NESTLED IN THE BLUE Ridge Mountains are tiny towns that stem off switchback roads that wind their way throughout the area. Among those towns is Linville, North Carolina, a sleepy but beautiful pocket that often goes overlooked. But Linville offers a host of opportunities for family time with golf, hiking trails, fishing, skiing, skeet shooting, live music, local wineries, and unfettered views for stargazing by the fire.
Mary Tobias Miller’s client is familiar with Linville’s inherent charm, having grown up visiting her grandparents’ home there, sharing the space with aunts, uncles, and cousins throughout the years. When the homeowner brought her husband up to Linville for the first time, he fell in love with the area, as well. As an adult, the homeowner shared the family home with her sister, but when she and her husband married and blended their family of ten, she knew it was time to find a home of their own. A large one.
Fate would intervene, and the house adjacent to her family home came onto the market. The sheer size of the home, at 11,000 square feet, was overwhelming. In addition to the size, the two acres of land needed quite a bit of work, and the modern style of the home stuck out in the more traditional aesthetic of the mountain community. Still, the family needed at least eight separate bedrooms for their older children, and a home that size could be altered to accommodate them. The couple decided to make an offer and landed the home with little resistance. Renovations began immediately.
“The house was in great condition, but only had three actual bedrooms, and the laundry room resided in the attached garage,” recalls the homeowner. The young couple wanted to scale down the modernity of the home to match the community more closely while creating individual spaces for their eight children. The homeowner’s mother was a former antique dealer who owned a beloved shop in town for decades, so she had many heirlooms to incorporate into the design.
They called on Miller to marry their modern home with their traditional tastes. “I knew my clients wanted a colorful, fresh, young feel that spoke more ‘modern mountain’ and not so much true contemporary, with warm tones and stylish, rustic furniture,” says Miller. She designed the home with lots of wood, leather, and comfy, round edges to create a cozy feel within the large space. But before that, the team had to accommodate ten people comfortably. Contractor Andrew Roby was called in to oversee the significant adjustments.
“We reworked the layout to add three more bedrooms, creating five in the main house, with an additional one existing above the garage, and a large lower-level teen hangout,” explains the homeowner. The biggest engineering feat, however, may have been the removal of a spiral staircase and the installation of a more traditional, straightforward stair. “It made all the difference. The new stair leads from the large family room down to the kid’s hangout room.”
Miller began her design by sifting through the homeowner’s family warehouse of antiques and art, pulling items that were must-haves and functional. “Period rooms are for museums,” muses Miller. “I like to mix styles, put traditional things in a modern setting and vice versa. I try to reinvent the wheel with every project.” While sifting, they discovered four large murals that belonged to the homeowner’s parents. Found at a farmers market in France and named in French—terre, lair, feu, and eau—the murals used to hang in the hotel her father owned more than a decade ago. But when they saw how perfect they looked in the front entry of the home, the rest of the home’s design flowed out from the murals. “I love that we could give them new life,” says the homeowner. New life seems to be the overarching theme of the home.
A twelve-foot-long draper's table that belonged to the homeowner’s mother resides in the main hall, and the sofa that’s now in the primary suite is where her father asked her mother to marry him. Miller was able to re-use her client’s mother’s favorite curtains, altered to hang in her daughter’s bedroom. “They have some sun damage on them,” notes the homeowner, “but that’s what makes them more valuable to us; kind of like The Velveteen Rabbit.” These sentimental touches play a central role in Miller’s overall design, but modern elements like Missoni carpets scattered here and there create that seamless coupling of old and new for which
she’s known.
The kitchen was designed with large gatherings in mind, complete with an oversized dining table, a fireplace, a TV, and several barstools. Dark cabinets were updated with light and bright paint, and the kitchen island was updated with a marble top. “We also installed new chandeliers and added a large brass sign that reads Edelweiss,” says the homeowner. “Many homeowners in Linville name their homes, and after much discussion with the kids, we chose Edelweiss after the song in The Sound of Music. Not only do we all love the movie, but we have a large family, and the song is about a beautiful wildflower that only grows in the mountains.
It felt like a perfect amalgamation of our family.” After fresh paint throughout, the addition of a new laundry room and primary suite, more closets, and tweaked bedroom sizes, the home is a perfect reflection of the new owners. “It’s pure joy to have been able to bring life back into this house,” says the homeowner. “It seems to glow with appreciation. My husband and I often do our ‘walk of
appreciation,’ where we grab a glass of wine, walk around the property, and discuss how grateful we are to have a sanctuary for our children. Then we make a toast to Edelweiss.”