designer in the wild
Text by Taylor Bowler; Photography by Jenna Peffley
This article appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Home Design & Decor’s Triangle edition.
In the woods outside Chapel Hill, Jessie McLaughlin creates a family retreat filled with antiques, color, and a touch of magic.
More than a decade after trading North Carolina for Los Angeles, interior designer Jessie McLaughlin and her husband, musician and Mythical Entertainment co-founder Rhett McLaughlin, found an unexpected path home: a log cabin tucked among eleven wooded acres outside Chapel Hill.
In January 2022, after nearly two years of pandemic-era distance from family, the couple found themselves longing for their roots. When a 4,600-square-foot log home hit the market, Jessie’s sister and brother-in-law toured the property while the McLaughlins joined via FaceTime from California. Within a week, they had made an offer.
“We’d been going through Covid, and we hadn’t been home,” Jessie says. “We wanted a place where our family could gather whenever we visited.”
Jessie, who founded Jessie Lane Interiors after they moved to the West Coast, saw a design challenge unlike any she’d tackled before.
“My style is very eclectic,” she says. “I love color, I love taking risks, and I wanted to take a big swing with this.”
What began as a simple plan to paint the kitchen cabinets evolved into a two-and-a-half-year project that required Jessie to fly cross-country once or twice a month.
“I’ve got that Delta Diamond Medallion status,” she says with a laugh.
The renovation was equal parts creativity and constraint. They combined a first-floor study and guest room into a spacious owner’s suite and reworked portions of the home’s layout. But unlike traditional construction, log cabins come with limitations. “You have a lot less flexibility because you can’t hide things behind drywall,” Jessie says.
Even the kitchen presented unique challenges, requiring custom solutions for cabinetry installation on walls that weren’t perfectly flat. But as the renovation unfolded, Jessie found herself embracing the home’s character. The result is a style she describes as fairytale chic.
“The more I worked with the wood, the more I realized it demanded color,” she says. “I went crazy with wallpaper in this house. Some people might be uncomfortable with the level of whimsy, but that’s something I’m really drawn to.”
Rather than lean into the farmhouse aesthetic often associated with country living, Jessie found herself drawn to Art Nouveau influences, chunkier antiques, and handcrafted details. Antique furnishings sourced from High Point Market sit alongside pieces shipped from Los Angeles, while family heirlooms, like woven rugs and a beloved grandfather clock inherited from Jessie’s grandmother, ground the home in personal history.
Since completing the renovation, the McLaughlins have hosted Thanksgivings, a bridal shower, and extended family visits. Rhett and members of his production team even spent a month there while filming an upcoming project.
They’ve also learned that country living comes with a few surprises.
“Carpenter bees attack every spring during mating season,” Jessie says. “They drill holes in the wood, so you have to have a cabin company come out and put a wash that makes it not taste quite as good to the bees.”
The property is equally popular with deer, turkeys, possums, and other woodland visitors. But for Jessie, it’s all part of its charm. “I sleep better there,” she says. “I breathe a sigh of relief . . . even in spite of the bugs and whatever creatures are out there.”