Sentimental North Carolina Spruce-Up

Nestled in the forest outside Highlands, North Carolina, this barn-style home is an idyllic retreat and rental property for interior designer Maggie Griffin’s family. 

In Maggie Griffin’s line of work, she rarely steps into a space without envisioning how she’d change it from top to bottom. A 1980s mountain home designed by notable Atlanta-based architect Norman Askins became the exhilarating exception. “It was love at first sight,” says Maggie, the owner of her eponymous interior design firm in Gainesville, Georgia.

Maggie was enamored of the abode’s lived-in ambience and existing appeal, including stenciled heart pine floors. She focused on outfitting her family’s vacation home with a blend of old and new that feels at once cozy and chic. In the foyer, tangerine-hued lamps, a pagoda mirror, and a set of chinoiserie chairs with flame-stitch cushions jazz up a wooden chest of drawers and Limoges china on the wall.

One of Maggie’s favorite pieces is the well-worn antique rug in the living room, which has graced the same space since the dwelling’s completion. “The house was built in 1984, but it feels like it was built in 1884,” Maggie says of the two-story residence perched on North Carolina’s Satulah Mountain. “We appreciated that it felt so well-loved already. You can’t recreate that kind of age and character with a new build.”

Neutral walls in the common areas allow architectural details to sing. They also create a warm, subdued backdrop for pattern play, a hallmark of Maggie’s design work that she amplified for this project. “I tried to be a bit more bold, because I felt like the house could handle it,” she says.

Four spacious private suites, each with its own adjoining bath, make it easy for Maggie and David to host their large family—sometimes 20 people at a time—under one roof. From an antique Turkish textile to contemporary artwork, the master suite reflects Maggie’s affinity for balancing aged accents with fresh finds.

Comfort was a top priority, yet every room also reflects her design sensibilities and feels decidedly personal. An upstairs bedroom swathed in a dramatic floral wallpaper gains extra interest from special touches like antique luggage Maggie inherited from her great-grandparents and pillow covers fashioned from a long-forgotten bolt of crewel fabric discovered in her mother-in-law’s garage. 

“I really tried to stay away from geometrics or anything too modern. I wanted [the house] to feel handsome, warm, and inviting, instead of serene and cool,” says Maggie, who gave the porch’s existing furniture new life with bold pillows bearing Schumacher’s Chiang Mai Dragon pattern on one side and a blue buffalo check on the other.

Ultimately, Maggie created a gathering place for her family and others that would withstand the frequent pitter-patter of feet both big and small for years to come. “Any wear and tear just adds to the charm,” says Maggie. “Most of the furniture has a nick or scrape or peeling paint already, and it feels loved and worn and tells a story.”