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Hollister, Missouri · Whole-home redesign

Deep Forest Retreat

It slept 19. Now they remember it.

The Deep Forest Retreat game room: a blue-felt pool table, arcade cabinet and a Greetings from Branson mural

Scope: Whole house
Full redesign: 2023
Designed by: Hideaway
Sleeps: 19 guests
Near: Branson, MO

The story

Just a house that could sleep a lot of people.

When we got the keys, it was pure 2000s: grimy walls, stiff dusty carpet, and furniture that creaked and cracked every time somebody sat down. No style. No identity.

So we gave it a personality. The goal was simple: make a house this big feel like somewhere, a place groups talk about on the drive home.

Clean walls, new floors: Grimy walls and stiff carpet out; bright white walls and hard floors in.
Built for a crowd: One long table that seats the whole group, and sofas that don’t creak.
An identity: Ozarks and Branson in every room: lake maps, Dolly & Cash, road-trip signage.
A game room worth the trip: Pool, arcade, lounge and a hot tub porch, designed as one downstairs hangout.

Before & after · 2023

Same rooms. Same angles. Whole new house.

Every pair is shot from the same spot, so the only thing that changed is the design.

The front of Deep Forest Retreat after, with landscaping and a welcoming porch — ExteriorSame house, finally inviting

The front of Deep Forest Retreat before the redesign — ExteriorSame house, finally inviting

Great room after: white walls, blue chairs at the island and a stone fireplace — Great roomFrom the stair landing

Great room before: beige walls and honey-oak furniture — Great roomFrom the stair landing

Fireplace wall after: a long dining table with teal chairs — Fireplace wallDated sectionals out; room to gather in

Fireplace wall before: grey reclining sectionals and blue drapes — Fireplace wallDated sectionals out; room to gather in

Dining after: long table with blue chairs looking toward the kitchen — DiningOne long table for the whole group

Dining before: oval oak table and spindle chairs — DiningOne long table for the whole group

Kitchen after: navy stools at the island — KitchenSame cabinets, whole new feel

Kitchen before: an oak table and chairs crowding the island — KitchenSame cabinets, whole new feel

Primary suite after: lake art, teal nightstands and rust pillows — Primary suiteBurgundy accent wall to lake-house calm

Primary suite before: burgundy accent wall and a heavy wood bed — Primary suiteBurgundy accent wall to lake-house calm

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The great room set for a group dinner: one long table under the stone fireplace — One table for the whole group

The downstairs

A game room worth the trip.

Carpet and a lonely pool table became one downstairs hangout: pool, arcade, a lounge and a hot tub porch, all designed to work together. The Dolly & Cash room kept evolving.

Rec room after: a blue-felt pool table, Branson sign and leather recliners — Rec roomCarpet and a lonely pool table to a real hangout

Rec room before: carpet, a red pool table and a grey sectional — Rec roomCarpet and a lonely pool table to a real hangout

Hot tub porch after, with string lights — Hot tub porchString lights and a place to linger

Hot tub porch before: bare grey walls — Hot tub porchString lights and a place to linger

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Dolly & Cash room

Designed in 2023, then taken a step further in 2026.

Downstairs bedroom before: floral quilt and wood furniture — Before

Dolly and Cash room in 2023: Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash art and a teal headboard — 2023

Dolly and Cash room in 2026: gold curtains, a patterned rug and Dolly and Cash art — 2026

Bedrooms

Beige boxes to rooms with a point of view.

Loft-bunk queen room after: a loft bunk over a queen bed — Loft-bunk queenA loft bunk over a queen

Loft-bunk queen room before — Loft-bunk queenA loft bunk over a queen

Queen room after: rust and sage bedding with black-and-white art — Queen roomRust, sage and black-and-white art

Queen room before — Queen roomRust, sage and black-and-white art

Queen and bunk room after: sage greens and Silver Dollar City art — Queen + bunkSilver Dollar City and sage greens

Queen and bunk room before — Queen + bunkSilver Dollar City and sage greens

The details

The things guests take pictures of.

Round Relax at Deep Forest Retreat welcome sign — The welcome sign

White bunk beds with plaid bedding and a bison print — The bunk room

Record player with Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash albums — Dolly & Cash

Carved wooden map of Table Rock Lake — Table Rock Lake map

Scrabble tiles spelling Branson Missouri — Branson, spelled out

Coffee bar with a mint coffee maker and a Coffee Bar sign — Coffee bar

Got a house that just sleeps a lot of people? Let’s give it a personality.

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