history written in stone
photography by David DietrichF. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote that vitality was demonstrated by “not only the ability to persist, but the ability to start over.”
That observation was very much on our minds as we passed through the black iron gates of an intriguingly tucked-away home near downtown Brevard. A short drive up a curved and manicured driveway revealed an imposing stone house that is currently in the final stages of starting over.
The home, a venerable showplace in its day, had until recently fallen into a dismal state of disrepair.
When the current owner acquired it, he knew he had a serious project on his hands. For refurbishing and renovation help, he turned to Ashley Smith, owner of Hendersonville’s Benson & Babb Interiors. He had specific ideas for the designer regarding how he wanted his new property to turn out.
“In the first meeting,” Smith remembers, “the homeowner let us know that he loves beautiful things. He also let us know very quickly that the home had to be comfortable and usable.”
Despite the fact that the house is fairly sizeable, the owner emphasized that he wanted an intimate feel in each room. He told the designer that he loves the symmetry common to the design aesthetic of the 1920s. The floor plan is from the era of entertaining — it allows the guests to flow from one room to the other.
“He loves to entertain,” Smith explains, “and he may have two people or 30 people. We’ve seen as many as 200 here. So you have to be able to pull things apart and move them around to accommodate whatever the mood might be.”
Still, the overwhelming theme remains comfortable elegance.
Most of the furnishings are new, although many of them have the look of antique club furniture. “We actually had a custom furniture builder make pieces from my drawings,” Smith points out. “In the dining room you have built-in china cabinets. The homeowner knew that it would never accommodate his place-settings; I drew plans for china cabinets that played off the design original old ones. Then we got Rob Klebber from Fletcher to build the new cabinets according to my drawings.”
The dining room walls are done with a faux finish by Black Mountain artist Robyn Gonzales, who also painted the mural in the master bathroom. The lengthy central hall, walls covered in grass cloth, was transformed by Agnes Wilcox, ASID, of Florence, South Carolina. Her plan divided the hall into three sections by installing arches, each topped by a copy of the leaded eyebrow window over the front door. Besides creating a mirror effect, her plan also forms an antechamber that gives visitors extra space as they pass from the living room to the dining room. The living room walls are accented with silk string cloth.
Each level of the home has a slightly different feel.
The main floor has a European ambience with a hand-made English-style dining table and chairs (seating for more than a dozen guests), as well as gleaming chandeliers in both the dining and living rooms. The chandeliers are part of the home’s original fixtures, carefully renovated to their former glory.
Also original are the window panes, fashioned from the wavy, non-thermal materials of an earlier day. Taken together, the combining of crystal chandeliers, old windows and English-style furniture provide a British country home effect that is elegant without violating the homeowner’s request for comfort and usability.
The upstairs, with its large bedrooms and restored bathrooms, is perhaps more traditional. But even there, the restoration combines the aesthetic beauty of the past with the convenience of modern technology. Bathroom walls are done in what Smith calls “subway tiles.” The floors are done in the tiny hexagonal porcelain tiles that were very popular in the early parts of the last century. These tiles are also found in the kitchen and other rooms throughout the home, tying the design elements together despite the apparent difference in each level.
The basement stairway, once a less-than-attractive route between floors, has been considerably improved with the addition of a salvaged antique wrought-iron railing.
The lower level is considerably less formal than the other floors, with a large media room (read: comfortable easy chairs and couches all aimed at a nearly professional-sized movie screen). With its bank of solid bunk beds, separate bathroom facilities, this was, says Smith, the perfect place for the homeowner’s eight-year-old son to hold a recent birthday party.
The basement level also includes an adult-sized bedroom that features a fine mission-style bed and a private bath. All of the windows downstairs have original glass, but with sturdy looking plantation shutters. Future plans include a pool table and other kid-friendly accessories.
Downstairs floors are fashioned from wide pine planks that match the exposed foundation stone walls. “We had all of the beams and columns rough hewn to give the rooms a rustic look,” says Smith.
The project, now in its third year, has included extensive work outdoors. Mary Palmer Dargan of Dargan Landscape Architects in Atlanta planned improvements to the grounds. The woods, shielding the house in front, are offset by a formal courtyard behind the kitchen patio. No second floor or basement is implied by the home’s elegant front view and the front door presides over a round, neoclassical portico flanked by shining white Corinthian columns.
The previous owner of the home held it for 45 years following a spirited and lengthy bidding war back in the 1950s. The unsuccessful bidder back then was the current owner’s father, making the 2003 acquisition of the home even more satisfying.
More than anything else, this home is a partnership of enduring stone construction, the expert work of several dedicated crews and the people who honor its past and call it home.
