An Appalachian Escape Makes The Most Of Its Mountain Setting

Nestled in a fertile valley of the Nantahala National Forest, an idyllic community in Cashiers, North Carolina, is taking shape under careful stewards who put nature at the forefront. Amid spring-fed ponds, a trout stream and the remnants of an old apple orchard, this refuge embraces the area’s intrinsic beauty via hiking trails, neighborhood gatherings and breathtaking vistas.

Architect Tim Adams’ clients, a pair of busy professionals from Atlanta, sought to capture a slice of this paradise with a vacation retreat for their young family. They were attracted to the development’s expansive estate lots for their celebration of the land—and the precious breathing room afforded to spread out upon it.

Having also authored additional residences for the community in collaboration with one of its developers, general contractor Ben Harris, Adams enjoys a sense of resonance with his clients and their vision of land-centered living. “This property sits a bit higher than the others and overlooks a meadow, with views softly filtered through pine trees and a natural plateau where the house could go,” Adams notes. He responded with a one-story structure that rambles outward rather than climbing skyward, diverging from typical mountain homes. “Our firm designs in response to the land; that’s just natural for us. When you can spread out like this, you’re not stacking rooms, and it opens up so many windows for more light and views.”

The group’s dedication is apparent in the home’s use of prized Doggett Mountain fieldstone, which graces multiple fireplaces, portions of the façade and load-bearing pillars across four spacious porches. Here, irregular flagstone pavers fade into a textured fescue lawn punctuated by landscape designer Alex Smith’s placements of rhododendrons, Korean boxwoods, cinnamon ferns and young black gum trees.

The forest and meadow beyond spread out like a blanket, with the site’s vast acreage accommodating multiple structures, including an in-ground wine cellar and charming guest cabins that afford visitors welcome privacy and deeper connection to the land.

Inside the house, elegant materials reflect aligned efforts with designer Amanda Wyatt, whose collaborative contributions—engineered wood flooring, specialty plaster treatments, a bespoke brass rail over the kitchen range wall, a single slab of marble in lieu of tile—achieve a calming effect.

Wyatt took a hands-on approach throughout, realizing a challenging marriage of midcentury and Americana influences. This stylistic synthesis is reflected in the circular flush-mount lights crowning the kitchen’s Shaker-esque cabinets and primitive wooden stools; the dining room’s combination of spindle-back chairs with a sleek concrete table; and the great room’s pairing of a mod chandelier above a hand-knotted wool rug. Nearby, emerald barrel chairs swivel beneath the keeping room’s 18 th -century-style multiarm chandelier as streamlined Itauba wood rockers rest beneath traditional lanterns on the adjoining porch—all striking a harmonious balance of contemporary and classic.

When it came to color palettes, Wyatt’s iterative process helped achieve a layered feel, appearing as if the home had evolved over decades. Terra-cotta tones in the primary bedroom—seen on its leather-upholstered bed, mod velvet bench and arabesque rug—provide an unexpected foil to the refreshing blues and greens of the public spaces. One guest bedroom embraces feminine shades of pink, while children’s spaces likewise sprung from boundless creativity, as with the daughter’s cheerful aqua art room ensconced within adapted attic space.

Both children relish time spent outdoors, with the daughter taking inspiration from the landscape for paintings and the son passing entire summers hiking, fishing and tracking wildlife. And it’s exactly that sort of environmental immersion that fulfills this family’s holistic vision. “One whole side of their property backs up to protected national forest,” Adams notes. “It adds another layer of nature, right next door, that will never be disrupted.”