DOWN TO EARTH

A dark and dated North Carolina fishing cabin gets cast a new line courtesy of a color scheme in keeping with its surroundings and a tackle box of charming accents.

- RHONDA REINHART

Overlooking North Carolina's Lake Glenville, this former fishing cabin has a dark green exterior and a deck with a mix of teak and faux bois furniture that takes its cues from the woodsy surroundings.

There's an old Chinese proverb—Where the water is too clear, there are no fish—that suggests that sometimes it pays to look past appearances. The same could be said of buying a home, or at least that proved to be the case for James Hewlette and Jordan Kruse when they first laid eyes on their Cashiers, North Carolina, vacation cottage. It wasn't what you'd call perfect—the Lake Glenville property hadn't seen any updates since 1988. But the Charleston-based couple (James is in the whiskey industry, and Jordan sells real estate) wisely waded right into the rustic fishing cabin—complete with low ceilings, dark-paneled walls, carpeted floors, and Formica countertops—and found themselves a catch worth keeping. “It was like a time capsule from 30 years ago,” says Jordan.

To help bring the house into the here and now while maintaining its been-here-for-decades fish camp character, the couple called on their longtime friend Elly Poston Cooper (ellyposton.com), a Richmond, Virginia-based interior designer who, like James, had also spent childhood summers in the region. Together the trio set out to create a home that was tailored and layered—a house that felt as if it had been passed down through generations. “It was important that we have a good mix of handsome materials with beautiful fabrics and antiques to give it that ‘collected’ feeling,” says Elly. While preserving the home’s modest footprint, they gave its 2,100 square feet new life with white oak flooring, painted paneling, plaid and floral textiles, and whimsical wallpaper.