The original owner of our lake house named it Happy Hill. It is the perfect name! Everything about this house makes us happy. The gorgeous view, the fact our families are close by and the satisfaction of what we’ve accomplished in a few short years! We love being here and when we aren’t we wish we were! Here are a few of our favorite things!
Our favorite thing about the Happy Hill Lake House is the view of the lake, without a doubt. In the winter we actually have the most spectacular colors and sunsets!
When the sun starts sinking I’ll run out on the deck and snap a picture. But then five minutes later, it’s even more beautiful!
Another favorite part of the lake house is obviously the deck! We love sitting out there. So does Lacey! The railing is chin height for her so she likes to prop up her head and keep an eye out on her lake. My husband built some gates on each side of the deck like a huge play pen to keep Lacey from chasing every squirrel, duck, and the occasional heron.
Here is the deck all dressed up for July 4th. It’s such a busy time on the lake, so this is the best place to enjoy the lake during the holiday weekends! We have a large shade tree in the middle of the deck that helps keep things cool. We also have an umbrella and fans to combat the heat and bugs. We’ve since painted the rest of the underpinnings and brick wall white. See the outdoor shower on the bottom left? The paddle is the door handle. I love that.
Here is what the back of the house looked like when we bought it. All it needed was a little TLC but we could see the potential.
Here is what she looks like now! A lot of paint goes a LONG way, right? We also reconfigured the steps since they were in pretty bad shape.
When it rains we can use the Southern veranda. It’s tiny but it does the trick! We added several strings of lights around the perimeter of the small roof. I found the old wrought iron chairs and table at an antique store. The original cushions were mildewed and rotten so I had new ones made and covered them with a fun Sunbrella fabric in a blue coy fish pattern. The chairs are surprisingly comfortable! So, we can enjoy a summer rain and still be outdoors!
Inside the house is where the most dramatic changes took place. We fondly look back at the transformation now, but boy, it was a LOT of work (please check out my original Happy Hill post here)! This is the before picture of the fireplace. It was red brick with a leaky fireplace.
We removed the old fireplace enclosure and painted the entire brick surface white, on all sides. We added a custom cedar mantle and corbels. We plan to stain them at some point but part of us appreciates the beauty of the raw wood. I bought the wing chairs at a garage sale and had them recovered. We face the chairs toward the lake in the summer and in the winter they face the new gas logs. No more leaky fireplace! We love having our coffee here in the winter with our feet propped up in front of the fire.
Click here to check out my original post on the remodel we did on our Happy Hill Den. I also posted about the entry way a while back in case you missed it!
On the opposite side of the den is the main sitting area. This is what it looked like shortly after we moved in. We ripped out the carpet and this is how it looked for months. It was like indoor camping complete with lanterns and camp chairs. It was fun though.
This is the same wall in the den where the tv sits now. Lacey loves to watch a good dog show. My favorite fisherman lamp boys flank each side of the television. Sebastian and Simon respectively.
Hello boys! Aren’t they so sweet? (I am so obsessed with these fishermen lamps that I bought a back up Sebastian and Simon just in case anything happens to the originals. Silly, I know. But I couldn’t help myself.) In case you missed it, here is another post I did a while back that features other unique accoutrements throughout Happy Hill!
The yard at Happy Hill is lovely too. Mr. E and his wife planted the most wonderful assortment of trees and shrubs. The azaleas are show stoppers!
We make it a point to be at the lake every spring in order to enjoy the gorgeous azaleas. You can see them from the lake. Boaters frequently drive by slowly and enjoy them too. This large group circles some large trees and we have several other colors and varieties around front. I love cutting bunches and bringing them inside. These shrubs must be over 40 years old! Plus, pink is my favorite color!
The combined history and quirky nature of this house captured our hearts. Our family loves being together here and our boys love it, too.
We love alternating the holidays. Some here and some there. I picture our grandchildren growing up on this lake like my husband and I did. We are building on the foundation of this lovely place. Happy Hill indeed!
