• About
  • Contact
  • Design Services
  • Dear V
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Amazon Store
  • SHOP MY LTK!
  • Home Youtube
  • Living Youtube
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

House of Valentina

House of Valentina

Designing the art of living

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Shop My LTK
  • Amazon Shop
  • Youtube
    • Home Channel
    • Living Channel
  • Recipes

How We Bring Modern Design Into a Traditional Space

June 15, 2022 · In: Before and After, Interior Design, Tips and Tricks

We recently completed the design of the main living spaces in our Lake Hartwell lake house project. This home dates to the 1990s, but was built and originally designed to be a manor home. Our primary goal was to preserve certain traditional elements throughout this manor home while updating it for a modern family. When our clients purchased the home, they asked us to help create a space that was relaxing and comfortable for their family of five. While our clients wanted a family-friendly space for everyday life, they also wanted the home to feel like an escape. The main salon room – which was the heart of this project – is large in both size and scale. There are many traditional elements – including a massive fireplace, coffered ceilings, large baseboards and lots of trim work. Our clients did not want to strip the home of its historic soul. At the same time, neither did they wish to create a home that felt unapproachable or museum-like. In the end, our in-house team modernized this Lake Hartwell home to be functional, beautiful and family-friendly – all while honoring its original interior. Here’s how we bring modern design into a traditional space.

The grand salon and dining area before the updates

Our Solutions to This Lake Hartwell Home’s Design Challenges

Our clients’ Lake Hartwell home presented a number of challenges, but these are the type of design challenges we love to tackle. The team’s first step was to deal with this home’s flooring. The flooring varied throughout the space and the hardwoods – though beautiful in places – were quite damaged. 

We brought in Nydree hardwoods and ran them throughout the entire space. This improved the overall flow of the home, as the flooring is now consistent from the entryway throughout the entire main floor.


Our Design Process for the Living Room

Painting the walls Hematite
New Hardwoods from Nydree
An area rug to ground the space
Modern furnishings to bring balance
The Journey from Before to After

Dark Tones Add Drama While Framing Gorgeous Lake and Foliage Views

The home’s main living spaces also needed to be repainted. Lake house interiors are often light and airy. However, we decided to go in an opposite direction to create a bit of drama and moodiness. We used Polar Bear by Behr on the ceiling. This design choice helped us preserve the grand scale of the space itself, as light colors can create a vaulted effect.

We went dark on the walls using Hematite from the baseboard to the ceiling. We left the original chair rail in place but painted it to match the walls. Our team also went dark on the windows. We painted them a bold dark gray – Cracked Pepper from Behr – and the result is absolutely breathtaking. Opting for a dark color around the windows perfectly frames views of the lake and amazing foliage that surrounds the home.

Modern Furniture Balances Traditional Elements Throughout the Home

To complete the transformation, we procured furniture and art for this space. We chose a baseline of modern furniture, which counterbalances classic elements we chose to preserve. 

In short, this modern furniture serves as a contrast to the traditional lines and elements of the room itself. It helps break up the heavy, museum-like feel the home had before we got involved.

We also crafted a new collection of artwork for our clients – a combination of custom paintings and modern art from Desenio. Decor accessories are a mix of modern and rustic pieces. Pairing rustic and organic elements is a great way to root this house in place – a wooded area on a beautiful lake.

No related posts.

By: Valentina Fussell · In: Before and After, Interior Design, Tips and Tricks · Tagged: alpharetta, Atlanta, before and after, Georgia, interior designer, lake hartwell, renovation

Join our newsletter.

Sign up to receive designer tips and tricks, shopping guides, and more.

Some of the links above are affiliate links, this just means I receive a small percentage of commission and it doesn’t cost you any more on your possible purchases. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathleen Ziech says

    July 5, 2022 at 10:43 pm

    I love your sisters dining room chairs….You did a great job on her house. Can you tell me where the chairs were purchased? I know you mentioned it on YouTube but I can’t remember. Thank you

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Next Post >

Valentina’s European Vacation Shopping Guide

Primary Sidebar

Connect

Search

Featured Posts

Musings on the Greatness in You!

Join our newsletter

  • Gift Guides
  • Interior Design
  • Fashion
  • Travel
  • Entertaining
  • Weekend Guide

Archives

Follow Along

@thehouseofvalentina

I’m so excited!!!! My new show #LakesideLuxeForL I’m so excited!!!! My new show #LakesideLuxeForLess is coming to @amazonlive on Thursday October 9 at 8pm ET! Get ready for budget-friendly luxury design tips, family moments, and of course - amazing Amazon finds ✨ Search ‘Amazon Live’ on Prime Video to tune in!
Eeeekkkk!!! The HOLIDAY shop is open on AMAZON and Eeeekkkk!!! The HOLIDAY shop is open on AMAZON and it’s packed with stunning but budget friendly finds!!! Why not make this the best Christmas yet?! 👏🏽 🎄 ✨ 

Comment HOLIDAY to get the links!! 

#houseofvalentina #amazonhome #christmasdecor #amazonchristmas #christmasiscoming #christmastree #christmasdecorations #amazonfinds #viral #viralreels #viralproducts #amazondeals @thehouseofvalentinaliving @amazonlive @amazonhome @amazon @thehouseofvalentina
😭😭it’s just so good! 🍂 🎃 🐶 Comm 😭😭it’s just so good! 🍂 🎃 🐶 

Comment FALL to get the links! (& find more inspo!) 

Guys!! I’m so happy right now I’m about to cry! The cuteness factor is off the charts!! I’m so excited to see our vision for our fall porch come together complete with pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!! 

And can we talk about Louis in his adorable fall sweater?! And the wreaths (they are faux!!!) and the lanterns and the flickering pumpkins?!!! 

If you could die from cuteness overload I’d be a goner! Hahaha but thankfully it looks like I’ll be holding on for a few more days and greeting our kids as they come home for fall here and it won’t be long and this will be getting a little Halloween overlay for trick or treaters! 

To me, these are the greatest moments of life. Creating a home that says “welcome home!” I hope in our own little way we can inspire you as well! As always, sending so much love from our home to yours! XxV

#houseofvalentina #fallhome #fall #fall2025 #fallporch #falldecor #falldecorations #potterybarn #crateandbarrel @potterybarn @crateandbarrel #potterybarnstyle #amazon #amazonfinds #amazonhome @thehouseofvalentinaliving @thehouseofvalentina
Eeeekkk! I’m soaking in all the heavenly feeling Eeeekkk! I’m soaking in all the heavenly feelings of Fall!! 🍂 

Comment FALL to shop our fall faves!!

#houseofvalentina #fall #falldecor #fallvibes #falldecorations #falldecorating #autumn #autumnstyle #autumnhome #autumndecor @thehouseofvalentinaliving @thehouseofvalentina
Omg omg omggggg!!! I finally found THE FAUX LEAVES Omg omg omggggg!!! I finally found THE FAUX LEAVES that ACTUALLY look so real even when you touch them you can’t believe it!!!! Eeekkkk!! 

Comment LEAF to get the link!!! 🍂 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

#houseofvalentina #fall #fallvibes #falldecor #falldecorations #fallstyle #autumn #fallhomedecor #falldecorating #autumndecor @thehouseofvalentina @thehouseofvalentinaliving

Footer

  • Shop My Faves
  • Youtube
  • Patreon
  • Design Services
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Some of the links above are affiliate links, this just means I receive a small percentage of commission and it doesn’t cost you any more on your possible purchases. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 · Theme by 17th Avenue

We use cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies.