Cabin to the Core

Fall 2024

September 19, 2024

Words by Susan Cannon | Photos by Matt Kocourek

Outdoorsy style and vintage finds characterize a throwback, laid-back Lake Waukomis cabin.

ave you heard the terms “cottagecore” and “cabincore”? They emerged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, taking social media feeds and the interior design world by storm. These romanticized versions of past eras and simpler lifestyles appealed to folks who were stuck indoors during stressful times.

Yet Carlie and Mark Goss already had an innate and enduring passion for the cabin and lodge lifestyle long before its mainstream debut. They each had fathers who were avid bird hunters and fishermen. Mark grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where he spent a lot of time at the surrounding Ozark lakes as a kid. Meanwhile, Carlie was raised in rural Weston, Missouri.

“I got my love for the cabin and lodge look going on trips with my parents to Yellowstone National Park and Big Cedar Lodge,” Carlie explains, “and I created a vintage lodge-y feel for the screened-in porch in our former home where we raised our children.”

Carlie developed a vintage-shopping bug early in life. “I frequent estate sales [and] antique and vintage shops here and everywhere I travel,” she says.

After their kids flew the coop, the empty-nesters bought a two-story, four-bedroom house at Lake Waukomis, a tight-knit community in Platte Woods near Parkville, Missouri.

“Plaid is my favorite color!”
~ Carlie Goss, homeowner and designer

The bar area is the fun entertainment center of the home, chock-full of Mark’s bourbon collection, vintage glassware, a cool plaid ice bucket and other old-school accessories. An impressive gallery of vintage art—one that any hunter or fisherman would appreciate— is meticulously hung above. To the right of the bar is a glass-front armoire— a housewarming gift from Mary Carol Garrity.

The double chest with antler pulls was the first piece Carlie ordered for the home. A set of CR Laine Devereux wing chairs on either side are upholstered in a traditional ticking-stripe fabric. The mix of art on the wall above is both vintage and new. The brown mountainscape scene is actually the TV.

A vintage Persian rug— a housewarming gift from Katie Laughridge, Nell Hill’s current president and owner—anchors the living room. On the back wall, a two-piece, glass-front sideboard and chest hold collected treasures. A vintage tree-trunk bar stool serves as a lamp stand.

A vintage chest displays the couple’s everyday white restaurant dinnerware. Carlie sourced the painting of the hunting Spaniels from Glenwood Antique Mall.

The leather chair and ottoman set—a wedding gift from Carlie’s parents 25 years ago—looks snug with a glen plaid pillow and a woven magazine basket with leather handles.

A bamboo hall tree inside the front door is decked out with Carlie’s favorite red tartan pieces—a new Scotch Brand travel bag and a few vintage suitcases. An old wicker fishing basket sits ever-ready for an excursion on their pontoon boat.

The location is quite convenient for Carlie, who works nearby for an interior decor shop that feels like her second home. She is the design manager and furniture buyer for Nell Hill’s, the popular home furnishings store in The Village at Briarcliff. In fact, Nell Hill’s and its original owner, Mary Carol Garrity, were both part of Carlie’s life growing up. Her mother, a design enthusiast, worked at Mary Carol’s original Atchinson, Kansas, shop on the weekends and still works at the Briarcliff shop to this day.

When it came time for Carlie to decorate their lake home, her impulse was to go all out with a cozy cabin vibe. To create this classically comfy look, she blended new and vintage furnishings, heirloom pieces and a few generous gifts from those close to her.

Naturally, Nell Hill’s furniture, textiles and a plethora of curated decor accessories played a significant role in the home’s design. And, for a woman who exclaims, “Plaid is my favorite color,” Carlie employed the pattern in both sophisticated and retro ways, from the custom-upholstered Nell Hill’s furniture to bedding and a collection of tartan throws, vintage luggage and plaid knickknacks around the home. Mixed seamlessly with her well-executed gallery walls of wilderness scenes, hunting dogs, antler plaques and hanging antique plates, there’s no shortage of conversation pieces for guests to appreciate when the couple entertains, which they do a lot—both indoors and on their large balcony.

Crafted with authentic personality and timeless memories, the home is a nostalgic slice of heaven for the couple, and one can only imagine that living there feels like a charming cabin getaway every day.

Interior Design: Nell Hill’s, @nellhills