A SERENE SITE

Photography by Michael Patch

Beautifully renovated home, a blessing shared with others

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in November of 2020, Alex and Jon Steltzer bought their first house overlooking a small lake on the outskirts of Lynchburg. After living in a 240-square-foot camper for two years, moving into an actual house felt like a gift. As Alex says, “I have a heart for hostessing and hospitality, but that was really hard in a camper.” The Steltzers were no strangers to the camper lifestyle, as they bought their first camper as newlyweds and used it to travel the country for three months. 

The Steltzers are Northerners by birth, with Alex growing up in Vermont and Jon in Maine. Over the years, the couple owned and flipped numerous houses around the country and operated a variety of Airbnb rentals before moving to Lynchburg. Alex loves the deep history of houses in this area and enjoys renovating, along with her husband, who works in construction for NBS Real Estate. Alex says that this particular house, nestled in the woods, was “a slice of home that reminded me of growing up in the North. The location captivated me.” The combined forces of these two creative minds produced a stunning home, with every wall and surface touched in some way. 

The rental
Upon moving into the house, the Steltzers used their first five days of home ownership to renovate one entire side of the house in order for it to become an Airbnb rental. This provided a revenue source to help fund the renovation of the main house. The Airbnb has its own private entry and deck overlooking the lake. There is one bedroom along with a kitchen and dining area, den and bathroom. The walls are all white, with the framing around the windows painted black for contrast. Natural textures add to the Bohemian feel of the space. Alex leaned into this color palette for the main house as well. 

The main home
The Steltzers took two to three months to live in the main part of the house to get to know it before tackling renovations in it. Together, they did about half of the work themselves, before bringing in Jon’s company to finish out the work. The main body of the house consists of one open concept space that incorporates a kitchen, holding room, dining room and living room, along with a split floorplan of two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. 

One of the biggest changes the Steltzers made was to remove a wall that blocked the light coming in the back of the house into the living room. With this wall gone, they beefed up the existing beams and even added a few new ones. They painted all of the walls white and then applied stained pine to the ceiling. This warms up the white walls and adds to the treehouse feel of the home. Four modern black ceiling fans sit in between the five beams. Alex chose hardwood floors for their durability and natural aesthetic. 

Because of the open concept of the main living space, all four of the rooms have to coordinate and work together. Alex incorporated black, white and brown as her main color palette. She says she is slowly working on adding pops of color as they settle into the house. Alex loves mixing aged vintage pieces with modern elements so that the space does not feel stodgy. She shops at local thrift and consignment shops, as well as looking at online resources, to find her eclectic pieces.

An open floor plan
In the living room, a dark gray sectional sofa, as well as a lighter gray loveseat, provide lounge-worthy seating for the room. Black and white vases, brass figurines and books sit atop a rustic wooden coffee table. Natural light floods the space through a large wall of windows. An oriental rug lends pattern to the room. A simple stained wood mantel and a TV hang on the only wall without windows in the room. A gallery wall of collected art hangs above this mantel. 

The dining area flows off the living room, moving toward the front of the house. Six black wishbone chairs sit around a circular pedestal table, crafted by Thomas A. Johnson. Alex mixed a black modern ceramic compote with brass candlesticks in the middle of the table. While eating, guests are lucky enough to overlook the deck down to the lake. 

A holding room resides in between the dining area and the kitchen. The focal point of this room is a grand stone fireplace. Alex says having the stone added was their most recent project and hopefully the final indoor endeavor. Jon was able to tackle applying the stone himself, and it goes all the way to the ceiling, with a simple rustic beam as the mantel. This room has tons of seating options, perfect for hanging out with the cook in the kitchen. A gray loveseat, two striped cube ottomans and a brown leather chair are some of these options. Along the other wall, Alex had a row of pantry storage cabinets installed with a library ladder system to access the tallest cabinets. The creamy white Shaker-style cabinets have brushed brass pulls. 

These pantry cabinets are the same style as the kitchen, which overlooks the front yard. The lower cabinets along the walls have butcher block countertops, while the island has leathered marble in tones of brown, gray and silver. Open shelving provides most of the storage above the counter. A beautiful white hood sits above a gas stove. White beadboard adds texture as the backsplash and a large farmhouse sink completes the space.

Room to relax
Two bedrooms and a bath reside upstairs in the split-level. Alex designed the first guestroom as a more masculine space with rich tones of black and brown. Acting as a headboard, Alex had beadboard, painted brown and installed up to chair height along the bed wall. A linen duvet and velvet pillows provide contrasting texture. Two wooden armchairs with gray seat cushions rest in front of a double window that overlooks the lake. Brown floral curtain panels frame the windows. 

Alex designed the second bedroom to be a more feminine space with hints of pink and mauve dancing around the room. A gallery of floral pictures inhabits the wall behind the iron bed. A velvet-tufted bench sits at the foot of the bed atop an oriental rug in neutral tones. White lace and linen curtain panels allow for privacy, but do not block the abundant light. 

The Steltzers also updated the guest bathroom. The stained pine from the main house ceiling was used here as well. White shiplap lines the walls, and oversized slate tiles adorn the floor. The vanity cabinet has six-inch deep white granite on the top of a light wood cabinet with brass legs. In the shower, varying shades of white artisan tile is stacked in a vertical pattern.

The main bedroom steps down off the holding room. It features a stunning attached bathroom that one enters via frosted glass Japanese-style sliding doors. The same slate tiles used in the guest bathroom floor are used again here, as well as the same white artisan tiles in the shower. The shower area features two showerheads at opposite ends of the enclosure. A white stand-alone tub shares the wall with the shower. A vintage-style white pendent light hangs above it, with a black-and-white gallery wall of art. Opposite the bathtub, a double vanity, in the same style as the guest bedroom, provides ample space for getting ready in the morning. 

A black canopy bed shines as the star of the main bedroom. Beautiful pillows with varying textures are piled high atop the bed. A neutral oriental rug gives texture to the room as well as the brown velvet curtain panels. The Steltzers had a cabinet system installed to function as their closet. Behind Shaker-style doors are drawers, shelves and hanging rods. Like most of the house, the main bedroom has glorious views down to the lake.

The lake view
The exterior of the house is painted a modern black with vertical board and batten siding. A gray stone skirt adorns the left side of the house (the Airbnb). Stone walls are found all around the yard. The landscape consists of mature trees and native vegetation. With such a large deer population, Alex is still trying to figure out what she can plant that the deer will not eat. The real showstopper of the exterior is the lake. It is peaceful and serene — calming to the soul. 

The Steltzers’ lake house truly has been a blessing for their family. Friends helped them with this renovation and now they are able to reap the rewards of lake house living when Alex has one of her huge dinner parties. Although purchased during the sad days of a worldwide pandemic, this house is now filled with light and love, a credit to Alex and Jon. ✦