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Jun 30, 2026

A Visionary Design Team Rewrites the Script for the Great American Lake House

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A Visionary Design Team Rewrites the Script for the Great American Lake House

The Vermont escape designed by three AD100 talents feels centuries in the making, straddling the worlds of fashion and an English country homeBy Sara Ruffin CostelloPhotography by Noe DeWittStyled by Helen CrowtherJune 30, 2026
Image may contain Architecture Building Housing Outdoors House Driveway Aerial View Manor miranda brooks garden miranda...The Vermont home designed by AD100 talents Redd Kaihoi, architect Gil Schafer, and landscape designer Miranda Brooks. “I felt strongly that the arrival should be through farmland,” Brooks says. “I wanted it to belong to that language. And it's basically a way to instantly age it. You have to have no irrigation to achieve this.” The original tarmac driveway was replaced with a gravel track and the exterior is painted in Benjamin Moore's Tapestry Beige.Noe DeWitt

Creating a windswept, refined Vermont getaway can require an understanding of the land across all four seasons. That is how AD100 landscape designer Miranda Brooks found herself perched on a makeshift bench, covered in snow, sketchbook in hand. “She settles in, looks and feels. I do the same,” says collaborator and AD100 architect Gil Schafer.

Image may contain Architecture Building Foyer Indoors Lamp Person Home Decor Rug Chair Furniture Art and Painting

In the entryway and throughout the house the reclaimed-wood floors are covered in a hand-painted finish by Chris Pearson, and inspired by Bunny Mellon. “I love that we carried the pattern of the floor,” decorator Miles Redd says. “But the colors change. The house has continuity.” The vintage rugs are Moroccan and the lanterns are from Doyle.

Noe DeWitt

Schafer, famous for turning out classical houses loaded with good bones and integrity, was tapped alongside AD100 decorators Miles Redd and David Kaihoi and Brooks, to design a family retreat that would return their client back to his rugged Vermont roots, while still engaging with a surfeit of city sophistication.

Image may contain Home Decor Architecture Building Furniture Indoors Living Room Room Couch Chair Table and Art

In the living room they channeled Oscar de la Renta, Kaihoi says. The sofa banquette is covered in a Bennison rose printed fabric and the walls are covered in a silk-taffeta fabric. “I love old fashioned chintz,” Redd says. The lacquered cocktail table is from Doyle and the window shades are of a Pierre Frey fabric.

Noe DeWitt
Image may contain: Bench, Furniture, Table, Dining Table, and Desk

Veere Grenney Small Gazebo Coffee Table

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A tiger-style throw pillow.

Scalamandré Animal Pillow Cover

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Image may contain Home Decor Rug Architecture Building Furniture Indoors Living Room Room Couch Chair and Table

“My team and I created a Vermont Colonial Revival,” Schafer says. “Miles says ‘by the way it’s going to be covered in silk taffeta.’ Collaboration and curve balls. The things that are not what you are expecting are fun and interesting.”

Noe DeWitt
Image may contain Fireplace Indoors Home Decor Hearth Furniture Chair Art and Painting

In the living room the custom mantel is by Jamb and the custom chair is covered in Bennison’s Roses. “Taffeta on the walls doesn’t seem shiny, or have that precious feeling when it’s on curtains,” Redd says. “Rather the trick of taffeta on walls is it gives a cozy, dense, and rich feeling.”

Noe DeWitt

At first, Schafer drafted a sort of elevated farmhouse. Then the decorators, who had previously completed several houses for the client, announced a different direction—taffeta walls, fur blankets and faux bois doors painted to resemble crotch mahogany. Schafer responded by transitioning the scheme toward a proper Federal design. Rewriting the script for the great American lake house, Redd and Kaihoi conjured rooms with the patina of generations. The result feels inherited rather than installed.

Image may contain Home Decor Chair Furniture Plant Rug and Couch

In the library the tea canisters mounted as lamps are from the collection of Mario Buatta. The sofa, chairs, and side tables are from Doyle. From this room there are “views you didn’t know you were going to find,” Kaihoi says. “There so many of those moments that Miranda creates.”

Noe DeWitt
Silver-Plated Salt & Pepper Mills.

Chiarugi 1952 Silver-Plated Brass Salt & Pepper Mills

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Abask

Octagonal Framed Mirror.

Vintage Octagonal Framed Mirror

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Etsy

Together, and with an eye toward preserving as many trees as possible, Schafer and Brooks determined where the house should sit so it would feel as though it had always belonged there. “Everything is positioned to capture a different version of the view,” Brooks says. “I think of the land as my client, and my job is to bring it into a state of ease to reveal its natural essence and its most beautiful connections.”

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“The octagonal dining room has grand references but is finished with informal wood grain,” Kaihoi says. The wall covering is by de Gournay and the chandelier, table, and chairs are from auction.

Noe DeWitt

For Brooks, the experience of the property began with the approach. Feeling strongly that the arrival ought to belong to the language of rural farmland, Brooks removed the original asphalt driveway, replacing it with a simple, curving dirt track edged by wild grasses and staggered clouds of boxwood for structure. The result places visitors immediately in the ancient landscape of the lake, while allowing the classical architecture to stand out as the distinctly man-made element.

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The mirror in the powder room is from Bunny Williams Home and the wall covering is by de Gournay. The sconces are by Visual Comfort.

Noe DeWitt
Bronze wall sconce with metal shade.

Ralph Lauren Anette Sconce

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Visual Comfort

Mirror with blue frame.

Sapphire Mirror by Bunny Williams

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Fig Linens & Home

Schafer intentionally painted the clapboard exterior café au lait to root it in the landscape. “In colonial times, the clapboard would have been stark white, meant to recall stone, so this is somewhat subversive,” he says with a laugh. The matching shutters push that gesture further, a slight drift away from traditional black-green.

Image may contain Furniture Table Architecture Building Dining Room Dining Table Indoors Room and Window

“The kitchen table must be on the southern side of the house,” Schafer says. “You want the sun, especially in Vermont its nice to have the warmth of the sun.” The dining table is from Stair Galleries and surrounded by chairs from Doyle. The reclaimed-wood floors have a hand-painted finish inspired by Bunny Mellon and the walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue.

Noe DeWitt

The interiors pay tribute to the sensibility of an English country house with an echo of the fashion world–both milieus the client is comfortable. Enormous working fireplaces, a generous olive-lacquered mudroom, and old-school silk taffeta hung on the living room walls are tempered by humble felt walls in the hallway off the dining room. Kaihoi describes these juxtapositions as being informed by tensions. The octagonal dining room has grand references but is finished with faux limed-wood grain. Despite the grandeur, the overall atmosphere is cozy and relaxed. “The story is nostalgic,” Redd says. “The clock ticking, the air you feel in a house that’s loved and taken care of, fisherman sweaters and jeans, a whiff of F. Scott Fitzgerald but not tragic.”

Image may contain Indoors Interior Design Floor Kitchen Plant Sink and Sink Faucet

The mudroom is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Essex Green and the pendants lights are by Ann Morris. “We live in an age of accumulation,” Schafer says. “We have so much stuff it’s nice to put it away, and it can be pretty. When you’re in the mix with Miles it’s going to be lacquered and fabulous.”

Noe DeWitt
Pendant light with green shade.

Antique French Ceiling Light

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Etsy

Rattan umbrella holder with two umbrellas inside.

Pigeon & Poodle Malta Rattan Umbrella Stand

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Hudson & Vine

Although the palette appears ornate, it is also tough. Durable linens and resilient leather mean the family can live with the interiors without worrying too much about wear and tear. Chintz comes with the territory. “People think it’s Grandma,” Redd says, “but it’s actually quite modern, you just have to see it through the right lens.”

Image may contain French Window Window Home Decor Couch and Furniture

“The family room is positioned in the southwest corner because in the winter the sun is going to set in the southwest,” Schafer says. “Then in summer more straight ahead due west or slightly northwest. We rigorously watch how is the sun going to behave against the rooms.” The room is painted in White Dove by Benjamin Moore and the matchstick shades are from Manhattan Shade & Associates. The rug is by Vaughan and the custom sofa is upholstered in a Lee Jofa fabric. The cocktail table is by Serena & Lily.

Noe DeWitt
Rattan coffee table with lower shelf.

Serena & Lily South Seas Rattan Coffee Table

$1,298 $1,038 (20% off)

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