Tour a Classic Vacation Home in the North Carolina Mountains

Southern style specialist James Farmer used family treasures and his trademark elegant maximalism to create a picture-perfect seasonal retreat. Come on up!

February 18, 2021

By: Lauren Oster

Related To:

Shop This Look

Photo By: Jeff Herr

Creating a Seasonal Paradise

There’s long been a special place in designer James Farmer’s heart for Cashiers, North Carolina, where he owns a cottage. When a family from South Florida asked him to refresh their summer and fall retreat in the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, he knew just what to do.

“I wanted to play against stereotypical ‘mountains’ — bad plaids, generic stained woods and teddy bears!” he says. “Cashiers is scenic and jaw-droppingly beautiful, so a lackluster interior takes away from what’s naturally there. My approach to projects in Cashiers feels like a way to pay homage to the beauty of a place that I truly love.”

From: James Farmer

A Long Way From Florida

“We approached this as not necessarily an upgrade but more of an update,” James explains, “as we wanted to keep it classic and traditional. With a different climate and geography from their main home in Florida, going with a different style was apropos. Plaids, velvet and wool may not be used in their primary home, but they’re right at home in the mountains.”

From: James Farmer

Finishing Strong

James repainted and transformed existing reverse board and batten throughout the house, then chose a similar white tone for these shapely – but incorrectly stained – dining chairs. “Painting them also allowed for them to stand out against more important brown pieces like the cabinet, wood floors and table,” he explains. “They just needed a little facelift to make that happen!”

Signature Symmetry

James displayed his client’s spectacular Staffordshire porcelain “collection of collections” in and around that dramatic cabinet. It's "the French version of a Welsh dresser or English cupboard,” he says. An installation like this one might seem intimidating, but “when it comes to arranging, you are simply creating a pattern or grid,” he says. “Prints and patterns are used in fabrics and in paintings all the time. Porcelain is just another medium to create something beautiful.”

From: James Farmer

Blooming Where You're Planted

An uptick in functionality initially inspired this project. “The intent was to be able to spend extended periods of time here; the owners going from one home with certain creature comforts to another lacking in those led to the renovation of this home,” James explains. To increase space in the kitchen without tampering with its footprint, James added a mudroom that accommodates laundry and pantry elements.

From: James Farmer

Daily Greens

On the wraparound wood-topped cabinets in the newly spacious kitchen, Benjamin Moore’s verdant Central Park picks up the color in the accent rug. Benjamin Moore’s Landscape, in turn, provides just a whisper of dimension on the ceiling.

From: James Farmer

Curtain Call

The colorful mini print James used for the curtains above the sink “just felt right for a happy and colorful kitchen. Not too formal, but still has an element of permanency,” he says.

From: James Farmer

Prints Charming

The fabrics James brought into the living room feel sylvan and seasonal, but they don’t tip over into sentimentality; rest assured that there are good plaids. “I love a traditional plaid in the mountains,” he says. “The large scale buffalo check on the sofa and wool plaid on the armchairs are great complements of one another. For the floral on the chairs and Roman shades, I went with a traditional English chintz, but instead of being on polished cotton, it’s more of an upholstery weight.”

From: James Farmer

Art of Compromise

"If you watch TV, there’s no shame in it! It just doesn’t have to be your mantel centerpiece," James notes. "There are various ways to completely hide your TV (a screen that looks like art or furniture or art that covers the TV), but for this project, the flat screen TV and swivel arm was the ticket. There are plenty of ways to get creative so that you can both enjoy the TV and still have a beautiful space."

From: James Farmer

Bringing In Balance

"I love to incorporate contrast with art," James says. "It’s the contrast of color on a stone fireplace, of high and low, and of new and old. It is a great way to mix in a contemporary and updated feel into a traditional aesthetic."

From: James Farmer

Heirloom Gardening

James accented the staircase by leafing through the hand-colored botanical prints his client collects. “She’s an avid gardener and appreciates nature’s palette,” he says. “The framed assembly is pages from a small book. It was on a shelf and may not have been looked at ever again, so this was a new, fun way to enjoy the pages.” Enhanced with mats, the diminutive illustrations are a substantial (and delightfully personal) display.

From: James Farmer

Something New

A bit of caution is in order when you’re looking to complement heirlooms with furnishings like this handsome cypress cabinetry. The cabinet is inspired by faux bamboo pieces and finished with a clear lacquer.

“When incorporating new pieces, the key is for them to appear collected. You never want anything to look like you bought an assembled set and put it together,” James says. As for avoiding the dreaded “generic stained woods” he abhors, James notes that “people often throw polyurethane on everything, but it has yellow in it. Stay away! We did not want to pull any yellow color from the wood.”

From: James Farmer

Setting the Tone

James began dreaming up this bedroom design with inspiration from a single, charismatic piece. “The rug — which already belonged to the homeowner — is full of great jewel tones,” he says. “There’s a citrine color we pulled from it that inspired the overscale damask wallpaper.”

From: James Farmer

Old Souls, New Roles

The bedside table and desk James tucked here beside the window “is an antique find — dual purpose!” By contrast, the antique striped rum jug atop it — and the gin jug on the other side of the bed — began life as, well, jugs. “I always say, no good lamp starts life as a lamp!”

From: James Farmer

Sweet Simplicity

The snowy coverlet James chose for this bed is an elemental oasis at the center of the room. “I love crispness in a bedroom — must be why I love ironed sheets!” he says. “There’s already a lot of pattern in the room with the wallpaper and the rug, so this was a way to contrast that and create an inviting sanctuary.”

From: James Farmer

Tour a Classic Vacation Home in the North Carolina Mountains

Related To:

Shop This Look

Creating a Seasonal Paradise

A Long Way From Florida

Finishing Strong

Signature Symmetry

Blooming Where You're Planted

Daily Greens

Curtain Call

Prints Charming

Art of Compromise

Bringing In Balance

Heirloom Gardening

Something New

Setting the Tone

Old Souls, New Roles

Sweet Simplicity

Timeless North Carolina Home Features Exquisite Style 18 Photos

Traditional Lakeside Beauty in North Carolina 22 Photos

Hawaiian Villa With Remarkable Mountain and Bay Views 12 Photos

North Carolina Transitional Home With Gorgeous Custom Finishes 17 Photos

Tour a Charming South Carolina Home Located on a Peach Farm 26 Photos

Desert Mountain Getaway 31 Photos

Related Pages