Design by Jennifer Estes Interior Design | Story by Terri Glazer | Photography by Annabella Charles

“I wanted to build a house that felt like I’d inherited my grandparents’ Victorian farmhouse, but I’d updated it.” That was the homeowner’s vision for the weekend place she and her husband were planning at Horseshoe Lake in northeast Arkansas.

She shared the idea with her good friend Jennifer Estes, owner of Jennifer Estes Interior Design, who couldn’t resist the chance to work with her pal on a home style not often seen in the Mid South. “The two of us are alike in a lot of ways, but we’re also very different and very good friends. We travel together and do a lot together, but when she told me what she wanted I didn’t really see it at first,” recalls Estes. “I loved the idea of a modern farmhouse, but the ‘Victorian’ part took me a few days to process. The more we talked about it, though, the more excited we both got. I love a challenge and the chance to work outside the box!”

The two women talked and planned together until they had a clear vision of the home’s look and layout, then Estes brought in architectural designer Kelly Kirk of FIVE ONE to translate that concept into reality. He put onto paper a home that has the nostalgia of a century-old farmhouse from an L-shaped gable roof design, dual chimneys, metal roof, whitewashed exterior and wrap-around rear screen porch. The floor plan, however, is a perfect fit for the way families live today. The open living room, kitchen and dining area form a large, comfortable space with views of the lake from an expanse of windows across the rear wall. Each of the four bedrooms has an attached bath, a feature not commonly found in older homes but popular in new construction.

The front door itself is a testament to the house’s classic-meets-modern story. After a long search for just the right antique door came up empty, Estes and her client designed a perfect substitute from a current fabricator. The same goes for the stick and ball trim that brings Victorian charm to the kitchen and living room doorways.

Wherever possible, though, the designer and homeowner collectively sourced true vintage pieces, from the fireplace found at Palladio, with its penciled-in measurements left intact from long ago, to the assortment of antique interior door knobs throughout the house. “We had so much fun finding those! Sometimes they match, sometimes they don’t. And some of them are a little wonky, like they would be in your grandmother’s house,” the designer says.

The treasure hunt that yielded most of the decor came during a week-long trip Estes made to Atlanta with the homeowner along. She explains, “That’s one way I work with clients now, if they prefer and it’s a good fit for their project. It’s a little more transparent.”

From fabric vendors to Scott’s Antique Market to quirky little “treasures and finds” places, the two friends scoured the city, bringing home textiles, furniture and accent pieces. Perhaps their most memorable purchase was an Appalachian memory jug. Originally crafted in the mountains to memorialize a lost loved one, this vessel encrusted with everything from ceramic shards to coins to a pocket knife now sports a round wooden top and serves as a side table in the living room. The piece is emblematic of the entire home’s design, curated rather than coordinated and with a touch of the unexpected. The look is the product of the collaboration of two people who know each other well, trust one another and sometimes nudge each other creatively.

A small butler’s pantry off the dining area is a shining example of the way Estes delivered the homeowner’s request to mix elements from different design periods in an understated way. White painted built-in cabinets with glass doors on the uppers look as though they could have been there for generations. Estes played up the vintage appeal with jewelry-style drawer pulls embellished with mother-of-pearl accents, then added contemporary panache with a sophisticated marble and gold parquet backsplash. “They marry so well and the tile updates the old-fashioned look. They’re fun together!” says the homeowner. The wall covering, a Phillip Jeffries wood veneer pattern, adds another bit of modern flair, echoing the geometric design of the living room ceiling.

The couple wanted their lake house kitchen to mimic the layout of the one in their Memphis home, but its aesthetic had to blend the eclectic style of retro-meets-today. Estes achieved that goal by adding corbels to the wall cabinets and the island and lining the walls with white shiplap. An antique leaded-glass window found by the client looks right at home over the sink. Light gray quartz countertops and traditional fixtures keep the look timeless, while a trio of wall shelves hold the owner’s collection of vintage milk glass. Says Estes of the vignette, “Those are all [the owner’s] pieces that she’s collected and bought. I think the collection says a lot about her—elegant, interesting, understated, lots of good taste.”

A large bay window fills the primary bedroom with light, playing up the interesting melange of furnishings in the room. Dark and terra cotta accents bring a well-traveled feel to the space, but blend easily with the heirloom style headboard, night stands and chairs. Estes even chose the rug with nostalgia in mind; it looks as though it could have been made by hand, maybe by Grandma on the back porch, in days gone by. Estes sourced the rug, along with all the others for this project, from Kiser’s Floor Fashions.

The attached bathroom takes heritage chic to an elevated level with time-honored elements like hex and subway tiles. Elegantly patterned marble mosaic in the shower stall punches the style up, while the vanity, fashioned from a pair of antique chests of drawers, roots the room firmly in vintage.

The owner’s study is the ultimate in masculine sophistication. More of the Phillip Jeffries wood veneer wallpaper appears here; a herringbone pattern on the walls and a 3D coffered effect on the ceiling. Inviting leather furniture exudes comfort and a bar area holds a varied and interesting collection of glassware and decanters. Estes’s goal for the room was to accurately reflect the personality of the man of the house, an aviator and an avid hunter. “This gentleman’s study could be for a man like that from today, from 1960, or even from 1880,” she says.

The three upstairs bedrooms have uniquely different styles. The first is a feminine dream with a pair of graceful twin beds covered in colorful antique quilts. A huge window seat makes the perfect spot to sit with a good book. Again, the team of designer and owner covered every little detail in the room. The rose-colored drapes have the prettiest felted trim and the throw pillows covered in Christian LaCroix for Designers Guild fabric raise the color palette to a vibrant peak. The room’s art ranges from original drawings done by the family’s children to period butterfly prints. Even the doorknobs are girly, vintage porcelain and painted with sweet rosebuds. The wallpaper in the adjoining bath is a show-stopper; oversized cabbage roses with green foliage. Designed by New York artist John Derian for Designers Guild, the pattern is a throwback to the decoupage technique popular in Victorian times, yet perfect for this modern farmhouse. “We wanted this room to look kind of grandma hodge-podge. Colorful,” says Estes. Mission accomplished in a cheerful and whimsical way.

Upstairs bedroom number two has a more masculine vibe. White shiplap meets with rich blue on the walls for a dramatic, yet not too serious look. Twin poster beds chalk painted dark navy and decked out in bedding with blue and grass green hues continue the mood, as do denim drapes and a blue area rug from Kaiser’s Floor Fashions. The floors in this room and throughout the upstairs are painted in Benjamin Moore Classic Gray, a light shade that reads more soft white. Says the homeowner, “I love painted floors, and we thought they would be in keeping with the period.”

Estes reprised the wood veneer wallpaper in the attached bath, this time in a stylized hexagon pattern. Its geometry and scale are a perfect companion for the classically updated hex tiles on the floor. Another repurposed antique chest serves as the vanity in this bath, topped by a simple wood-framed mirror and a pair of shaded wall sconces with handsome vintage flair.

The upstairs guest room is a comfortable retreat for weekend guests. Estes kept the furnishings and textiles to a tranquil palette here, with shades ranging from clean white to peaceful grays. A custom beaded chandelier adds a fun focal point in ombre blues.

As inviting as the house is, the main attraction at a lake house is, of course, the lake. This home was designed to take full advantage of its shoreside setting. A classic screen porch stretches almost the full length of the house in the back, facing Horseshoe Lake, and wraps around the side, affording panoramic views of the backyard, dock and lake. Anchored by a hexagonal, gazebo-style conversation and tv area in the corner, the porch also includes a large built-in grill and a slew of farmhouse-back-porch essentials: wicker rocking chairs, a porch swing, and a screen door.

More than a design project, this house is the product of a great friendship between Estes and her client. The home was under construction during the height of the COVID pandemic, providing the women a respite from lockdown. “It gave us a chance to get out of the city, to come out to the country and work on it,” Estes recalls.

The homeowner agrees that taking this home from idea to completion with Estes at her side has been like living out a childhood dream. She says, “We’ve joked that it’s been like a grown-up version of doing the backyard playhouse with your best friend!”