The Soothing Moods of a Lake Martin Getaway

John Mitchell’s favorite vacation destination happens to be a mere forty-five minutes from his home in Auburn, Alabama. “I travel a lot, even internationally,” says Deborah, his wife, “but that’s as far as he wants to go.” John laughs in agreement. “My idea of traveling,” he says, “is going to the lake.”
An understandable sentiment when the lake in question is Lake Martin. John grew up going to the beloved Alabama destination in the summers with his family. So did the New York City–based designer David Frazier, who hails from the small town of West Point, Georgia, but spent many weekends at his grandparents’ cabin on the water. When the Mitchells hired Frazier to design their dream vacation home there, it felt like kismet to work with someone who deeply understood the area. “Lake Martin is rapidly changing,” Frazier says, “but for me, there is a certain nostalgia that is hard to replicate. When you’re there, you’re active the whole time. You’re either on the boat or you’re eating or drinking. It’s such a fun, celebratory place, and to be able to design a home that’s going to facilitate the making of special memories for their family felt like an important job.”