The Pratt Home
When Lucy and Win Pratt’s children were young, travel baseball games would frequently take them to new and stunning places throughout Tennessee. The family hit a home run when they found a beautiful lot along the shoreline of Watts Bar Lake, and several years later, the Pratts, with the help from the rest of their team at Pratt Home Builders, had finished building a home that serves up lakeside living in style.
By Christina Cannon / Photography by Philip Slowiak
“We actually have friends who live in this neighborhood, and we would stay at their lake house whenever we would come to this part of town for games or tournaments,” explains Lucy.
“We grew to love the area, and we really loved the neighborhood, so we started looking at properties.”
Win and Lucy Pratt with children Abby, Will, Edwin, and Carter
After purchasing a lot that sat vacant for over three years, the Pratts decided to take the plunge and get to work building the lake home of their dreams.
“Our kids are in high school now, and that’s why we decided to pull the trigger. I’ve always wanted to have a home where my kids could come and bring their friends and just have fun and enjoy life,” says Lucy. “And we ended up building at the perfect time too. Earlier this year, when there was nowhere to go and nothing to do, we were able to come here with our immediate family and friends and shelter in place. It was a blessing in disguise.”
Even before stepping inside, the Pratts’ home exudes warmth and charm. The home’s white board-and-batten siding is complemented by the front porch, which features a natural stone deck and German Schmear brick wall. Rich wooden shutters, columns, and gable brackets provide a dash of color and a cozy ambiance.
Similar to the home’s exterior, the foyer provides a light and airy feel with its white shiplap walls that are built upon with natural elements. A herringbone brick floor contributes to the faint rustic feel and is a durable option.
“With a lake house, you’re always getting stuff wet and dragging coolers everywhere, so we wanted something that would hold up,” says Lucy. “It’s also great for our pets and areas that have high foot traffic.”
A brass chandelier incorporates an array of geometric shapes and candle-style lighting, while two table lamps nearby offer up even more warmth and personality with their distressed bases and cream-colored drum shades.
An abstract painting rests between the lamps and draws the eye upward to the foyer’s Pecky Cypress ceiling – something that hits close to home for the Pratts.
“Win is from the Mississippi Delta, and we sourced a lot of Pecky Cypress from that area for our home. We love the richness and the history of it, and it has so much character. It also takes us back to Win’s roots and helps to make this home unique to us,” explains Lucy, whose Nashville upbringing is also reflected in some of the home’s décor.
Open to the foyer is the home’s dining room. Here, a long farmhouse table is surrounded by six white ladder back chairs and two wicker-style armchairs at the heads. Elements from the foyer are pulled into this room with its use of brass on the wall sconces and geometric shapes in the elongated lighting fixture that hangs from the continued Pecky Cypress ceiling.
On the far wall, a narrow table provides cohesion with its distressed finish, and its surface can easily house extra food, keeping it out of the way while still being nearby.
Just steps away is the great room, which features plenty of seating with several cream-colored couches resting in a U shape. A circular, wooden top coffee table rounds out the seating arrangement, while a natural stone fireplace rises to the ceiling’s peak and works to ground this end of the main living space.
A thick Pecky Cypress mantel plays off of the ceilings of the adjacent rooms and is married with rough sawn pine beams running overhead. A wall of sliding glass doors allows the Pratts to combine their indoor and outdoor living space and take full advantage of their lakeside vista.
“The entire house was designed around our living and kitchen space,” says Win. “We have a big family, and we’re constantly cooking and celebrating and entertaining. We wanted everyone to be able to be in the same space, and this entire house was really built with that openness in mind.”
In the kitchen, an oversized island caters to family and friends and can easily seat six. The warmth of the hardwood floors is complemented by the reclaimed wood found in the base of the island and the range hood. The space is once again kept bright, this time with the use of light quartz countertops and Alabaster white cabinetry.
Oversized pulls bring a touch of brass into the room, and cabinet-style appliances help maintain a sleek and clean aesthetic. To the side of the island, a dedicated bar area offers plenty of prep and storage space and emphasizes the entertaining aspect of this home.
Just off of the main living area is the master suite, which repeats many of the colors, materials, and finishes seen throughout the rest of the home.
“Again, we really wanted everything to feel fresh and clean,” says Lucy. “We like the rustic feel that the wooden beams and door casings provide, but this is a lake house, not a mountain home, so we didn’t want to go overboard.”
A sliding wooden door provides access to the master bathroom, where an array of patterns emerges. Shiplap walls, gray veining in the ceramic floor, and both honeycomb and herringbone tiles in the shower come together in perfect harmony to offer a streamlined complexity. A freestanding tub rests just beneath a window outfitted with plantation shutters, while the opposite wall features a spacious vanity with a wall-to-wall framed mirror.
The Pratts’ home doubles down on its guest-friendly goals with a bunk room located in the basement. Four oversized bunks, each with its own outlet and shelf, offer a relaxing respite after a hot day on the lake.
Back on the top floor is another lake-inspired room. This simple yet elegant powder room wows visitors with its fish-scale accent wall and a thick-rimmed mirror that faintly resembles driftwood due to its smooth, matte finish.
While this waterside dwelling does incorporate its fair share of traditional lake home trimmings, above all it prioritizes quality time with loved ones, which is made a little sweeter with its second-to-none scenery. CS
