Feature: Cottage Comforts

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“I knew before I walked in the door that this house was supposed to be ours,” says interior designer Carol Lund of her family’s 86-year-old cottage in the Old Village. At the time—21 years ago—Carol and her husband Craig had a five year-old and a pair of four-month-old twins; the slow-pace historic neighborhood seemed like the perfect roosting place for their fledgling brood.

While there was work to be done to the 3,200-square-foot, five-bedroom house, the newcomers were up to the task. Back then, Carol was just waking to her
natural-born design sensibilities, and Craig, current national sales manager for Charleston’s Port Authority, was a hammer-handy guy from the get-go. As home-improvement veterans (they had teamed up before to restore their last abode, a gutted Victorian in Atlanta’s Old Roswell area), the pair knew how to tackle their Old Village find.

Room-by-Room Revamp

“For the past two decades, we’ve chosen one project a year and tackled it ourselves,” says Carol. Inside, that meant “taking down every wall we could” to open the space without the house collapsing in on itself. They also pulled up the old carpet and refinished the original hardwood floors underneath, white-washed the beadboard upstairs, converted a downstairs porch into a family room, and, after Hurricane Hugo lifted and shifted the house, they removed the drop-tile ceilings throughout. Outside, the family added a wraparound porch, filled in the foundation, tacked on a tin roof, and poured a concrete side drive. The result is a home that’s as cozy as Christmas year round.

And this winter, even though the last of their girls has finally left the family nest, the two remaining Lunds won’t think of selling the place and downsizing to something smaller. “Our children wouldn’t hear of it,” laughs Carol. “This is home, and it’s where we are, forever and ever.”

And who can blame them? “I really like a warm ambiance,” says Carol, whose clientele search her out for that signature vibe. “Making someone feel welcome is very important to me, and I like things to be simple rather than fussy so people aren’t intimidated.”

Designer in Residence

Carol’s color palette exemplifies her need for simplicity. “I stayed neutral on most walls,” says Carol, “so the fabrics, rugs, and accessories can pop.” Hues range from white to a light khaki to a Tuscan gold glaze, with only the dining room making a significant departure. Inspired by a set of antique china with an apple-green background, Carol confesses that she “just had to” wrap the room in the vibrant shade.

The kitchen exudes more personal, practical touches. Four floral relief tiles found at an Atlanta architectural artifacts shop were placed above the stove in a sea of handmade white Mexican tiles. Repeating the yellows and greens from elsewhere in the house, the antique ceramics create depth and a focal point in an otherwise utilitarian space. As for furnishings, Carol’s prize is a pine farmhouse table from John Gibson Antiques on King Street. It suited her need for a narrow eating spot and has logged hundreds of mealtime, homework, and craft project hours over the years. With the added bonus of drawers for linens, it’s one of her most cherished pieces.

The cottage boasts two family rooms, one downstairs and another located upstairs just outside the girls’ doors. After pulling up old shag carpet, adding can lights, and painting the walls white, it became the perfect spot for a young family to relax. “But,” Carol explains, “once the girls became teenagers, they were up there, and we were down in our room. We decided we needed a ground level family room because we didn’t want boys going up to the second floor. And that’s how we came to have a second family room downstairs,” she says with a grin. Now that the Lund children are adults, the upstairs space has become their hangout pad once again, a prime movie-watching spot when everyone’s home on vacation.

Home for the Holidays

When December rolls around, tradition takes center stage. Carol, who once put on events and weddings, has a sweet little white outbuilding where she stashes most of her set-dressing gear. “I walk out there, look around, and go, ‘Hmmm, what do I want to do this year?’” She takes anything that captures her fancy by the armload and spreads her finds throughout the house. “It might be paperwhites, sometimes a vase, or an urn. This year, I was into ease,” she laughs. “And that meant I went to the drawer where I keep my collection of old mercury ornaments, put them into a pottery bowl, and then centered it on the kitchen table with two candles. It shows you don’t have to do a lot to get a big bang.”

With vignettes in place, the fresh greens go up: cedar and fronds from the yard, a few choice poinsettias from Mrs. Capper’s Plants-n-Things, pine garlands from Cox Tree Service, a rosemary topiary from Costco, and preferably a Scotch pine from Cox’s as well. The idea is not to overdo things, but instead let spontaneity take over. “I don’t like an overdone look,” says Carol, “where every corner has a poinsettia or an angel. I like simple decorations, sentimental accents, understated, fresh flowers, and a tree that speaks quietly for itself.” The most homegrown touch of all: the pottery nativity scene her twins made. “Every time I pull it out, I laugh and I cry,” she says.

And come December 25th, when the cottage is filled with Carol’s simple touches and packed with family and friends, its inherent coziness is all the more apparent. After all, that sense of home, says Carol, is what first attracted her to their little yellow house, and what she’s celebrated top to bottom with its décor ever since.