Fowler Interiors creates bright moments in a family’s lake getaway
From the outside, Tab and Laurin Patton’s lake home in the Cliffs at Keowee Springs looks like its Lodge Cottage neighbors with its shake cladding, rustic timber posts and rafter tails, and grand arched stone entry.
Yet, the front door opens to vivid contemporary spaces—designed by Fowler Interiors—that are full of colorful fabrics, graphic wallpapers, and eye-catching artworks. Those striking elements stand out against elegant finishes and materials in black and white, the couple’s favorite neutral color palate.
“The inside is completely not what you’re anticipating,” says Dustin Fowler, Fowler Interiors’ senior managing partner. He designed the Pattons’ main residence in 2019 and created a similar bold aesthetic throughout this home’s 1,600 square feet. “It’s a small getaway, but it packs a lot of punch,” he adds.
It took a complete renovation to create the perfect weekend retreat for the couple and their three daughters, Wren, Finch, and Lundi. The eight-month project, carried out by Kevin Lovell Construction, included changing the layout of the primary suite and lower level, as well as enlarging the kitchen.
“They love to cook, so renovating the kitchen was extremely important,” Fowler says, adding that bumping a wall back by two-plus feet created the depth needed for a 10-foot island with five stools.
“We wanted to have that space where they could sit at the island and be together while one of the girls is making brownies and the other is helping mom bake a cake,” he says.
To infuse the interiors with more natural light—one of the couple’s main renovation requests—new windows were added in key spots, including on one side of the living room’s fireplace wall.
A set of paned-glass windows were replaced with an oversized picture window above the dining-nook-turned-kitchen sink. It provides straight-on views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Lake Keowee, as does a similar window installed over the primary bathroom’s double vanity (narrow, ceiling-mounted mirrors hang in front of it, but don’t block the view).
“Maximizing the glass really captured the natural light,” Fowler says. “Prior to this, the house was fairly dark and cavernous.”
Now, the living spaces, three bedrooms, and three-and-a-half baths are cheerful reflections of the fun-loving family, from the sculptural chandeliers, the graphic wallpapers, and the marble counters’ dramatic veining to the entry’s framed Pierre Frey textile—it hides storage cubbies and a charging station—and the pink unicorn-themed painting hanging above the family room wet bar.
“It’s a fun house,” Fowler says.
Fowler Interior Home Tour
The entry is a lesson in creating a great gallery wall. “It’s all about scale,” Fowler says. “The coloration of the pieces needs to look good together, but it doesn’t have to match by any means. But the play of scale is the most important.”
The living room’s artwork, April Adventures from Shadow Catchers Art, anchors the space and balances the scale of the entry’s gallery wall.
On one entry wall, Fowler framed a large, embroidered Pierre Frey textile in an acrylic box—“it’s the first cutting that ever hit the US market,” he says. The box opens to reveal hidden cubbies and a charging station, one of the ways that storage was maximized across the home’s 1,600 square feet.
The Griff Chandelier, from Arteriors Home, and the Blythe King Upholstered Bed, from Highland House, give the primary bedroom a dose of glamour.
As part of the changes in the kitchen, the sink’s location was moved and an oversized picture window was installed above it. The window adds to the space’s contemporary aesthetic while allowing more natural light into what were once dark living spaces.
The homeowners fell in love with a slab of Calacatta Paonazzo marble from Marmi Natural Stone. But when there wasn’t enough length for the 10-foot island, Fowler and his team developed a creative solution—merging it with a section of Absolute Black Granite from Star Granite. The intentionally curved waterfall edges and seam where the materials meet add a delightful element to the kitchen’s design.
The renovation included rearranging the lower level’s layout to create a large bedroom where the couple’s three daughters and their friends enjoy slumber parties in the two king-sized beds. “It’s like a bunk room without bunks,” Fowler says.
In the powder room, the rectilinear shape of the Visual Comfort Covet Bracket Sconce provides a contrast to the bold arched lines of the wallpaper (Phillip Jeffries’ Curves, Juniper Arcs).
In the lower-level family room, a cozy sectional provides plenty of space for the family of five to watch movies together.
The upper-loft guest suite contains a perfect balance of neutral elements and pops of color, brought together with a fun black-and-white photograph, titled Lip Service, from Wendover Art.
