A IS FOR AMAZING

By CHASE EDWARDS

Photos by KRISTEN TURICK

Carrie drier has always loved the rustic charm of A-frames—the iconic cottages admired for their affordability and snowshedding roofs that spread throughout ski country in the middle of the last century. Drier once even planned a vacation to Salt Lake City around a stay in a particular A-frame—there, she learned an important lesson about functional space. “Use of space is hard with an A-frame,” she explains. The cabin in Salt Lake was so tight it didn’t have space for a dining room table, and the living room was overly cramped.

When she bought her own A-frame outside of Lake Ann several years ago, Drier knew she wanted to maximize the living space with a full kitchen and enough room to play games at the kitchen table. She also envisioned an open living area with views from the dining room table into the loft above. That dream was just the beginning of a much-needed total makeover for the old structure (built in 1991) that had long been used as a hunting camp.

Drier was in Covid-19 quarantine when she first saw a listing for the 1,100-square- foot cottage, so she sent her husband along with her contractor, Kevin Umbarger, to look at the place. “It was in really rough shape,” Drier says, “but from the beginning, I had this vision of scalloped cedar shingles and a black metal roof.” A closedin front porch interfered with the sleek lines of the building, but, she says, “I knew once we ripped the front porch off it would make the whole A-frame stand out.”

In the living room, a green L-shaped couch plays off the colors of the forested setting outside. Removing the fireplace and replacing it with a mini-split heating system opened up the living area, making space for a dining room table (game night!) and a daybed under the stairs to the loft. Finally, Drier replaced the hodgepodge mix of beat-up wood and cheap sheet vinyl flooring with luxury vinyl. The living room light is a 13-inch Mirage Chainmail Pendant from CB2. A Cosmo Bronze Pendant from Crate & Barrel hangs above the dining room table.

On that first tour, Drier’s husband took a video of the cottage for her and when he showed her the kitchen, he tried telling her it wasn’t in too bad shape. Though she didn’t say anything at the time, Drier knew immediately it all had to go. The new kitchen features black stainless-steel appliances and cabinets she bought unfinished and painted Sherwin-Williams’ Cavern Clay, a terracotta shade. A furniture piece acts as a small kitchen island with two seats. Enclosing the old back door created space for a stackable washer and dryer, and a new sliding door opens up to the backyard.

Drier has been designing vacation homes since 2015 through her company Roost North and had done several smaller remodels before this A-frame project, so she’s had plenty of time to refine her style: a blend of streamlined modern with cozy and unusual accents—which is why she chose to keep some of the wood paneling inside the house.

Drier painted the walls with what she describes as her go-to white—Origami White from Sherwin-Williams. The terracotta color of the kitchen cabinets bounces off the white walls, giving the inside of the A-frame a light pink hue—not part of Drier’s original plan, but she likes the way it turned out. “I decided it’s what the space is meant to be,” she says.

“I didn’t want to rip out everything,” she says. “I wanted to keep some of the character.”

Creating space wherever possible became a priority. The team tore down a half-wall that divided the toilet from the vanity and closed off one of two separate entrances, creating room for a new vanity with double sinks. Sherwin-Williams Origami White walls and a custom mirror that mimics the shape of the A-frame round out the bathroom’s clean style and create a sense of spaciousness.

Under the roofline upstairs, Drier carved out room for a bedroom outfitted with twin beds, each with custom built-in shelves. She found more storage by replacing what she describes as an “ugly” old railing across the open side of the loft with a custom art deco-style bookcase that doubles as a railing. The newly freshened loft also features a king-size bed, new carpet and expanded windows overlooking a new 916-square-foot deck (built with black composite decking) that artfully encapsulates an existing tree. The living space extends with a new deck, which acts as an outdoor room offering plenty of seating. A pea-gravel pathway leads to a nearby fire ring and two custom A-frame storage sheds for keeping firewood dry.

When Drier’s contractor tore down the paneling in the bathroom he found a surprise—a giant mural of a lake. Sentimental as the mural might have been for someone else, Drier had the mural drywalled over—preserving a bit of mystery behind the walls. “The mural is still there for someone to discover in 30 years if they remodel again,” she says.

Although the hideaway is just minutes from the village of Lake Ann, Drier hopes the tiny A-frame creates an in-the-middle-ofnowhere feeling of spaciousness and escape and a backdrop for the next generation’s memories.

House And Home