A Course in Mountain Hospitality

From the mountains that are always on the horizon and old-fashioned home cooking to the benevolence of those who call it home, there are many things to love about living in the South. If there’s anything you’re guaranteed to find here, it’s scenic charm and good ol’ Southern hospitality. There’s something to be said about a region that encourages its inhabitants to go out of their way to greet people and lend a helping hand when needed. You also cannot ignore the mystique of those gorgeous Southern Appalachian Mountains.

While we spend most of our days experiencing the enchantment of Southern living in Knoxville, Tennessee, this exceptional way of life extends to all the major – and minor – cities around us, one of them being a favorite destination of ours: Asheville, North Carolina. A short two-hour drive from Knoxville, Asheville is nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and is renowned for its multiple art districts and craft beer scene. We experienced much of the aforementioned warmth and accommodation during our recent trip there both from the locals and from our Airbnb stay.

The Shope Creek Cabins are a series of vacation homes that bring luxury and modern convenience to a 22-acre wooded property in East Asheville. And while our hillside cabin boasted a perfect in-the-middle locale just a short drive to both serene Pisgah National Forest and bustling downtown Asheville, we were even more impressed by the cabin’s design and thoughtful accommodations.

Our experience started with a trip through the mountains of North Carolina that led to a gravel driveway guiding us under a canopy of trees. We drove over a creek before the trees opened up, revealing a beautiful hillside that seemed hundreds of miles from the chaos of the city despite being only minutes away. The exterior of each of the Shope Creek Cabins is stained with black Arborcoat by Benjamin Moore, which gives the cabins both a striking aesthetic and an overall look that’s toned down just enough to let the surrounding greenery appear even more bold. 

Before we even got out of the truck, we were in awe of the cabin’s stunning exterior and were excited to see an array of raised garden beds just on the other side of the driveway. A variety of flowers, berries, tomatoes, cucumbers and more were in full-bloom and thriving upon our arrival. Then, just as we stepped out of our truck, a faint clucking could be heard because, yes, they also have chickens! 

When you step inside the cozy hillside cabin, you’re greeted by an open concept living room, kitchen and dinette. The space as a whole gives off a super-modern feel without being cold, which is unique since many highly contemporary spaces can easily feel sterile with their use of metals, clean lines and minimalism. The walls inside are painted with Sherwin Williams Pearly White, breathing life and color into the light-and-bright space.

Keeping with the contemporary vibe, there are beautifully textured, blue-gray concrete floors that run throughout, warmed up with the use of light wood in the cabinetry and accent chairs. We also noticed a mixture of woods being used. Many people think you have to choose a single wood, use it throughout the home and base your accent selections around it, but this was a great example of how mixing woods that compliment each other is a great way to add depth to a space.

Shortly after dropping our luggage, we found a congenial, handwritten letter addressed specifically to us on the kitchen counter. It welcomed us to the cabin and informed us of a few goodies tucked away inside the refrigerator. Beside the note was a small, covered dish with two decadent chocolate truffles that we noshed on almost immediately. Inside the small refrigerator was a selection of local craft beer, a cold bottle of Pelligrino, fresh cream for our coffee and a half-dozen farm-fresh eggs from our neighboring chickens. If this isn’t the most charmingly Southern way to greet your guests, we don’t know what is!

One of the first things we noticed in this gorgeous kitchen were the slab doors on the cabinetry. In lieu of hardware, the cabinets are beveled along the top edge, making them easy to open and giving them a seamless look. At the far left of the cabinetry, the refrigerator is panel-ready, which keeps the look of appliances to a minimum.

Along the top of the cabinets lies a quartz countertop, which is a great choice for Airbnbs since they require no maintenance. This particular top is white with a hint of texture that gives it more vivacity than a solid-white top. The counter is affixed with an induction cooktop and a sink that utilizes a single faucet with pulldown sprayer. The hot/cold valve is attached to the side of the faucet, providing a single-hole installation that makes it very easy to clean.

Nestled just above is a floating shelf that houses decorative art, a floral arrangement and a variety of plates and glasses. Homeowners who spend a lot of time in the kitchen may want to consider an alternative to the floating shelf, as working kitchens with open shelving require a lot of cleaning with daily use. Floating shelves are excellent for Airbnbs, however, because they prevent people from having to open all the cabinets and dig through drawers to find their wine glasses, breakfast plates, etc. and are cleaned after each stay.

The backsplash utilizes a 12x24-inch tile often used in showers or bathroom floors. Its minimal grout lines, however, make it a smart choice for sleek kitchens. These tiles are then taken all the way to the ceiling in a flat stack arrangement as opposed to the classic brick stack, providing a clean, modern grid. If you have a kitchen ceiling height of eight or nine feet, taking the backsplash all the way up provides a look that’s much more aesthetically pleasing than the standard of 18 inches.

The dinette pairs wooden chairs with a bright-white table made from a unique material, giving the impression that the arrangement has been collected. The table was set with a wire basket that contained a small flower arrangement, some garden clippers and another handwritten note that invited us to help ourselves to any of the fresh herbs and produce from the garden – an invitation we happily accepted for breakfast the next morning!

The owner of this Airbnb has close ties with local high-end furniture store Dwellings and those influences are obvious in the living area. For starters, the cozy couch and its accent pillows are all made of down material, giving them a sense of luxury. The down pillows accent the couch in a way that makes it both functional and tasteful – not fussy with extraneous embellishments that make you not want to use them!

Adjacent to the couch is a wood-burning stove that gives the living area a nice, homey touch in the otherwise modern space. The wood stack nearby reminds the visitor they’re in the mountains and provides a sense of “old home” while the rest of the living room furniture keeps things super fresh. The furniture in the living room is rounded out with a sleek accent chair with a modern ottoman – a great combination for folks who would like a recliner in their space without having the bulky recliner look.

Along the far-side wall is a sliding-glass door with linen curtains. This fabric goes with everything and can add texture to a space without being overly busy. These particular curtains were heavy and used in every room of the house, providing a cohesive high-end feel throughout. The color of the fabric is just a shade or two darker than the walls, giving them a subtle contrast, and the blackout fabric sewn onto the back allows visitors to darken up the space for a movie or a nap in a room that’s otherwise flooded by natural light.

The cabin’s posh accommodations continue in the bathroom. The first thing we noticed was the open-concept shower with the floor tile running through the entirety of the space, providing a seamless look. The shower walls are lined with 2x4-foot porcelain tile – a great choice because of the few groutlines it requires. There’s a sleek Schluter trim along the edges of the tile, which is what is generally used with porcelain. The shower is finished with a wall-mounted rain shower head with extended arm and a sleek glass panel with no curve.

Over at the floating bathroom vanity, the cabinetry color matches that of the kitchen, bringing a cohesiveness that’s great for contemporary or modern homes. The countertop, also like the kitchen, is quartz that they’ve run up the wall about eight inches to accommodate the wall-mounted faucet. Faucets like this are considered a mild upgrade due to the labor-intensive plumbing required and added expense of the faucet, but the benefits include the sleek look and the ease of which it can be cleaned.

The aesthetic cherry on top in this bathroom is the oversized, round mirror with the offset light fixture – definitely the first time we’ve seen this done so well!

As we made our way to the bedroom, we noticed the interior doors were painted Sherwin Williams Iron Ore and affixed with black knobs. Doors often blend in with the space but can be used to achieve a high contrast. Interior doors are not always super cheap, so why not give them a little panache with a contrasting color?

The hospitality and unparalleled accommodation then extend to the cabin’s bedroom. The king-size bed is on a platform, which in a contemporary or modern setting allows you to wrap the comforter under the mattress for a more sleek look as opposed to using a dust ruffle. The owners have used a dark bedding with classic-white sheets and included two down Euro shams as well as a down lumbar pillow and a nice white quilt folded at the bottom. 

The bed utilizes an oversized headboard made of shiplap that runs wall-to-wall, giving the feel of a classic headboard while simultaneously acting as a grand wall feature. The floating nightstands have become very popular with the declutter movement and are great for folks who already have plenty of bedroom storage and want to go with a more modern and sleek look. The decluttering initiative is also achieved with the hard-wired wall sconces above each nightstand, allowing for more room for a glass of water, a book or a cell phone on each table.

The cabinetry color found in both the kitchen and bathroom runs throughout the bedroom with the blonde wood found in the dresser piece as well as the unique closet concept. What makes the closet concept so different? There isn’t one! In lieu of closet space, the bedroom has a round, wooden post affixed to the wall that attaches to two crossed posts, forming a creative and unique solution for hanging clothes. When we stepped into the room, the first things we noticed were two cozy robes hanging on this post and a variety of hangers to use for our own clothing behind them.

Under the robes is a basket of clean, rolled towels. When designing an Airbnb or even a guest bedroom, having towels or any other accommodation your guests may need in plain sight is imperative. That could mean a basket like what we found here, an arrangement on the dresser or even a fashionable tray on the bed. This prevents guests from having to dig through drawers and closets to find what they need since everything is already in plain sight. It’s a simple gesture that makes a big impact.

Our favorite element in this bedroom was the corner feature with two windows and an accent chair. When two windows run into each other, it’s often difficult to decide what to do regarding window treatments. In this instance, they used a curved railing system, allowing one curtain to cover both windows. Roman shades could have been another option but the blackout curtains were the perfect choice. The accent chair in front of the window is also very useful in a bedroom, especially a guest room, as it can act as a place to relax and interact if there are multiple people, can double as a living space, is a great drop spot or can just be a place where someone can put on their shoes.

The living area and bedroom also feature simple, black ceiling fans that are layered with four-inch can lights in lieu of the common fan light kit. While six-inch can lights are common, we feel the four-inch lights look much nicer and can often put out the same amount of light.

During our short stay in the Paris of the South, we hit a variety of shops in both downtown and the Historic Biltmore Village Cottage District including Dwellings furniture store and the famous Antique Tobacco Barn. We enjoyed gastronomic delights from Raclette with Prosciutto over Fig Crostinis at The Melting Pot Social and Grand Marnier French Toast with Bourbon Sorghum at The Corner Kitchen, to simple cheeseburgers at Hillman Beer and Carnitas Eggs Benedict at The Cantina.

So many thriving businesses operate in this bustling town that’s growing by the second. What makes Asheville so special, however, is despite its exponential growth and position as a top tourist destination, visitors are still greeted with readily available smiles, waves and salutations that you’ll only find in the American South. The Shope Creek Cabins with their combination of modern amenities and uniquely Southern charm are a perfect fit for this fun, extraordinary little town in the Blue Ridge Mountains and anyone looking for a quiet getaway within them.