Friendly Places: Third Edition

Today my sweet friend Dorelly is graciously allowing us a look at her newly constructed cabin in Bryson City, North Carolina. Dorelly and her husband Shannon built their getaway home less than a mile from the Nantahala River, where they fell in love years ago on a kayaking adventure. How cool is that?

They bought the land before their twin daughters were born 4 years ago. They knew they wanted their children to have a place to explore, and to enjoy all that the outdoors had to offer, far from city life.

When they decided to bite the bullet and build, they scoured every house plan, catalog, and book for design ideas. She wanted rustic. He wanted modern. The search ended when they found a cabin designed by an architect at Bauer Askew. The design was everything they both wanted... timeless, rustic, modern and unique.

The original Bauer Askew cabin was built in Monteagle, TN for the architect's dear friend. He put his heart and soul in the design and won several awards for it. After initially declining Dorelly and Shannon's request to design the same cabin for them, the architect ultimately decided that there were things he would have done differently the first time around, and made a modified version for them.

The couple used hardiplank, lots of reclaimed materials, stone, iron and wood. The idea was to bring the outside in.

Despite having a great GM, Dorelly says that building a second home from a distance is a lot harder than she thought it would be. Making detail decisions regarding plumbing and electrical was difficult. 

This photo was taken before the cabinets were stained.

Dorelly is planning to decorate with a lot of timeless, vintage accessories. She is hoping to have the home completely finished in about 5 years. I'm looking forward to checking back in with her as she "feathers her nest!" In the meantime, I'll take a glass of wine and a chaise right here...

It's like being in a treehouse!

Dorelly described the cabin's setting to me. "No matter how many times I have been here, there is always something new. It's a gorge, and no matter where you look, it's picturesque and serene."

I agree. Don't you?





Linking up to Open House Party at No Minimalist Here