Lake home boasts American cottage version of French colonial style
PEQUOT LAKES -- For their home, David and Constance Johnson chose an American cottage style variation from the French colonial style southern plantation, mimicking the half-timber construction, also called post-on-sill.
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Construction began in 2000 and was completed in 2001.
The Johnsons painted the board and batten exterior beige to blend with the nearby sand and state forest. Their three-sided screen porch catches lake breezes like southern plantation houses catch the sea breezes, but they chose to locate their Franklin fireplace in a cozy downstairs sitting room to take in winter lake views, not out on the porch like might be done in the South. The wood cornices over windows have pine tree cutouts.
They have dining seating for 10 and a stepped-back cupboard.
The framed beams in their central living spaces accent the white interior walls and ceilings. Connie, an interior designer, worked with their architect to adapt the plantation house features to accommodate their lifestyle and make space for the five generations of family heirlooms they have.
There are few hallways. Rooms surround the central living space. Their living room fireplace backs up to the entryway door, letting visitors enter the living room from either side. Columns on their porch are pine posts, not white painted columns like those used in the South.
From the front door through the house, red doors signal public rooms, while blue-green doors signal private living spaces like the master bedroom and bath.
Throughout the house are collections of plates, pitchers, ducks, loons, fish and planes. Some are china, some ceramic, some ironstone, some painted and one a real walleye, mounted.
Paintings, prints and floral fabrics add to the red, blue and green color themes they used for accents. Connie designed the round mirror, stair railings, window cornices and unique window treatments.
Their furnishings include natural and painted woods, wicker and caning. Adirondack chairs are their entry porch and lawn furniture choice.
Downstairs, David has O Scale model trains running on a track laid out on a huge table filling one room. His project is still under construction.