Houzz Tour: Roughing Up a Fancy Mountain Home

This opulent mountain home in North Carolina needed a good dressing down. Interior designer Pam McKay quickly learned that her clients were full of fun spirit and had eclectic taste and a great appreciation for local artwork. “They are an awesome couple who are fun and unique. They just wanted to relax and gather with as many friends and family members as possible, as often as possible, up here,” she says. While the previous homeowners loved ornate metalwork and crystal chandeliers, these folks wanted a more rustic and comfortable home away from home where they could kick back, watch games, hit the nearby links and enjoy meals with their favorite people. The designer kept most of the existing finishes but highlighted the home’s rustic elements and brightened things with art of local scenes and wildlife, new paint, window treatments, furniture and accessories.

Houzz at a Glance
Location: Linville Ridge, North Carolina
Designer: Dianne Davant and Associates
Size: 5 bedrooms

“The former homeowners had ornate taste, which you can see here from the original lanterns and work above the door,” McKay says. But her clients, who prefer a more casual style, saw past the fancy scrollwork to the incredible views of Grandfather Mountain. And they loved the proximity to the golf course. They just needed some help fine-tuning the home’s style with furniture, window treatments, light fixtures, color, accessories and artwork to suit their more rustic and eclectic tastes. “The fabrics, textiles and artwork all make it tick,” McKay says.


Although the home had ornate details, the wood trim, hardwood floors, large stone fireplaces and other original details were suited to a more casual mountain-home style. McKay took her clients on a field trip to High Point Market so that they could sink into sofas and chairs and find the exact level of overstuffed comfort they loved while she helped them pull the overall style together.

In the living room, she went with neutral gray sofas and added lively pops of bright colors like terra-cotta, lime green and blue. “The light in here is so saturated that it absorbs all that bright color,” she says. A tufted ottoman in the center of the room pulls in all the bright colors; an overdyed patchwork rug grounds the room in bright and earthy greens.

McKay also brought in a lot of color via work by North Carolina artists. The painting over the mantel is by artist Tim Turner.

Fireplace screen: Jan Barboglio; cow painting (reflected in mirror): Sue Fazio; Hiding Stool: Theodore Alexander


McKay softened the large windows with gray herringbone fabric drapes. A game table on the right is just the spot for playing board games and cards.

Wall paint: Revere Pewter, Benjamin Moore; ottoman: Vanguard, customized with Fabricut fabric; sofa table: Classic Home; swivel chairs: Stanford Furniture; sofas: Bassett Furniture; petrified wood (on credenza), wooden figures: Asian Loft; driftwood lamp: Currey & Company; credenza: custom by Old Biscayne Designs; drapery fabric: Bassett


In the dining room, the existing antler chandelier and sconces suited the homeowners’ idea of eclectic mountain rustic, so they kept them.

An unexpected skull fabric on the host and hostess chairs is black on cream on the back, and reversed with cream on black on the front. On the tabletop McKay topped off the china with pottery by local artist Ronan K. Peterson. The homeowners also love to collect special glass pieces. Pottery by Courtney Martin and Mark Peters and glass by Pomeroy perch over the pass-through.

Dining table, chairs: GrassRoots; china: Fortunada; skull fabric: Currey & Company


The pass-through peeks through to the kitchen and this sitting room just off it. Iron and reclaimed wood on the sofa table and high-top dining table add rustic elements. A lively print on the armchairs and a bright green glass table lamp bring in color. A mix of stools emphasizes a more casual feel. The same gray herringbone drapery fabric used in the living room ties the two spaces together.

Painting: Robert Ray; 36-inch table, wood stools: Classic Home; alligator stools (at ends of table): Hancock & Moore; table lamp: Jamie Young; armchairs: Bassett


The house has a wraparound deck on the main and lower levels with spectacular views. McKay chose weather-rated furniture and accessories that mix living room–like upholstered chairs with woven ones and a log side table. The coffee table’s top is zinc; its color highlights the gray found in the exterior fieldstone mix.

Rug: Surya; coffee table, chairs: Lane Venture; concrete log table: Currey & Company


The powder room already had strong elements, such as the free-form travertine sink. McKay dressed it down with a lamp from Oklahoma Casting, a chicken coop painting by Margaret Salisbury and a red ceiling. “I wanted to add a little oomph in here with color, but it would have been too overwhelming and dark on a wall,” she says. “Ceilings are forgotten so much of the time.”

Ceiling paint: Burnt Peanut Red, Benjamin Moore


More colorful poultry artwork enlivens the powder room. These are by Sue Fazio.


In the master bedroom, a four-poster bed’s tree-trunk-shaped posts are topped with sweet birds. A painting by Tony Griffin portrays the local rural mountain landscape. “Also, the valance over the window is a little tree-trunk-like,” McKay says.

Wall paint: Par Four, Benjamin Moore; bed: custom, Flat Rock Furniture; side chests: Uttermost; lamps: Currey & Company; bench: Classic Home with custom fabric; chair: Bassett; valance fabric: Samarcand Selections; rug: Chandra; bedding: custom, fabric by Dogwood Fabrics and Pindler


The master suite has its own morning kitchen. McKay punched up the existing finishes with a painting by Norma Murphy, pottery by Andrew Stephenson and a colorful rug by Michaelian & Kohlberg.


In the master bath, she added rustic accessories to contrast with the opulent feel. The room has his-and-her vanities; hers could have swung into Marie Antoinette–style territory, but McKay brought it back down to earth with a twig chair and other accessories. The homeowner does have a little flair for royal style; she collects crowns, as seen on the picture frames here.

The plaid window treatments are made of the same fabric as the master bedding.

Chair: Flat Rock Furniture; valance fabric: Pindler; valance trim: Brimar


On his side a bachelor’s storage chest, a tree-shaped towel bar, slate accessories, leather trim on the cornice and a beaded light fixture add interesting forms and textures.

Bachelor’s chest, slate accessories: Go Home; light fixture: Currey & Company; painting: Sue Fazio; tree towel holder: Maitlin Smith


On the lower level, a second family room has its own kitchen and another stone fireplace. The house was furnished to hold as many overnight guests as possible; the large sectional has a built-in sleeper. A large TV is just out of view to the right.

Sofa: Bassett; throw pillows: Company C and Lee Jofa; fireplace screen: Uttermost; painting over mantel: Sue Fazio; coffee table: Four Hands; wire lamps: Currey & Company; counter stools: Accessories Abroad


The kitchen finishes were existing; McKay added local flavor with a cow painting by Carolyn Blaylock.





The lower-level master suite has a stone feature wall complete with a fireplace. Striped bedding adds bright color, while a tall headboard stands up to the large scale of the room. The elegant chandelier originally set the tone in the foyer; McKay repurposed it here to contrast luxe and rustic.

Bed, side chests: Hooker Furniture; bedding: Chalet Stripe, Pine Cone Hill; shams: custom; throw pillow: Chinawind; glass lamps: Currey & Company


Continuing the style mix, McKay accessorized a rustic desk with a glittering table lamp, a large industrial-style mirror and a simple bench upholstered in a lumberjack black and red plaid.

Halo lamp: GJ Styles; mirror: Classic Home; turquoise platter (on wall): Lisa Stinson; paintings: Robert Ray


Resin antler trophies and a bench upholstered in cowhide add playful rustic touches, while striped bedding enlivens the room.

Antler trophies, clock: Oklahoma Casting; horn chair: Bernhardt Design; bench: Uttermost


The homeowners’ style shines through in this guest bedroom; he loves golf, and she collect pigs. The paintings over the headboards are of antique golf clubs. Wilbur throw pillows add a sense of playfulness to the beds.

“Everything is very textural in here,” McKay says. A spherical driftwood lamp draws the eye up to the rich wood ceiling coffers; a zigzag fabric and nailhead trim jazz up the headboards. Two queen beds allow four guests to sleep comfortably when the house is at full capacity.

Headboards, chair: Bassett; quilts, spread, Wilbur pillows: Pine Cone Hill; golf club paintings; Jim Chapman; benches: Lanrada, Uttermost; driftwood light fixture: Currey & Company; floor and table lamps: Jamie Young; side table: Four Hands; window treatment fabric: Glen Plaid, Dogwood Fabrics


McKay kept the fixtures and finishes in all of the bathrooms, adding accessories like this Andrew Wyeth print, custom mirrors, sconces, reclaimed-wood bench and rag rug.

Rug: Dash & Albert; sconces: Stone Forest; wastebasket, tissue box and other accessories: Kassatex; print: “Night Sleeper” by Andrew Wyeth


“This is the room where we went the wildest,” McKay says of this colorful guest bedroom. “My clients love color; we added it in splashes, but you have to give it a rest somewhere to give the room some calmness.” The calm comes from the neutral wall color, window treatments and pieces like the leather bench.

Wall paint: Nantucket Breeze, Benjamin Moore; bed: Flat Rock Furniture; duvet fabric: Kravet; chandelier: Currey & Company; mirror: custom, Art Cellar Gallery; dresser: Furniture Classics; rug: Dash and Albert; throw pillows (on bed and chair): Company C; painting: Tony Griffin; wire shade lamps: Regina Andrew; mercury glass lamps: Zeugma; bench: Woodbridge Furniture


A cozy chair and ottoman provide a reading spot with a view. The colorful faux trophies highlight all the wild colors used in the room.

“This is my favorite thing to do in design — to contrast texture, elements, time periods, styles and flavors,” McKay says. “This project was extra fun, because I was very free to do that.”

Ottoman: Bassett; table, floor lamp: Uttermost; pillow: Company C; drapery fabric: Pindler; drapery hardware: Lefere Forge; antlers: Go Home

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