When Karen Vance and her husband decided to escape the long winters of Michigan, they hoped a lake. in the Carolinas was in their future. Lake Keowee sealed the deal. "As soon as we got on a boat on this lake, we knew this was right," Karen recalls. It was paradise. They were determined to build their dream home and retire right. "The lake is gorgeous," they just needed a team that could design a home to match!.
A Great Experience
Mr. and Mrs. Vance have some experience with designing houses, since they had created five together already. Yet in the past, their sense of artistic freedom was limited by the fact that a house must remain sellable in the future. Nothing too uniquely "them" would fly. Now, facing both Lake Keowee and retirement, they could expand their traditional palette and build their dream home. Although designing a home from the ground up might be a daunting task, each of their previous homes served as a rough draft for thls one. "We've moved and sold so many times we've been refining what we would like to have one day. Fortunately, the Vances had not only the inspiration and means, but the team to carry it through. They met Mason Elliott through their builder and were thrilled with this luck. "We had such a great experience working with him and his staff".
Turned Out Fantastic
The whole The whole process was carried out over a few years, from making decisions by "passing designs back and forth" to putting it all on paper.The couple was able to visit monthly during the building process.She found a great interior designer in Michigan, who Karen trusted to review ideas before talking to Mason. Over the years, the Vances had "grabbed things throughout life that we wanted to have." With a talented design crew, they were able to put it all together beautifully. "All of it turned out fantastic!"
When she met Mason, Karen knew he was the type of professional she could work with. She could tell that he values clear communication with his clients. This was important, because they had lots of work to do! They were able to stay flexible, and "communicate in lots of different ways: email, text, phone." Knowing that he would answer his own phone and be available to hear any concerns helped keep her at ease. With all the subcontractors involved in a major project like this, she knew she could count on him as a point person to manage the details. This became important when she realized the builders kitchen design wasn't working out. "Mason and I spent time on paint color. He put in some serious time on that" Karen wanted certain areas to match with what she had seen, both in her travels and on websites like Houzz.
Mason designed the cabinets and there were lots of cabinets. Beyond the kitchen and bathroom, there are multiple laundry rooms, and a lake room that walks outdoors with a bench and infinity pool. That connects to a sauna and bathroom. Mason implemented cabinets in all of these rooms, plus a butler's pantry, master bath, music room, bar, and entertainment center! As a customer she appreciated Mason's follow-through that complemented their creativity with his own. It can be daunting to pull together so many spaces and to make them flow smoothly. Yet, working with Mason, this task "was an ease." She recounts how they never had any problems."