Mountain Lake House Decorating Ideas

Plant, Tree, Garden, Shade, Outdoor furniture, Lawn, Outdoor table, Park, House, Backyard,

James Merrell

Returning to his upstate New York roots, designer Thom Filicia turns a lake house into a gathering place for friends with rustic, but sophisticated decor. For more decorating ideas, read an interview with Thom Filicia.

outdoor dining room

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Outdoor Dining Area

A rope raises or lowers the Lillian August lantern above the patinated-steel dining table.

interior shot of a boathouse

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Boathouse

"In summertime, the boathouse is our waterfront home base," Filicia says. Besides storing towels, water skis, and life preservers, it shelters a touch pad for controlling music from dockside speakers. Inside, vintage chairs are grouped beneath a papier-mâché chandelier. Come winter, the pavilion doubles as weatherproof stowage for the folding dock, paddleboards, and other gear.

exterior shot of thom filicia's lake house

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Entry Façade

The renovated entry façade looks much as it did when the house was built as a Syracuse family's country getaway.

Room, Interior design, Wood, Window, Living room, Home, Table, Furniture, Floor, Wall,

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Living Room

The living room's Skaneateles sofa by Vanguard has a low back, so it doesn't block views of its namesake upstate New York lake.

living room mantel

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console

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staircase handrail

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Staircase Handrail

Stout rope provides the stairway's nautical handrail.

staircase

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Staircase

Filicia removed the stair railing to open up the view from the entrance to the water. Madagascar Glacier runner, Sacco Carpet.

Room, Interior design, Home, Floor, Shelving, Kitchen stove, Stove, Shelf, Grey, Kitchen,

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Kitchen

Filicia hung a vintage papier-mâché ram's head over the kitchen's movable island: "I wanted this to look like a room that just happened to become a kitchen." Viking range and hood.

kitchen sink

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Kitchen Sink

A wine-cork-and-wood trivet, made by Filicia's former neighbor, is tipped up near the soapstone kitchen sink.

dining room

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den

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Den

Inspired by existing plank doors, Filicia applied battens to the walls and ceiling of the den, "our cozy retreat where we can hide from the world." Here and throughout the house, he banished recessed downlights from a 1960s renovation, because they were antithetical to an intimate mood and period provenance. Circa 1900 Collection Train Station Swing-Arm Sconces by Restoration Hardware, illuminate his Lincoln Hill sofa and an unknown artist's faux-bois resin painting.

sunroom

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Sunroom

He enclosed a porch to create the sunroom. V-groove paneling in Pittsburgh Paints' chic Black Magic sets off the rustic bark and diaphanous Conrad Rain shades.

downstairs guest bedroom

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Guest Bedroom

In contrast to the "more buttoned-up" guest room upstairs, a downstairs counterpart is "fun and flirty." A Hudson's Bay blanket from Woolrich on the updated four-poster picks up the pillow colors.

writing table

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Guest Room

Another diamond window sheds light on a guest room writing table. Crisp white pops against a wall covered in Angela Brown's Manila Hemp.

guest bedroom

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Guest Bedroom

A Pendleton San Miguel blanket brightens the upstairs guest room bed. Headboard and curtain fabric, Rugby Turq.

master bedroom

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Master Bedroom

Having admired diamond-shaped windows in stately old Syracuse houses, Filicia introduced several here as a repeating motif: "I like how they float in a wall." This one punctuates a screen wall between master bedroom and shower. On the bed, an orange duvet from Serena & Lily warms up a blue one from John Robshaw. The adjoining bathroom has twin Kohler vanities and Arhaus mirrors.

bedside table