Barbara Skeen and her husband, Pete, built nine homes together. After Pete died in April 2013, Skeen did what she never expected to do again: She built a house.
Lake Arrowhead, a Waleska community that her husband loved, was a fitting place to downsize from her nearly 5,600-square-foot home. Skeen told her builder, Scott Parker, “I’m doing this one by myself. You’re going to have to hold my hand.”
With Parker and interior designer Dawn Marcom, Skeen started anew in a Craftsman-style home with mountain views.
“When I moved into this house, this was kind of a new beginning for me,” she said. “My heart and soul is in Lake Arrowhead.”
Snapshot
Resident: Barbara Skeen and her boxers, Sophie, Shamrock and Bindi
Location: Waleska, in Lake Arrowhead
Size: About 2,200 square feet, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths
Year built and bought: 2014
Builder: Aquarius Residential Construction, Scott Parker
Architectural style: Craftsman
Favorite architectural features: Cedar shakes, exposed beams and fireplaces
Design consultants: Dawn Marcom Designs, Cane Cutters Landscape, Sprayberry Design Group
Interior design style: Traditional and rustic
Favorite interior design features: The furnishings and drapery were selected to accentuate, not block the view. “There’s a ton of windows. You can look out every window and see the mountains,” she said.
Favorite pieces of furniture: The dining room table (from Woodstock Furniture), which has a trestle style that fit with the home’s casual, rustic decor. “We were so excited the day we found it,” Skeen said.
Favorite outdoor feature: A fountain from Progressive Lighting on the back stone patio. She wanted it so much that she drove around with the fountain in the back of her car until workers could hoist it out and put it on the patio.
Resources: Lighting from Progressive Lighting, Pottery Barn, Ballard Designs and Savoy House; furniture and accessories from manufacturers and stores, including Klaussner, Sam Moore, Woodstock Furniture, Silkroute, Hooker Furniture, Coast to Coast, Jaipur, New Pacific, Emerald Home Furnishings, Craftmaster and Furniture Classics; accessories from Outrageous Interiors, Pottery Barn, Marshalls and HomeGoods; other items from Creative Threads, Creative Designs & Building Solutions, Escape Stucco and Stone, Etowah Carpet One Floor & Home.
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