers, dictated by the home’s lakeside location, are placed throughout the house. This one is wrapped in 6 x 12-inch watery-green glass tiles. Sink fixture, Phillipe Starck for Axor. Shower head, Kohler.

Exposed beams, 12-foot ceilings and overscaled transom windows give Ann and Warner Veal’s residence a “relaxed and lake-y character,” says architect Todd Pritchett. Throughout, modern elements are combined with those that have a Southern verve. Lots of airflow, for instance, is a Southern concept while white-washed walls, and pops of colors like that found in a bright chartreuse-colored door, have a modern feel. Limestone floor, Traditions in Tile and Stone.

With a breathtaking view of Lake Rabun and the adjacent Chattahoochee National Forest, the screened porch brings the outdoors in—and vice versa. The sectional sofa from Kolo Collection offers an ideal spot for napping.

Modern white chairs from Domus International pull up to a primitive dining table at one end of the screened porch; Jones added the wall-mounted woodpecker, playing to Ann Veal’s preference for a modern/primitive mix.

An open floorplan between the living/dining areas and the kitchen accommodates large family gatherings.

In the dining area, an old worktable set on saw horses can easily accommodate 12 at mealtime. Designer Jeff Jones repurposed a baler rake to create a candle-lit chandelier that’s raised and lowered with vintage pulleys.

“[Builder] Mike Chapman and I wanted the stone fireplace to look old and irregular,” says Ann. “The boulders he used came from right here in the area; he found them when they were blasting Route 441.” Coffee table, Jeff Jones Design. Oars over fireplace, South of Market. Artwork flanking fireplace by Georgia Nagle.

To provide plenty of room for relaxation, Pritchett flanked the dining area with two separate living spaces. This one is outfitted with a comfy South of Market sofa and an inviting red lounger from Domus International. Floor lamp, Jeff Jones Design.

The kitchen is outfitted with modern amenities, including aluminum Siematic cabinets, Calcutta Gold marble countertops, a Sub-Zero refrigerator, Wolf range, Futuro hood and Gaggenau ovens. Still, there are primitive pieces, like “Charlie Catfish,” who oversees the room, that beautifully balance old and new.

As the owners of Traditions in Tile and Stone, Ann and Warner Veal had access to exquisite materials. Still, they give credit to the company’s own Jack Hughes for the tile design throughout the house—including the red glass-tiled backsplash in the kitchen.

An old life raft serves as the perfect wall accent in this lakeside home.

A guest bath features glass tile in watery colors with wood-faced cabinetry giving a nod to the nearby Chattahoochee National Forest. Italian limestone floors run throughout the house, except in the bedrooms, where there’s reclaimed heart pine.

A flagstone-lined sitting area, with gardens designed by Tim Stoddard, features comfy seating and an outdoor shower. The chairs are from Kolo Collection.

One of the things Ann likes best about the home’s architectural design is that “every room looks out at the lake—even the kitchen.”

This home on Lake Rabun has a singular style. Which is precisely what owners Ann and Warner Veal wanted. “I’ve always loved quirky things that are mixed with classic,” says Ann. “More than anything, I wanted this house to be fun.”

To that end, she turned to Jeff Jones—her go-to designer for the past 20-some years, when he first opened Jeff Jones Design. One of the things that makes the relationship work: They share a belief that challenges give birth to creative and interesting solutions.

And this home was not without its challenges. The original house had its share of water problems. But more than that, it wasn’t big enough to accommodate the owners’ growing family. The idea of an expansion, though, produced another challenge: The structure’s footprint could not be changed.

The Veals reached out to architects Todd Pritchett and Craig Dixon of Pritchett + Dixon, who took the structure down to its original foundation. In its place now stands a new three-level home that fuses the best of two worlds. “You know you’re in a Southern lake house—there’s a certain Southern vernacular—but there are modern elements, too,” says Pritchett. The modern aesthetic is apparent in the open floor plan, with overscaled doors and windows creating the feeling of glass walls. The kitchen, with its mix of ultra-modern Siematic cabinetry and primitive pieces, has a warehouse feel. Meanwhile, the nod to Southern style is evident in the wood walls, reclaimed floors and fieldstone fireplaces.

The architects also took full advantage of the home’s prime location. “The house is no more than 30 feet from the lake, and on the edge of the Chattahoochee National Forest,” Pritchett points out. “Every room has a view of one or both.” At the same time, the new plan meets the owners’ need for a larger entertaining area, as well as more bedrooms and baths—plenty of space for six grandchildren. There are now two living areas instead of one; a dining area, with a table large enough to seat 12, separates the two. And with the exception of the master, bedrooms are intentionally small—like boutique hotel rooms—because, says Ann, “When you’re at the lake, who wants to spend a lot of time in their room?”

Every inch of this house, however, speaks to Ann’s distinct sense of style. “She wanted this house to be one of joy, family, fun and surprise,” says Jones. “We had a great time searching for those unusual, often one-of-a-kind objects and handcrafted furnishings. And the materials throughout are bold and unique. Of course, it helped that the Veals own a major tile and stone business. We had so many options from around the world at our finger tips.”

Proof positive that the design team got it right lies in Ann’s assessment of the completed project. “This house makes me smile,” she says. There may be no greater compliment.

ARCHITECTURE Pritchett + Dixon, (404) 876-1390; pritchettdixon.com INTERIOR DESIGN Jeff Jones, Jeff Jones Design, (404) 731-8068; jeffjonesdesign.com