Two couples in two states built mountain homes inspired by two centuries – one home restored from the 18th and 19th centuries, the other a lofty, contemporary design.

By Emily Grey

THE CAPTAIN'S HOME
Revolutionary History near Charlottesville, Va.

Photographs by
Paul Calhoun

Ken and Carol Weiss’s house is actually two houses. One part of it is the Beadles House, built in 1788 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, once home to Captain John Beadles. In 1999, Ken, an aircraft broker, and Carol, a painter and retired marketing representative, bought the house and its 3.25 acres on

impulse. They loved the mountains and knew the idyllic lake would be fun for their grandkids.

They also wanted to create a homey atmosphere that Captain Beadles may have enjoyed in the years following the Revolutionary War (he rests eternally in the backyard).

Inspired by Ken’s love of history and Carol’s 20 years of living in a log home in Loudoun County, Va., the couple began an arduous 14-month labor of love with McRaven Restorations.They removed shingles, jacked up the foundation, power-washed the entire house three times, replaced the original chinking between the house’s chestnut logs and installed new plumbing and electricity.

“As soon as we had one room completed with an outlet to make coffee,” says Carol, “we put a mattress on the floor and spent weekends there.”
The front doors of their bifurcated, 2,700-square-foot cabin are constructed of wormy chestnut that’s more than two centuries old. The poplar walls, hinges and most of the window glass of the older cabin are original. Nine-by-three-inch beams with beaded edges support the ceiling. Hand-forged nails from the 1700s were found in the house.

Fireplaces are set at opposite ends of the downstairs family room. A dog trot breezeway creates a shady effect. Overlooking the water is the dining table, which can seat 10, adjoining a spacious kitchen. A cedar railing leads upstairs to early period bedrooms.

The second part of the house is a (relatively) newer 1800s cabin of hand-hewn oak with gabled ends. It was dismantled in Beckley, W.Va. and reassembled here; the foundation was jacked up, and plumbing, wiring and new chinking were installed. The original round logs support the ceiling.

Three separate climate control systems operate in the joined houses. Amish and driftwood furnishings and curtained windows lend a cheerful aura. Ken, a gifted craftsman and history buff, built and restored some of their furniture from leftover logs from the restoration. Carol painted and stained Ken’s pieces, and restored and painted others that she’s found in sources from yard sales to antique shops.

“I love living in a piece of history, which we saved from possible demolition,” says Ken.

LUCKY ENOUGH
Contemporary Design in Beech Mountain, N.C.

Photographs by
Mark Hutchison

A contemporary cabin. The Robinsons’ home combines traditional and modern, blending in with the trees around it.

Dick and Mattie Robinson’s butternut cabin, tucked away in pines and rhododendrons, was a family affair. Several years ago, son Joel and daughter-in-law Nicole of Log Cabin Homes of Americabuilt the contemporary, two-story, 1,800-square-foot home, with its hand-hewn chinking between white pine logs. Family and friends helped Dick lay the gas fireplace rock and construct the tongue-and-groove walls.

Cathedral ceilings, heavy timber exposed beams and open, light-filled rooms distinguish this easy maintenance abode. The couple serves buffet-style company meals at the convenient kitchen bar.

Dick and Mattie Robinson. They enjoy life in the house their son and daughter-in-law built.

Two large upstairs bedrooms with Z-shaped closet doors double as a loft. Bedecked with antique tools and tobacco cans, the basement contains Mattie’s locally famous canned beans, pickles, jellies and sauerkraut.
Dick, a retired electrician and scoutmaster, and Mattie, a former textile mill employee, originally wanted a summer cabin. Instead, the couple fell in love with the year-round solitude and changing seasons of the woodlands.
The family enjoys storytelling and making music on the wraparound deck and hiking on the Blue Ridge Parkway bordering their backyard. They also love fishing and watching black bears, wild turkeys and other wildlife poke around the compost, birdfeeders and old millstone.

Master bedroom. Rugs, blankets and cushions make the hardwood cozy.

Master bedroom. Rugs, blankets and cushions make the hardwood cozy.

An outdoor hot tub relieves the chill of winter. During that season, Mattie reminisces and adds photographs to her stained-glass scrapbook.
When his wife wants privacy, Dick, a self-described tinkerer, builds birdhouses and walking sticks or refinishes furniture in his windowless “pouting” shed.

At the table. Meals are informal at the Robinsons’ home.

Their front door sign reads:
If you’re lucky enough to live in the mountains, you’re lucky enough.