Dan and Rhonda Robbie built the house that proves you can get away from it all. Almost a mile up in the mountains of North Carolina, the 5,200-square-foot timber-frame retreat has quickly become their home away from home.
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Their 12-acre parcel of rugged mountain land allows plenty of room for Dan, Rhonda, children Austin and Erica, and their two black Labs, Kelsey and Calvin. Since finishing the house in 1996, the family has made a concentrated effort to spend every spare minute at their getaway. They think nothing of packing up the entire clan and driving eighteen hours from their everyday home in Florida, even just to spend a few days in their very special mountain retreat.
The Robbies took the first step toward making their dream getaway a reality in 1995, when they started to design the house with their builder, Mark Kirkpatrick, president of Mountain Construction Enterprises of Boone, North Carolina. A builder of custom homes since 1981, Mark is a dealer for Hearthstone, Inc., which produces log and timber frame homes in Dandridge, Tennessee.
“We wanted a custom-designed house with the best craftsmanship available,” Dan recalls. “Although Rhonda and I had a pretty good idea of the floor plan we wanted, our major challenge was siting the structure. The ideal building location was on three sides. But we wanted this view because from here, we face three major mountains: Grandfather Mountain, Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain. There are ski resorts on those slopes, and at night they’re all lit up. It’s a spectacular view.”
Situated up the steep and winding road that threads through the woods, the house looms dramatically against the backdrop of the mountainous terrain. With wooded trails to the left and right, the vista of the mountains comes into view sweeping 180 degrees around the back end of the house.
The interior is almost as dramatic as the outside view. Floor-to-ceiling windows, wood inside and clad outside, located at the far end of the living room bring the mountains into view the minute you step inside. Rhonda, who is a talented decorator, wanted the house to appear simple and uncluttered. She included local art and antique objects acquired from the many shops in the mountain towns of North Carolina. “I would describe the look of this house as Western and rustic, as opposed to Southwestern, which reminds me of peachy colors,” she explains. “We felt that the neutral tones in the great room heighten the beauty of the wood.”
Rhonda and Dan agree that their favorite room in the house is the kitchen. With the breakfast bar that separates that room form the more formal dining room, it is the hub of family “hang out time.”
The Robbies especially enjoy their getaway because the have full, busy lives. The house in the mountains gives the family a place to spread out, relax and spend time together. Dan, Rhonda and Mark’s shared goal was to build the finest custom home possible. They are satisfied they have done exactly that, creating the perfect place for a young, active family. The home is every bit as comfortable to live in as it is magnificent to look at. And such a delight that the Robbies agree, nothing could be finer that to be in Carolina.
Story and Photos by Franklin and Esther Schmidt
Reprinted from Timber Homes Illustrated
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