Categories: Design

Take a Peek Inside a Brand-New Georgia Home Designed to Feel Like a Generations-Old Southern Estate

interiors

For nearly two decades, Chicago-based interior designer Kim Scodro and her family spent their winters in Arizona, but eventually, she and her husband began longing for a change of scenery. They wanted somewhere closer to Chicago, preferably with lush greenery and a slower pace of life. Despite admitting that “change is not something that I embrace,” Scodro agreed to visit St. Simons Island, Georgia, where the couple had vacationed for years.

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Luckily for them, the first house they toured, a beautifully constructed home overlooking a lake in the wooded Frederica community, was the one. “I fell in love with it,” she says. “And I think it was because of the beautiful lake view, the way the house is situated, and the fact that the house was built so incredibly well.” Although it was relatively new, Scodro saw an opportunity to give it the character of an older home. “My main inspiration was taking this new, well-built home and giving it a little bit of age, a little bit of warmth,” she adds.

The living room, with its sweeping views of the lake, was one of the biggest selling points of the house, but Scodro was determined to make it as comfortable as it was beautiful. A generously sized sectional, selected by a family vote, accommodates everyone when her children and grandchildren visit, while lightweight stools frequently become makeshift building surfaces for the kids’ crafts. “Our last home did not have a comfortable sofa to watch TV,” she admits, so practicality was especially important this time around. Scodro also added built-in cabinetry and commissioned artwork to give the expansive room more character, balancing contemporary pieces with antiques.

In the kitchen, Scodro took a similar approach to making a newer space feel established. The very first piece she purchased for the house was an antique artwork depicting a woman carrying water, which she hung behind the cooking surface. “It sets the tone, I think, for what I wanted the whole house to feel like,” she says. She also painted the existing brick white, introduced a butcher-block countertop, and created a cozy breakfast banquette with antique Hitchcock chairs she discovered at auction.

Beyond the main kitchen, a separate scullery conceals the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry, allowing the family to entertain without worrying about the inevitable mess or unsightly vision of appliances. The nearby dining room, on the other hand, offers another glimpse into Scodro’s affection for antiques, including a Swedish grandfather clock that arrived in pieces and required a specialist from Savannah to reassemble. An antique bust of a Southern woman nearly didn’t make it home because of its price, until her husband insisted, “I don’t think we can have a dining room if we don’t have that. She’s perfect.”

Upstairs, the primary bedroom is a particularly personal expression of Scodro’s style. Pink accents mingle with blue gingham, a pattern that has held sentimental meaning for her since childhood. Growing up, she slept beneath a blue gingham canopy that had been passed down from her two older sisters, and the memory has continued to influence her decorating decades later. “That, to me, is a feeling of warmth,” she explains.

She paired the floral wallpaper with an upholstered bed that had previously been covered in velvet, while a piece originally designed for a Lake Forest show house was given new life with fresh upholstery and a gathered skirt. “I think sometimes we forget that you can upholster things and bring a whole new life to them,” she says.

Elsewhere upstairs, Scodro transformed a previously unused attic into a secret bunk room accessed through a bookshelf. Designed especially for her grandchildren, the room features individual sleeping nooks with curtains, personalized beanbag chairs, and plenty of space for impromptu dance parties. “It’s my grandkids’ favorite spot,” she says.

For Scodro, the greatest pleasure of her St. Simons Island home isn’t any particular antique or carefully chosen fabric, but seeing her family make themselves completely at ease. “Home to me, family,” she adds. “It’s a feeling of warmth that you can’t get anywhere else.”

Photos by Emily Followill, Styling by Eleanor Roper

Jessica Cherner