Behind the Scenes of the 2025 Cashiers Designer Showhouse

A collaborative dining room design rooted in craft, creativity, and real-world problem-solving.

Each year, the Cashiers Designer Showhouse brings together builders, designers, artisans, and creatives to celebrate exceptional design while supporting the mission of the Cashiers Historical Society. The 2025 Designer Showhouse was a particularly meaningful project for our team. Not only because of the caliber of collaboration involved, but because it allowed Loudermilk Homes and Loudermilk Designs to contribute in distinct yet deeply connected ways.

As an Atlanta-based luxury design firm, Loudermilk Designs brings a deep understanding of custom home interior design to every project, especially those requiring coordination between builders, vendors, and designers. Our role in the 2025 Designer Showhouse reflects the same approach we take with residential clients across Georgia: thoughtful planning, collaborative execution, and a commitment to elevated, livable design.

Loudermilk Homes proudly built the home, while Loudermilk Designs contributed to all of the home’s selections and fixtures, ensuring a cohesive design language throughout. In addition, our team took on the full interior design of the dining room, crafting a space that balanced elegance, warmth, and livability while standing up to the fast-paced demands of a designer showhouse.

As Roane Loudermilk explains, “The Cashiers Designer Showhouse is different from a single-designer project. You have multiple designers coming together, each creating their own space, but everything still has to feel cohesive.”

Designing Within a Shared Vision

Every Loudermilk Designs home is a team effort. Our selection designers collaborated with Nora Bettis (in-house designer) to establish the materials and color palette that would carry throughout the house. From there, supporting vendors stepped in to enhance individual components (updating countertops, appliances, and plumbing fixtures) while still honoring the original design direction.

“Overall, it kept the same thematic vibe,” Roane notes. “Even though certain elements changed, the design language stayed consistent, which was really important.”

Projects like the Cashiers Designer Showhouse require more than aesthetic vision. They demand a professional interior design team experienced in interior design for new construction and large-scale collaboration. From early concept development to final installation, Loudermilk Designs approached the dining room with the same care and structure that defines our bespoke interior design services for custom homes.

Leading with Experience

To lead the dining room design, Roane selected Debbie Reynolds, a senior designer with 6+ years working for Loudermilk Designs, and with more than 30 years of experience and a proven ability to manage complex projects.

“With her experience and expertise, I had Debbie be the lead designer on the space,” Roane says. “She had also done the Southern Living Showcase Home and did a great job orchestrating everything.”

That orchestration mattered. Designer showhouses operate on compressed timelines, involve multiple stakeholders, and leave little room for error. Debbie’s role, along with the rest of the Loudermilk Designs team, was to guide the process with clarity while keeping inspiration, sourcing, logistics, and installation aligned.

Finding the Spark

The design journey began at ADAC, where Debbie discovered a standout white light fixture from Palecek: one that immediately stood out against the backdrop of the dining room’s selected wall color.

“That light fixture really popped,” Roane recalls. “It became the starting point.”

From there, the fixture was paired with a fabric that helped define the tone and texture of the room. Those two elements (the light and the fabric) became the creative toolkit the team carried with them to High Point Market.

At High Point, the team sourced the dining table, a piece that would ground the room both visually and functionally. Back home, Roane selected dining chairs from Bernhardt (now sold out) to complement the table, and the team collaborated on the rug selection (in color “Pago”) while carefully considering scale, color, and durability.

Every decision made within the dining room—from furnishings to finishes—was guided by Loudermilk Designs’ philosophy of timeless interior design. As interior designers for custom homes, our team focuses on spaces that feel refined yet approachable, balancing visual impact with function and longevity.

A True Team Effort

From that point on, the dining room truly became a collective effort. The team sourced accessories, tabletop pieces, orchids, benches, vessels, and mirrors; each detail was thoughtfully chosen to enhance the room without overpowering it.

Some of the mirrors were discovered at an antique shop in Roswell, Atlanta, adding character and a sense of history to the space. One of the most unique elements in the room was a custom furniture piece created specifically for the back wall of the dining room through a connection with one of the showcase leads.

“We had to make a piece of furniture that went across the back wall of the dining room,” Roane explains. “And that piece was also accessorized by our whole team.”

Custom elements played a defining role in the dining room, reflecting Loudermilk Designs’ experience with custom furniture selection and curated artwork. These layers—furniture, art, accessories, and styling—mirror the same process we use when providing home interior design services for luxury residences throughout Georgia.

Art was another key layer. Wanting to incorporate a personal, regional touch, the team collaborated with local Atlanta artist Cynthia Perryman to create a custom artwork for the dining room.

“That artwork got many compliments,” Roane says. “It was a collaborative effort—making sure the colors matched, guiding her with what we wanted, and ensuring it really belonged in the space.”

The Reality Behind the Design

While the final space appeared seamless, the path to completion was anything but simple.

One major challenge came with the dining table. The table arrived without its leaf (an additional handmade section that allows the table to expand for entertaining). When the replacement leaf arrived, it didn’t match the original finish.

“These tables are handmade, and the stain has to match,” Roane explains. “They didn’t deliver the right leaf, and then they sent the wrong one, so we had to figure out how to fix it—under a pretty tight deadline.”

Another unexpected issue arose while waiting for the rug to arrive. The table, which was temporarily stored in the dining room, scratched the hardwood floors because of the protective wheels underneath.

“We had to get all the floors redone in the dining room,” Roane says. “Design’s not just like, poof—it happens. There are a lot of components that go into making it actually work.”

Another behind-the-scenes moment centered around the custom artwork, designed as the primary focal point of the dining room.

“We thought it was ready,” Roane recalls, after weeks spent refining the chains and grommets to support the piece within the window. But once on site, the hardware didn’t fit. “The grommets just wouldn’t attach—everything has to line up perfectly,” she explains.

With installation at risk, Phil, the lead builder, stepped in, carefully drilling and adjusting the plexiglass on site so the artwork could be hung as intended. “At first, we thought, ‘Oh my God, we’re not going to be able to hang it,’” Roane says. “But suddenly, we were all there together, problem-solving in real time.”

Design moments like these highlight the importance of working with an experienced interior designer, and one who understands how to adapt quickly while protecting the integrity of the design.

Bringing It All Together

Despite the challenges, the room came together during a carefully coordinated final install. The entire team traveled to Cashiers, completed the installation, scheduled photography, and participated in the showhouse events.

“Everybody went up there, installed the room, and graciously volunteered for the event as well,” Roane reflects.

The finished dining room stood as a testament to the collaboration between builders, designers, vendors, artisans, and artists, all working toward a shared goal.

A Space with Purpose

Beyond the design itself, the 2025 Cashiers Designer Showhouse served a greater mission: supporting the Cashiers Historical Society and celebrating the heritage of the region through thoughtful architecture and design.

From sourcing and styling to installation and final presentation, Loudermilk Designs’ contribution to the 2025 Cashiers Designer Showhouse reflects our role as a trusted luxury interior design firm in both Cashiers and Atlanta.

“Both houses ended up being a great success,” Roane says, regarding the Southern Living Showcase Home (read about this project’s behind-the-scenes here). “The Cashiers Designer Showhouse, especially, showed what can happen when different designers come together to create something special.”

We’re proud to have played a role in a project that reflects not just beautiful design, but the process, people, and purpose behind it.