Charlotte's Home of the Year 2024 winner is a rustic stone estate on Lake Norman
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Photo: Courtesy of Emily Followill
Our 2024 Home of the Year award goes to this custom-built lakeside haven in Cornelius.
Why it matters: The annual award spotlights the best of the best in real estate, with past winners showcasing innovative designs, creative custom spaces and functional family homes.
Zoom in: This year's winner is a stunning display of a multifaceted design approach. Its architecture and design are inspired by historic Pennsylvania farmhouses, implementing traditional elements like fireplaces and heavy wood accents.
- The builders and designers achieved their client's timeless aesthetic by using high-quality materials, like its fieldstone exterior, paired with a soft color palette throughout its interior.
Layout: Across the 12,500 square-foot house are seven bedrooms, eight full bathrooms, and two half bathrooms.
- Outdoor features include a spacious double balcony, patio, and a glass-walled pool overlooking Lake Norman.
Design: Kingswood Custom Homes and architect John Haley crafted the house to boast charming textured details throughout.
- Its exterior, for example, features stone veneer from Connecticut and New York. Its copper gutters will eventually patina over time, a conscious choice that's meant to accentuate the beautiful cedar shake roof.
- Inside, the light-colored cabinets purposefully contrast with the dark wood beams and river cypress paneling to create depth.
- The home is filled with eye-catching design elements, like the pressed tin ceiling in the pool mudroom, for example. The pine-clad cabana room features doors on each side, which allow lake air to travel through.
Style: Interior designers Jackye Lanham and stylist Eleanor Roper collaborated on the project.
- They used a soft color palette and neutral-toned furniture and decor to balance out the richness of the wood throughout.
Lakeside landscaping: Landscape architect John Howard embraced the views of the lake by adding glass railings along the porches to offer an unobstructed view of the water.
- He also added bark siding inside and outside of one of the exterior porches to create a playful "tree-house" feel.
Take a look around
All photos courtesy of Emily Followill
Go deeper: Check out our Home of the Year 2024 winners for "Best Architecture" and "Best Dining Design."