Achasta

Southern Living Idea House Opens Its Doors To Public

By Matt Aiken

As Published in The Dahlonega Nugget

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

There are no pets in the Southern Living Idea House at Achasta.

And yet a bowl of Kibble sits in the laundry room next to a chew toy that appears to have been cast aside by the family dog.

This is just one of the many painstaking details intended to lend a friendly lived-in vibe to the brand new showcase home on Bear Paw Ridge.

“You want it to feel that a family lives here and resides here,” said Achasta Director of Sales Adam Brunning.

This illusion is carried out from floor to ceiling. What looks to be a heated game of Scrabble takes up a table in the basement while a book collection that could easily belong to well-read retiree lines the shelves on the third floor.

These are only the final touches that have capped off the five month construction of the 3,700 square foot mountain home. And though it has no official tenants at this time, for the next several months, Achasta resident Robin Fender will come pretty close to being a permanent resident.

“I’ll be here quite a bit,” she said with a laugh. “It will become a home away from home.”

“We’re excited to have Robin Fender who will be employed as the house manager,” said Achasta Director Ron Larson. “She can represent the best of both communities, Achasta and Southern Living.”

Under the guidance of Fender, the Southern Living Idea House will officially open to the public this Saturday and will remain so until Gold Rush weekend in October. For a $5 ticket, visitors can explore the home anytime from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This year there will be two Southern Living homes in the country. One will be on the coast, the other will be at Achasta.

As a result, Fender, Larson and Brunning are bracing themselves for the wave of visitors who will most likely see the expansive house as an additional tourist destination for Dahlonega.

“People are looking for inexpensive ways to do day-trips during this summer vacation time,” said Brunning. “And what more can you ask for than a drive which in 45 minute to an hour can include visiting downtown Dahlonega, the Southern Living house and also the local wineries. It’s a pretty unique day-trip.”

Larson declined to release exactly how much the entire project costs, but said the home itself will be available for purchase for $1.3 million.

However,this is not only a money making venture for Achasta. For every admission ticket purchased, $2 will be donated to United Way of Lumpkin County.

Since most Southern Living homes see a total attendance of at least 10,000 people, this could be a much needed boost for the local non-profit organization.

Local United Way campaign chair Alan George is glad to see it.

“With the hit in the economy, when they announced that the proceeds were going to go to United Way that basically put us over our goal,” said George. “[Achasta] conservatively extended their commitment another $10,000 or so. So that came a real good time.”

In return the board members of United Way will be organizing and enlisting local volunteers to assist Fender throughout the year.

“The whole United Way organization has a lot of gratitude and appreciation for Achasta and their generosity in donating that,” said George.

The house was designed by Stephen Fuller Inc. and constructed by Linger Longer. The interior design was handled by Mallory Mathison, Inc. and Dahlonega’s own Ivy’s Gifts from the Vine will be in charge of floral arrangements.

The big idea behind this particular Idea House is the concept of bringing the outdoors to the indoors, said Brunning.

On each level the living space spills out to three levels of porches which are centered around outdoor fire places. Perhaps the biggest “idea” belongs in the kitchen as a ten-foot wide glass wall folds away at the click of a remote and a food-prep island actually extends onto the deck.

“It’s a kitchen that embraces both the indoors and outdoors,” said Brunning. “Its unlike anything I’ve every seen from a kitchen designed before.”

Larson says his favorite element of the home is an out-of-the-way retreat room on the second floor.

“It’s kind of a getaway location with an outside terrace that has a panoramic view and a quiet setting,” he said.

And Fender can’t help but admire the expansive laundry room, in which actual laundry is an afterthought. It includes an office, sewing table and painting station for budding artists.

Larson said Achasta was ultimately able to secure this year’s Idea House due to past partnerships with other Reynolds Signature Communities.

“The Reynolds Community has been working with Southern Living magazine for several years and has had the honor of hosting a couple of Southern Living homes,” said Larson, “… We think this one is a good natural blend of the quality elements of Southern Living magazine with what we’re providing here at Achasta.”