An Alabama Home Where Rustic Meets Refined

Georgia Carlee and her husband, David, hadn’t planned on uprooting their family of three to move to the shore of Lake Martin in Alexander City, AL. For 15 years the Carlees had been perfectly content with their life in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. But after their daughter, Caroline, was born, they began hunting for a weekend/vacation house in the Lake Martin area, a four-hour drive from their Florida home. That’s when Georgia became enamored of the family-oriented community. It wasn’t that the 2,200-square-foot condominium was in turnkey condition. In fact, the space hadn’t been updated since it was built in 1982. “Other buyers didn’t know what to do with it,” says Georgia, a designer who owns her own firm.

Although the unit had 27-foot ceilings (amazing, right?!), its two bedrooms and two bathrooms felt scanty considering the square footage. “I’m guessing people thought it was too small, but I knew we could get another floor in there,” she says. They also added shiplap to the walls and ceiling — plus plenty of modern touches that make it feel like a stylish year-round home rather than a rustic weekend retreat. “I purposely did not decorate it like a typical lake house,” says Georgia. “There are no ‘What happens at the lake stays at the lake’ signs here!”