SAVING HOPSCOTCH

Rather than parting with their much-loved Lookout Mountain home, a Tennessee family renovated the spot to suit their evolving needs

- BETSY CRIBB WATSON

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN was historically a summer destination. "People would live in downtown Chattanooga and then head to the mountains in the warmer months for better temperatures," says designer Hannon Doody. Nearly nine years ago, she and her husband, Cam, made the same move full-time, trading their apartment in the city for a 1931 house in a friendly neighborhood that felt right for their growing family, which included their then-infant daughter, Margot. 

Four years and another daughter, Liles, later, the couple found themselves with a choice to make: Find something bigger, or renovate the place they had lovingly dubbed Hopscotch Cottage. After a fruitless search, they opted to stay put - a decision that not so secretly delighted Hannon. "I'd always say, 'Save the cottage!' It had such great bones...it just wasn't living up to its full potential," she notes.

Helping their little home measure up was a larger undertaking than they had originally planned, she recalls. "We moved out for 10 months, and what was intended to be just an addition became a full gut too." They took the structure nearly down to the stud the scale of existing cased openings to make them feel more proportional, and selecting cohesive finishes for the mismatched trim and doors. The extensive renovation made good on the cottage's promise, too, adding 1,500 square feet of living space to its original 2,200 and also creating a relaxed flow between indoors and out. 

The main level's floor plan remained largely unchanged, and the focus poured into the addition of a large family room, a butler's pantry and bar, and a powder bath. Upstairs, they demoed what was originally a bath and reworked a hallway in favor of a new bedroom and bath. Outside, they vaulted the screened porch's existing ceiling, updated the deck, and partnered with Birmingham-based landscaping firm Falkner Gardens to bring life to the once-boring backyard.