RETURN TO LOOKOUT

After living in New York and Los Angeles, this young family bypassed the big cities (and their Southern hometowns!) to restore this mountaintop cottage in Chattanooga

- ZOË GOWEN

"My husband, Chapin, and I had been living in Los Angeles, and both of us wanted to get back to the South with its slower pace," says Laura Kay. The interior designer grew up in Clinton, Louisiana, and her husband was raised in Atlanta. But the couple sought out Chattanooga as their destination rather than their hometowns (which they deemed too sleepy and too busy, respectively). Chapin's mom grew up there, and the Kay family, including Chapin's parents and his sister, were conducting a real estate pilgrimage of sorts back to Lookout Mountain. "Things here are stuck in time in the best ways possible," says Laura.

While they were sold on the city, Laura wasn't as convinced when she first saw the 1921 cottage that would become their home. "It is just too Tudor-y," she remembers telling the real estate agent. Laura, whose résumé includes stints with decorators Bunny Williams, Timothy Corrigan, and Mark D. Sikes, knew that she wanted an untouched older house. Digging a little deeper into the property, the couple realized it had a family tie. The home was built by Chapin's great-great-uncle, Garnet Carter, who was known for founding the beloved attraction Rock City as well as patenting miniature golf. "It had been out of the family for 60 years, and we were fortunate to get it back," says Chapin.