Name: John
Location: Center Pond — Newark, Vermont
Size: 1,600 square feet interior, 6 acres / 887 feet of shore frontage exterior
Years lived in: 24 — owned
John grew up spending a lot of time at his neighbor's cabin on Center Pond in Vermont, or as he and his loved ones refer to it, camp. Forty years later, he bought camp and immediately began putting it back together the way he remembered it. The day after purchase, he put the furniture back to its' original positions, and more recently, he repainted the living room and kitchen in colors that were more in tune with his memories. Today, he divides his time between camp (sans modern amenities) and his home which is a stone's throw away.
Appropriately, the clocks on the wall are out of order. When I visited camp, time was measured in light o'clock and dark o'clock. The main structure was build in 1912 with additions made throughout the 30s and 40s by Neal Wells. Aside from those structural additions including the patio and second floor, not a lot has changed. In fact, John's entire aesthetic is based upon his childhood memories of his Center Pond camp, and he operates under the design standard, "Would Mr. Wells approve?" The result is a charming blend of rustic and vintage. Equally as engaging as camp's interior is the breathtaking landscape. The sight of stars and sounds of loons at night are absolutely stunning!
Some elements with the best camp character include the moose head / hat rack, the porch swing, the range of literature laying around from Atlantic Monthlys dating back to the 70s to field guides of local flora and fauna to romance novels, and the totem pole support on the first floor. As a child, John watched the progress Mr. Wells made on the totem pole year after year. Today, it epitomizes the lore and history of camp. John curates the walls with a salon style sensibility that incorporates his children's renderings of camp from years ago, his daughter's history reports, and landscape prints. This quality of layered textures persists throughout and provides rich stories at every turn.
Apartment Therapy Survey:
My Style: Haphazard!
Inspiration: Keeping everything as it is / was.
Favorite Element: J Findlay Center Pond sign made in Burlington.
Biggest Challenge: Keeping septic system in order.
What Friends and Family Say: My father (who is blind) says there’s something beyond sight that is the essence of camp. He has a feeling that places him at Center Pond. On the other hand, one of my daughters (who is an architectural engineer) says it’s architecturally challenged.
Biggest Embarrassment: Guests’ reactions depending on their expectations. With no plumbing nor electricity and cell service only available at the dock, guests are sometimes surprised by the accommodations.
Proudest DIY: Ongoing. I am recently retired and happy to have more time to devote to keeping up with camp.
Biggest Indulgence: The purchase of camp!
Best Advice: Follow your dreams. Do what you want to do. I never imagined I could own camp, and now I do.
Dream Sources: The land surrounding camp though it is mostly property of Vermont River Conservancy.
Resources of Note:
PAINT & COLORS
- Living Room: True Value, Wheat
- Kitchen: True Value, Match White
ENTRY
- Moose head : Found in Canada
LIVING ROOM
- Totem pole : Hand carved and painted by Neal Wells
- Big window frames : Oak reclaimed from church in St. Johnsbury, Vermont
- Black floral cushion on Morris chair that recently replaced old cushion : From parents from their 1942 wedding gifts
THROUGHOUT
- Linens and bedding belong to family friends’ : Polly and Jamie Yerkes
OUTSIDE
- Refurbished Airstream trailer / guest unit : Polly and Jamie Yerkes
- Bird house : crafted by Neal Wells
Thanks, John!
Images: Beth Bates
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Oh I love this. It reminds me of time spent in the Muskokas in Ontario, at the cottages of childhood friends. Some of them were much fancier than this, and some of them were not, but that feeling of "away but still at home but better" is what I loved the most.
Also, love that the description of where John sourced the moose head reads simply: "found in Canada". Of course it was! It conjures up an image of sort of of stepping onto Canadian soil and immediately tripping over the moose heads littering the streets. Along with igloos and maple leaves:)
Wow. Love it.
John love your style! It reminds of simpler times when lol there were no cell phones/cable t.v./or video games! Although I love the newness of appliances and tech stuff I have a warm spot in my heart for simpler things and times.
Thanks for the tour!
Yes. Well. I think I've died and gone to heaven. Camps always have a smell and I can smell it from here. There's a feeling in the air, too. Damp-ish but not wet. Nothing a little fire in the stove won't cure. We slept under tons of quilts, 4 kids to a bed, when we went to stay with Aunt Marie and Uncle Peder in the Adirondacks. Very much the same vibe. Peder taught us to carve AND sharpen our knives. At age 8. And the coffee was always on.
I always wanted to live that way, not just go there on vacation.
You have a slice of heaven, John. But you KNOW that!!
Transport me! I'm completely in love.
Vermonter here- nothing like a good camp on a lake! Thanks for the tour!
Fantastic. Our family has camp too. Not "A Camp," not "camping," just "camp." Never capitalized. It drives my non-northeastern friends crazy. They cannot understand the difference between camp and a cottage. My grandparents bought it in the 70's and it was 10 miles from their house in Upstate NY. Grandma and Grampa are gone, but we still go to camp. It's one place my kids love, with no tv but fishing and tubing down the West Canada Creek.
@ Raspberryjam... I hear you! It's a very northeastern thing to have a second home, but not in a fancy way and usually less than an hour away from your first home. Camps are usually (and should be in my opinion!) only a few steps up from actually camping, or at least not something you spend much thought on decor-wise. Once you start doing that you get dangerously close to cottage territory :-)
Oh I just love this. It almost brought a tear to my eye. I love that you arranged everything exactly as you remembered it. There is something great about wanting to share the most specific details of your fond memories with your loved ones--so you can "place" them in the memory with you to share it. But you actually recreated it!! To make new ones!
If I had my way, I'd buy my grandparents lake house in Wisconsin. I put the same '70's disco-floor carpet back in, the same wood paneling, the same orange, yellow and green wallpaper back up (the orange room, the yellow room, the green room) and I'd put my grandpa back out on the back porch watching a thunderstorm.
I grew up in the countryside of Pennsylvania, where my family also had a camp in addition to our 'regular' house. In recent years my family has the house that I grew up in, in addition to both my grandparents houses, but the camp still remains. It's a special place for relaxing and merriment with family and friends, I'm sure much the same as John's camp. My family purchased camp in the mid-80's for $40,000. It was appraised last year for $44,000. Some things you can't put a price on.
Dear John:
Thank you for saving this house. I will now take it over.
Best wishes,
me
Well, well, well. How nice to see the camp looking this good. What happened to the bats, mice, dirt, dust and so on? Without these additions, camp just isn't the same! (lol) Good job!
totally badass
I love it. It brought back memories from my childhood. Not from a specific place but the vibe from when visiting the grand parent and cousin in the Ozarks. Also the offices, stores and out buildings at the camp grounds were we vacationed. I'm glad it's still out there. I'll crank the ice cream maker if slice the watermelon.
WOW.... this really brings back memories!After our house burned,In Newark Vt.We moved into my grandfathers camp on CENTER POND RD (Which has been passed through the family for years) to live there.I can remember not having any of the luxuries of life!Power,running water etc.I took it for granted then and did't like it because I was a teen growing up!(Not to mention we had to break holes in the ice in the brook to bathe)Now I'd do anything to go back and relive it my way now.MMMM the smell of burn toast on the wood stove .....(skunk toast)...Oh and all we got on our black and white 12" tv was channels 3,8 and PBS!Awesome Job John!I really appreciate these little things in life.Thanks and Good luck!Feels like Home!
http://m.burlingtonfreepress.com/Green/article?a=2011110424014&f=1408