Perched on the Water’s Edge

This A-frame home on Lake Sunapee was once part of the John Hay Estate at The Fells.

A historic A-frame gets a refresh

If the Newbury house dubbed “Robyn’s Nest” was any closer to the water, it would be a houseboat. Perched on a steep knoll on the edge of Lake Sunapee, the A-frame offers not just views but an intriguing history: It was once part of the John Hay Estate at The Fells, the early 20th-century summer home of statesman John Milton Hay.

These days, the A-frame serves as the second home of Texas-based couple Robyn and John, who recently renovated the property in the hopes of expanding sleep space for guests, creating a primary bedroom suite and more while honoring the home’s past. They relied on the expertise of interior designer Sarah Chapin and contractor Scott Carpenter for the redesign, which “was very much a collaborative project,” says Chapin, who traveled to Dallas to stay with the couple and hunted for design pieces with Robyn in Texas and other locations.

Prior to the renovation, “the house was basically a camp,” Robyn says, with forest-green painted beams, unappealing floral wallpaper and old wood cabinets that cried out for an update.

Still, she and John were determined to preserve the character of the place, so they purchased a number of items from the home’s previous owners, such as a walnut dining-room table, cedar chests and an old stove—pieces that Robyn says provide an authentic, lake-house vibe.

Interior walls were shifted and spaces realigned without changing the exterior footprint of the house, and structural changes occurred in two phases so that Robyn and John could still use the house during renovations.

To retain the home’s sensation of being nestled in the woods, very little land was cleared or landscaped. “I like the naturalness of it and the seclusion,” Robyn says.

“People have to look up from the lake to see the house, but we’re only about 20 feet from the water.”

The property was in need of some hardscaping work, though. Old railroadtie stairs that led to a dock were replaced with attractive stone steps, for example.

Sunapee-based brothers Nick and Ryan Bowen crafted the new steps using stones plucked from their grandfather’s streambed, Robyn says. The new steps are so unique and striking that passersby cruising the lake in boats and kayaks shout their compliments when Robyn and John sit on the home’s lakeside deck.

Inside the house, the living room is one of Robyn’s favorite spaces. “You can have the grossest weather and be inside, but still feel like you’re outside,” she says. “You can watch the weather patterns change — see them happening over the lake.”

With the house snuggled close to the trees, “in the living room, you feel like you’re in a treehouse,” Chapin says, “cantilevered and hanging over the lake.” But the view is the star attraction in the living room, where drafty old windows were replaced by McGray & Nichols to create a wall of floor-to-ceiling glass that is weathertight and open to vistas of the lake and Sunapee Mountain rising in the distance.

Furnishings in the room were intentionally kept understated so as not to distract from the view outside. An L-shaped sofa from Crate & Barrel in classic blue cotton and linen picks up the colors of the water and sky beyond the windows and is dotted with a curated collection of pillows in a medley of textures and patterns that are united by shades of blue and gray. Mixing pillow patterns in this way provides interest, a playful feel and a bit of a surprise, Chapin says. “The blocks of color lighten things up but tie together” with each other and the other furnishings.

Nearby, a chair upholstered in marigold-colored chenille supplies a pop of color, and a round table encircled with roping lends a nautical feel. On the floor, a Crate & Barrel wool rug adds warmth.

“There’s a nice depth to the pile of the rug,” Chapin says. “It feels great under bare feet.”

A slider in the living room’s wall of windows opens to fresh air and lovely views on the deck. “Robyn and John are out there pretty much every night in warm weather,” Chapin says. “They live outside all summer.”

Adjacent to the living room is the primary bedroom suite. A Crate & Barrel platform bed with dark metal legs hints of contemporary style but has a rustic wood headboard. The bed’s dovetailed joints add vintage detail, and baskets at the foot of the bed provide texture and storage. A duvet from Company C presents a crisp, bold, floral pattern with shades of turquoise, jade and aqua, while bedside nesting tables from Crate & Barrel display ivory stone tops. Behind the bed, wallpaper in white and turquoise looks like grass-cloth wallpaper and adds texture while it complements soothing artwork by New London’s Grace Cooper.

Striped cushions on a Pompanoosuc Mills chair in the bedroom reference the metal legs of the bed. “The chair blends with the other pieces in the room without being an identical match,” Chapin says. “I liked the juxtaposition of the stripes with the floral (duvet).”

Swing-arm sconces carry a hint of rusticity, with ivory linen shades and hammered, oil-rubbed metal backplates.

Overhead, a pendant light imparts a modern touch, with round opaque glass and detailing that continues the lighting’s theme of oil-rubbed metal and ivory.

Carpeting in the room features subtle ivory and taupe zigzags with texture that Chapin compares to a knit sweater. “It’s casual, interesting and practical,” she says. A window looks out on the home’s woodsy surroundings, flowers and the lake. Textured linen drapes that Chapin chose not to extend to the floor “keep things light,” she says, “and do not distract from the view outside.”

A smaller bedroom in the house serves as a guestroom, with twin beds on platforms that belonged to the home’s previous owners. Chapin chose a whitewash finish for the ceiling to help open up the room and repainted the beams in taupe to eliminate what she describes as the previous “oppressive” green. The bedroom’s nautical, rope-patterned wallpaper mimics the color of the bed platforms and the bureau, which has round metal pulls and a pleasing patina. The piece “is not old,” Chapin says, “but looks like it has a history.” A ceramic lamp tops the bureau, with a linen shade and stripes of taupe, blue-gray, and white. On the floor between the beds is a wool area rug in a blue-and-white chevron design.

Downstairs is what Robyn and John call “the barn-wood room,” where wood that was salvaged from the property’s old barn is juxtaposed with the richer-looking wood of a new cellar door and cabinetry with inconspicuous hardware.

The lush colors in a Kathy McDonough painting of a Fells garden scene, purchased from the previous owners of the house, draw attention and served as inspiration for the color palette of the room, especially the persimmon that repeats in the sofa pillows and on the cabinetry wall. Robyn appreciates that the painting pays homage to the history of the home.

“I like that the house is associated with the Fells and is a historic property,” she says, “so I just love that painting.”

The room’s brick floor, part of the original space, is covered in a durable cowhide rug with a patchwork pattern of coppery shades that echo the floor’s brickwork.

“It’s appealing because it blends in, but also brightens up the floor,” Chapin says.

An ivory sleep sofa from Crate & Barrel is adorned with pillows in a blend of formal and casual materials, and the Company C coffee table has a black metal top and open design that allow the eye to easily look beyond it. “It’s light-looking and feeling,” Chapin says, and offsets the room’s heftier rocking chairs, which have nubby, patterned fabric and a gray finish “that feels right with the barn wood,” Chapin says. “Black would have been too severe, and white wouldn’t have been right. ... The chairs balance out all the wood tones in the room.”

The sofa tables are fun but practical additions. “I like that they’re different,” Chapin says, “especially with the paired chairs. It makes the space feel like a home rather than a showroom—more spontaneous.” The curved designs of the tables balance the straight lines of the coffee table and rocking chairs, while a vintage Italian ceramic lamp on one of the tables adds more curves plus a punch of color.

Chapin chose not to add window treatments in the barn-wood room to maintain a wide-open view of the serene and intimate patio, where old crumbling walls and stonework was replaced and embellished, but the previous owners’ wicker furniture remains. The sage-colored wicker and new cushions by Deck Dock Home & Garden tie with the patio’s stonework and greenery, including herbs and spices that Robyn snips for meal prep in the kitchen.

Following the renovation, the A-frame celebrates its past, exudes charm and capitalizes on its spectacular views and natural lakeside setting. What’s not to love? “It’s my happy place,” Robyn says. NHH

RESOURCES

Chapin Interiors • (914) 361-1157 chapininteriors.com

Company C • (800) 818-8288 • companyc.com

Crate & Barrel • crateandbarrel.com

Deck Dock Home & Garden • (603) 763-3266 deckdock.com

J&R Langley Co. • (603) 622-9653 • jrlangley.com

McGray & Nichols • (603) 526-2877 mcgray-nichols.com

Pompanoosuc Mills • (603) 883-9868 • pompy.com

Scott Carpenter Construction • (603) 526-4899