8 minute read
Home was built for and with family
This lakeside view depicts the open, airy atmosphere of the home. Sun porches off the great room (right) and the master suite (left) can be opened to capture screened, cool breezes off the lake. Ample seating is available on both the upper deck and the patio off the guest quarters on the lake level.
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ne step inside Tim and Marsha McKibbens’ home and you know that this place … this space … was built to be shared. Spend a little time with these Lake Keowee homeowners, however, and you will know that it wasn’t just any old visitors they had in mind. “We built this home as lake bait,” Tim said, a sly smile accompanying the stated mission. “We built it hoping the kids and grandkids would come,” Marsha offered as clarification.
“Did it work?”
“Oh, yah,” she said, their grins becoming full-fledged smiles.
The couple — Tim, former Air Force pilot and veteran commercial pilot with Delta Airlines, and Marsha, a retired nurse — lived on the south side of Atlanta when they first began considering life after work. They had never lived on the water, but they wanted to. Even more, though, they wanted to build a retirement home that would bring family together.
With their eyes focused on two married daughters and (so far) three grandchildren all living in Georgia, they knew their move would not be a long one. They began looking at lake communities and, through friends of a friend, were introduced to Lake Keowee. Tim flew his plane into the Oconee Airport, and the couple met with realtors. It didn’t take long to be impressed by what they found.
“The quality of the water and the fact that Duke (Energy) controls the lake levels — that was important to us,” Tim said, recalling the details of their lot purchase two years ago.
The home’s front entry gives way to this expansive space that provides seating, dining and cooking options. Note the nickel gap shiplap ceiling and large beams, which are actually lightweight structures, covered with repurposed oak. A similar technique was used to create a large mantel that adorns the fireplace located on the wall to the left of this picture.
This lakeside firepit is popular, particularly when family and friends come for fall and early spring visits.
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With a lot in hand, they set about designing a home that featured “minimal bedrooms and maximum entertaining” space. An architect helped hone the details, but it was Upstate builder Gabe Yoder who made their plan “doable.”
Construction began, ebbed and regained momentum as the COVID-19 pandemic flared in China and began its race around the globe. Grounded from his job as an international pilot and with a lockdown looming, the couple decided to move even though Yoder was still hard at work.
“The house wasn’t finished when we moved
This seating area and kitchenette serves guests who are staying in the two guest suites on either side of the lake level.
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in” Tim said. “There was no landscaping, no drive, no path to the dock and piles of dirt everywhere.”
“A lot of red clay,” Marsha mused, her mind recalling how difficult it was to keep the dirt where it belonged … outside!
“At home” but pinned down by COVID, the couple set about making a house built to accommodate family and friends into a home whose furnishings and décor are testimony to those very same people.
Yoder had done his part. The front door enters into a spacious area where kitchen, dining and great room are housed under a single nickel gap shiplap ceiling. The large beams that appear to support the structure are actually lightweight configurations covered with repurposed oak, which made the foundation of the home much easier to construct. A similar technique was used to create a large mantel that adorns the fireplace in the great room, a feature flanked by built-in bookshelves.
The ceiling design, combined with distressed oak plank flooring, give what is a wide-open space an almost “cottage” feeling that is only enhanced by a wall of windows and sliding doors offering an uncluttered view of Lake Keowee.
The nearby dining table will easily seat a dozen people, and five more seats are steps away at a massive kitchen island that features a quartz countertop. While the kitchen boasts all the latest appliances, the true highlight of this space is the built-in cabinets, many of which feature glass doors that allow Marsha to display an extensive collection of dishes and pottery, many pieces brought home from trips to the Far East. A library-type ladder glides across the space, providing access to the highest points.
“I’m height-challenged,” Marsha said.
The kitchen also offers a first glimpse of how Marsha has chosen to use vintage tin ceiling tiles for a backsplash. Similar pressed tin pieces have been used decoratively behind towel holders in some of the home’s bathrooms.
The couple’s collection of pottery from around the world is displayed throughout the home, but most prominently in these lighted kitchen cabinets. The “library ladder” provides access to all the room’s storage areas. Note the vintage tin ceiling tiles used to create a backsplash.
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The sun porch located off the great room/kitchen is a great place to spend an afternoon. The “glass” panes can be folded away, giving way to screens that welcome lake breezes.
Off the kitchen is a sunporch that features both screens and collapsible windows. It is a warm place to relax in the winter and, when thrown open to the lake breezes, a great place to spend a morning or late afternoon. Access to a deck that runs across the lakeside expanse of the home is possible from the sunroom, the great room and the master suite at the other end of the home. The deck offers a 180-degree view of Lake Keowee.
“That right out there is Pirate Island where our grandkids are going to build their fort,” Tim quips, pointing to a small island directly in front of the home.
The master suite is large but, as the couple had intended, not huge. It features a large bath with “roll-in” tile shower and a double vanity. A separate, smaller, screened porch on the lake side is “Grandma’s getaway” where Marsha enjoys her morning coffee and an occasional quiet escape.
The upper level also features a functional laundry room decorated with a collection of old-fashioned washboards, a half-bath and access to the garage over which is a finished bonus room that features bunkbed accommodations for up to nine people and a full bath. It was clearly constructed with grandkids in mind although there is also an exercise room with a great view of the side yard, flower gardens and a weather station Tim constructed.
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Access to the lower level can be gained via a stairway or an elevator the couple had installed as they hope to age together in their new home. The lower level is a home-away-fromhome for family, visiting missionaries and overnight guests. A pair of suites, complete with full baths, flank a large gathering area and feature walkouts onto an expansive patio. One room is home to several pieces of furniture owned by Tim’s grandmother.
The living area is perfect for board games, watching TV or simply relaxing by the fire. A vintage airplane prop hangs above the sliding doors leading to the patio. It fits in nicely with a collection of military mementos in the home, including the saber Tim had as a cadet at the Air Force Academy, a Union cavalry saber from his mother’s family and a trunk that dates to his great-uncle who was in the Normandy Invasion and was part of the American forces that liberated Europe. Today, the trunk holds memories and family collectibles.
As is the case on the main level, Marsha has decorated tastefully with collectibles from family travels to Europe, Africa and the Far East.
“We built the house for family, but we also built it with family,” Marsha said proudly.
Mission accomplished. n
{above} The master suite affords access to both a screened sun porch and a deck that runs the lakeside length of the home. • {left} This footlocker belonged to Tim’s great uncle, who was in the Normandy Invasion and was part of the American forces that liberated Europe. The trunk holds family keepsakes, including an autographed baseball and a photo of his uncle.
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