Inside A Traditional Alabama Lake Home Modeled For Memories

Details

Standalone guest house in wooded...

Part of a larger family compound completed by residential designer Phillip Sides on Alabama’s Lake Martin, this idyllic pool house structure was inspired by old country churches (complete with a bell to summon guests). Dark cedar lap siding by Marshall Millwork is complemented by gentle terraces of Emerald Zoysia grass specified by landscape designer Rob Garrard.

Entryway with paneled walls, round...

Sides blended historical references with personal touchstones in the stately entrance hall of the lake home. Custom white oak paneling by Marshall Millwork backs Marcali’s Esther banquette and a 19th-century oak-and-marble console from Brownrigg beneath an oeil-de-boeuf window.

Living room with paneled walls,...

Paneled walls continue into the living room, where 12-foot Empire-style gilt-wood mirrors from Bonnin Ashley Antiques emphasize the room’s soaring height. A Formations iron-and-limestone coffee table joins an Ochre sofa wearing Romo gray velvet and Samuel & Sons bullion fringe.

Double-height living room with large...

Builders Corbin Bartgis and David Chancellor helped carefully engineer components around the living room’s 16th-century limestone fireplace to conceal a television. Period-original Howard & Sons armchairs, RH reading lamps and vintage brass drinks tables (originally from the Ritz Paris hotel) flank the hearth.

green bar lounge with rug...

The bar lounge features Jiun Ho swivel chairs and a Baker sofa donning Romo green velvet. Verdant hues continue in draperies fabricated of Romo textiles by Interior Motives, Inc. The antique brass chandelier is from Robuck.

Bar with mirrored backsplash, green...

Benjamin Moore’s Black Satin, hand-burnished with graphite dust by artisan Alan Carroll, colors the bar. Powell & Bonnell counter stools sidle up to custom cabinetry by Heath Hughes, Inc. capped with brass-edged onyx countertops from Walker Zanger.

Dining room with lavender scenic...

Regency-style chairs from Scott Antique Markets and a Jamb teak bench encircle a silver-leaf tree-stump table base in the dining room. A Robuck-sourced chandelier sparkles as a 19th-century bust of Athena from Brownrigg looks on.

Antique chest with round mirror...

For the dining room walls, Carroll painted a scenic mural onto plastered canvases framed by Greek key molding. A 19th-century commode from Brownrigg joins an 18th-century carved gilt-wood mirror from Dean Antiques Ltd.

Bathroom with tall black linen...

Custom oak paneling by Marshall Millwork meets planes of Jerry Pair Leather on the primary bathroom walls. Walker Zanger’s Mckinley White marble gives gravitas underfoot. The Visual Comfort lantern lights an antique linen cabinet from Brownrigg.

Iron canopy bed with blue...

A Gregorius Pineo iron bed anchors the primary bedroom, dressed with a Via Venezia Textiles silk coverlet and pillow atop Matouk linens. Dennis & Leen’s Paul Revere pendant hangs above the Ambella Home Collection bench.

Lakeside veranda with stone archway,...

Cody Hayes of MC Tile & Stone constructed the veranda’s Lake Como-inspired stone arch overlooking the water. Formations’ Verano outdoor seating wears Sunbrella upholstery beside Dennis & Leen stone tables.

Grand exterior walkway featuring stone...

Stonework by Hayes extends toward the lake via a grand staircase—a feature that connects to a walkway of Alabama-quarried stone pavers interspersed with tufts of Emerald Zoysia grass. Landscape designer Rob Garrard reinforced the patinated theme with urns and pots by Elegant Earth.

When built to stand the test of time, dwellings become monuments to the lives of those they were made for. Homeowners Matthew Meehan and Rod Hildebrant understand the importance of legacy when it comes to creating a home meant to last. Together, the pair have restored a former 18th-century French château as well as their current 1920s Miami Mediterranean-style residence once owned by American tycoon Howard Hughes. 

Yet as their family expanded, grandchildren growing taller every visit, the duo began imagining a place that “told our story as a couple,” Matthew shares. “We’ve been together for 18 years, traveling all over. And we wanted a home that represented our lives.” So began plans to create an expansive family compound on Alabama’s Lake Martin. “There’s something special about this place,” says Matthew. “The islands, the wilderness, the sheer beauty of waking up to watch a bald eagle swoop down and scoop up a fish. I’ve not found that magic anywhere else.” Informed by the pair’s passion for European architecture and a waterfront lifestyle, this new home would be a vessel for mementos of the past as much as future ones.

Tapping residential designer Phillip Sides assured the benefit of decades of industry knowledge and experience. A master of traditional vernaculars, Sides envisioned something akin to Shingle-style architecture—a residence that would read less quaint cottage, more Gilded Age holiday estate. It was an approach that made way for grandeur tempered by true intimacy. “I like to design houses that look like people live in them, and I pride myself in that,” Sides shares.

A stately exterior of cedar shake shingles and Alabama-quarried stone convey this essential warmth. “The house gets a little eccentric and very romantic,” reveals Sides, highlighting the dynamic roofline, fortress walls framing the doorway, and rounded turrets with panoramic lake views. Landscape designer Rob Garrard underscored the property’s fanciful spirit via a flowering canopy of Sweetbay magnolias, crepe myrtles and gardenias alongside heritage trees. Says Garrard: “We wanted to effectively anchor the house into the landscape, so it looks good not only in five years, but in 20.” 

Indoors, the vast entrance hall and living room branch out into more private wings. This central core establishes the home’s expert craftsmanship by a brigade of local artisans: See the sculptural staircase guarded by a sphinx, the custom oak paneled walls, and a 16th-century fireplace mantel seamlessly integrated into a new French limestone trumeau. Instrumental in concealing a television within the former, builders Corbin Bartgis and David Chancellor “were great at taking Phillip’s incredible visions and bringing those marvels to life,” Matthew notes.

More architectural wonders unfold throughout, making for a mini grand tour of sorts. The dining room takes a Grecian turn with custom scenic murals framed by Greek key panel molding, plus an arched niche housing a statue of Athena. The kitchen mimics those of English Arts and Crafts manors with its vaulted ceiling and towering hearth. And a massive stone arch and staircase lead to the water by way of a veranda “cut straight from our travels in Lake Como,” Matthew says.

Contrasting this formal envelope, Sides was ever mindful of scale, ensuring spaces never felt cavernous. “I design from the inside out, never the outside in,” he says. “I always start with the furniture plan—and I adhere to it.” His compositions calibrate antiques and custom furnishings in organic tête-à-têtes, such as the foyer’s tufted conversation settee and elongated sofa made precisely to fit under a bridge separating the space from the living room. Each space also emanates distinct personality: evident in bedrooms that have come to honor specific loved ones, as with chambers designated for Matthew’s grandfather, where Sides placed an antique-inspired tapestry of a hunting scene. In that same spirit, Sides created the pool house to have “its own character,” resembling an old-fashioned country church on the outside, tempered by interiors of luminous white shiplap and blue accents.

Despite its newness, personal details are what give the property its sense of permanence, along with a wealth of memories for the owners’ grandchildren to inherit. After exploring the world’s architectural feats, the couple has achieved several of their own, cementing a true sense of belonging in a close-knit community in the process. In some ways, their home has already become a landmark, hosting festivities including a charity event for hundreds of guests. “Many people in Lake Martin have lived here their entire lives, with so many wonderful stories of family and history,” Matthew says. “That just adds to the magic of this place. And we’re happy to be a part of that.”