Woodsy Beach House Makeover

Living in Charlotte, Ruard Veltman dreamed of having a cabin high in the mountains, but his wife, Millicent, lobbied for a place at the coast. Ruard lost that debate but did get a second chance at creating a mountain-like retreat when he rehabbed this 1,800-square-foot Bald Head Island cottage for his young family, including son Fritz, 8, and daughter Perrin, 6. First, he replaced the interior's 1980s-era peach drywall throughout wiht mossy green paneling. Next, he created relaxing outdoor spaces and then finished the look with rustic accents—not a seashell or mountain marlin in sight. "It's a house tucked away in the woods, but near the beach," says Ruard. "We're both happy."

Hid it in the Trees
Ruard changed the 1980s cedar-shingled and shiplap facade from brown to gray-green. “Now it fades into the foliage,” he says. And upstairs in the octagonal tower-like “crofter” (what islanders call the garage for their golf cart, the main mode of transportation here) Ruard created a screened-in office for himself with a 360-degree view of the woods. “It’s my tree house,” he says.

A hanging lampshade illuminates Ruard's desk and echoes the tower's shape. 

Forged an Entry
The approach to the house wasn’t interesting enough for Ruard, so he handmade a tiered “folly gate” of timbers embellished with birdbaths made from plow discs. “It gives the place some flair,” he says. He also “decentralized” the house by removing the front door. “Now you come in a side door through a porch. There’s no grand foyer, so it’s more in keeping with the casual nature of a beach house,” he explains.

Improved Life Outdoors
Because mosquitoes and woods go hand in hand, Ruard screened in the existing front porch—including an outdoor dining room—so his family can live happily outside when things get buggy. He also added a second screened porch on the other side of the home. Now windows and doors are thrown open, and people flow in and out all summer long. 

A curtain screens the porch's lounge area from the main entry door. 

Encouraged Alfresco Baths
There’s a shower inside the gate for rinsing sandy feet. But Ruard also installed two showers in the screened porch at the back of the house—one is a traditional showerhead, and the other is essentially a spout that fills a horse trough where the children take baths. “There are no neighbors, so we don’t need privacy,” he says.

Planked the Room 
Drab drywall was replaced with 6-inch wood panels painted the same olive-gray as the adjacent living room. The planks run over the ceiling, too, which Ruard dropped from 8 ½ feet (the height of the living room ceiling) to 7 feet. “The lower ceiling separates rooms without the addition of a wall,” he says. Even the refrigerator is hidden behind paneling, and the sink’s cabinetry floats off the floor like a console, so the space doesn’t read as a kitchen from the open living room. 

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Rusty buoy: antique, Paula Rubenstein, Ltd.; 212/966-8954.

The original kitchen was hampered by a single narrow doorway and drab white drywall. 

Connected it to the Woods
Three small windows over the sink were replaced with a single oversize one without mullions. Ruard calls it “a portal to the outside.” Then, everything in the kitchen was pared down to keep the focus on the amazing view of palms and oaks. The window does double duty as a backsplash because it simply wipes clean, and the countertop seems to melt into the stainless steel sink.

Corrected the Traffic Flow
“Having just one doorway meant you would get stuck in the kitchen,” says Ruard, who fixed the room’s circulation issues by adding a new, slightly disguised passageway in the back right corner of the kitchen. The wood scroll in front of the peninsula is a “way of creating a physical swoop between the kitchen and the living room,” says Ruard, who crafted the drape himself. “It also adds humor—it’s like a curtain pulled back to unveil the kitchen.”

Turned Down the Lighting
Barely there sconces light the sink, and simple recessed lights illuminate the peninsula’s antique-walnut counters. “There is just enough light for food prep,” Ruard says. “This isn’t meant to be a place for the kids to sit and do their homework. It’s less about task lighting and more about creating a dark, cabin-like mood, even in a workspace.” 

Sconce: custom, by Evan Wood, Chandelier & Light; 704/529-0707.

Transformed Storage into Art  
Ruard curates his pantry like an art installation. There are no upper cabinets; a long blond wood box mounted on the wall holds dry goods in glass jars. Baskets storing fruit and vegetables add texture. The family displays their plates and glasses in an open shelving nook between the kitchen and living room.

Vertical, not horizontal, planks cover the refrigerator, making it unobtrusive but not hidden. 

A mostly white living room did not flow with the natural beauty outside. 

Kept it Dark 
The entire living area is painted in the house’s signature deep olive-gray—the same shade as the exterior. “It’s dark on purpose, to be like a mountain cabin,” says Ruard. “I even matched the rug to the wall color.” He wanted to create a shadowy enveloping space where the sunlit windows, left bare, really pop from their sills and highlight the view.  

Infused Wood 
Wide-plank horizontal paneling replaced the drywall. “The walls help the house fit in the wooded landscape,” says Ruard. A drinks table was made from a section of an old cedar post, and two nicely beat-up antique chairs add more richly grained interest. He even cut the legs off an old Indonesian dining table to create the coffee table. Ruard says, “Now when the room is crowded, you can walk right across it. And there’s been many a party where people danced on that table!”

Created Contrast 
The antique wine table (behind the sofa) isn’t used for its original purpose. Instead, the top tilts up to lend drama. “Its round shape feels like art,” says Ruard. The floors are original Southern yellow pine, stained darker to bring out their “zebra stripes” for a hint of pattern in the sea of solids.

The column and latticework in the dining room added clutter to the small space. 

Banished fuss  
“I like a clean look,” says Ruard. So he took down the column and latticework. He even covered the window seat cushion in the same shade as the walls and ceiling for cohesiveness. “This is a small space, so using a built-in, wraparound bench helps it feel less cluttered,” he says.

Kept it Minimal  
Ruard didn’t want the interruption of a hanging fixture in the low-ceilinged room, “and the large table lamp makes it seem like more of a multiuse space,” he says. He left all the windows bare to make them seem larger.

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Lamp: custom, by Evan Wood, Chandelier & Light; 704/529-0707.

The master bath was bland and uninspiring with its ordinary bowl sink and countertop. 

Multitasked 
In the small house, the master bath also serves as the home’s powder room. The sink sits atop an old drop-leaf table, making the room presentable for guests. An enormous wood-framed mirror slides aside to reveal shelves—where toiletries and towels are hidden. In the bedroom, the kitchen’s original refrigerator hides between the closets behind the bed. “It’s great for storing drinks, and there was nowhere else to put it. I stock it at the beginning of the summer,” says Ruard.

Love it? Get it!
Mirror: picturehousegallery.com. Sconce: custom, by Evan Wood, Chandelier & Light; 704/529-0707. Sink: Light (4030A); lacava.com for retailers. Faucet: Madison Wall-Mount 3 Hole Lavatory Mixer (36712360); dornbracht.com for retailers.

Lightened Up 
The walls in the master bedroom and bath are painted white (White Dove by Benjamin Moore) for a complete departure from the living room. “I wanted to create a surprise,” says Ruard. “As you come down the hall from the living room, the bedroom looks like the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a relief from all the dark.”

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Artwork: print by Nall; through octaviaartgallery.com.

Got Inventive
Ruard built the master bed’s eye-popping barn-wood headboard himself, then floated it in the middle of the room. Behind it, curtains cover the closets, giving the effect of windows. Decorative fringe hides reading lights on the headboard.