Beautiful Farmhouse On The French Broad River Merges Modern With Magical

Monday, February 26th, 2018

The 3,385 square-foot house was built in a traditional farmhouse style with modern touches, such as sleek ironwork handrails, a contemporary kitchen with old barn accents, and an all white interior with classic moldings. The home is also environmentally friendly with geothermal heating, a modern wood stove, and solar power.

The vision for this beautiful home all started a few years ago when the homeowners met with Grant as they were trying to decide whether to build a new home or buy and renovate an older one. At the time, they were living in a loft downtown and what they knew for sure was that the land is what mattered the most to them.

“We felt confident that if we found the right property—regardless of whether there was an existing home on it or not—Grant would help us create a home that was right for us,” the homeowner said.

As it turned out, they fell in love with a 30-acre parcel of land with access to the French Broad River. The land had a couple of barns on it but no house, so they could start with a clean slate. The homeowners and Grant agreed on a vision of where the house would sit and soon their dreams turned into blueprints thanks to the expertise of architect Jonathan Miller.

“It was really important to us that the home looked like had been here a long time and that it belonged to the land,” the homeowner explained. “We wanted it to look like maybe it had been a farmhouse from even a century ago that had had parts of it added over time. Our taste tends to be more modern or contemporary though, so we also wanted it to look like we’d brought it into this century.”

Once Jonathan Miller’s plans were complete, McCamy Construction took over and began building in March. Expecting their first child, the homeowners were hopeful they could move into their new home by Christmas.

The plans included an open concept great room to incorporate the living and dining rooms with the kitchen. A screened in patio is accessible to the open living area through a large double sliding door.

The home was also designed with unique features such as a ladder up from bedroom that leads to an observation tower and office. Entry into the office is cleverly hidden behind a folding bookshelf.

To take advantage of the rolling acres of pasture and woods, every single room except the closets and the pantry has a window. Wherever the family and their guests are in the home, they’ll be able to appreciate the gorgeous East Tennessee landscape.

To give the new home a sense of age, reclaimed rustic barn wood beams were used in the living room and for floating shelves. A rustic playroom was also built in the attic space next to what would become their son’s bedroom. Access to the playroom is through the closet in the child’s bedroom, which lends a magical Narnia feel to the house. Finished with shiplap, the secret playroom has pitched angles from the roof and lots of fun nooks and crannies.

To add to the fun, we also built secret passageways into the laundry/mudroom for the child to discover as he grows. Meanwhile, Ashley worked very closely with the couple on finish selections for the interior and exterior of the home.

The construction, from ground-up to the finishing touches, was ambitious and rewarding. We were able to get the homeowners and their son into the home in time for Christmas, though.

“We called it our Christmas miracle,” the homeowner said. “Grant and his team worked so hard to get our home ready by Christmas. They even had a wreath on the front door and our home’s first Christmas tree waiting for us.”

The homeowners said they are loving the open living space and the views from every room, and they’re looking forward to their son exploring the secret playroom as he grows.

Beautiful Farmhouse On The French Broad River Merges Modern With Magical

French Broad Custom

Open concept great room

French Broad Farm House

Open concept great room leads up from bedroom that leads to an observation tower and office

Observation tower and office at the top of the ladder

“We had heard about McCamy from various friends who had used or were using them for projects,” the homeowner said. “Then we met Grant and that sealed the deal. We instantly felt it was direction we wanted to head and that Grant was the person to do it. He, Ashley, and the whole team were just amazing.”

Want to see more of what we do here at McCamy Construction? Take a look at some of these beautiful custom homes we’ve designed and built over the years at our photo gallery.

McCamy Construction