Relax and unwind in this fabulous handcrafted cottage— every detail has been considered! Beautiful mountain setting on small, historical farm just off Blue Ridge Parkway, the heart of Virginia wine country. Deep, hand-built cedar hot-tub. Minutes to the Appalachian Trail and Wintergreen resort. An easy walk to public trails, Devil's Backbone Brewery and Bold Rock Cidery. Beautiful gardens, hammocks, featured in design blogs. High-speed fiber internet. Library. Hens. Miniature Goats. EV Charger.
The space
Writer/painter couple moved back to the land with design, style, and historic sensibility. We designed the cottage to respect the history of the farm and neighborhood, while keeping it kitschy and cheerful, in homage to the cottage’s history. It's built of locally salvaged materials and sustainably forested Virginia timber and hosts a rotating selection of original art. The great room incorporates the kitchen, and has a super-comfy feather filled sofa and Jotul woodstove. The cottage has been featured on various design blogs, but it's very low-key and chill-- beautiful but not fussy-- Private, stylish, and comfortable-- A total getaway! (Do you remember when Airbnb was new and cool, and you could find amazing spots unlike anything else? This is that house.)
The cottage is an airy, vaulted space with a master bedroom with organic latex queen bed, a bathroom with an antique claw-foot tub and antique stained-glass windows, and a sleeping loft with a double bed of bamboo-based memory foam. (The living room’s comfortable, feather-filled sofa works as a bed for a third guest who doesn’t want to climb the loft ladder. We include spare sheets). The sleeping loft opens to the living room so the space is ideal for a family group, or two couples who like each other very much.)
The lovely kitchen is stocked with quality basics and cocktail necessities-- including ice bucket and crusher-- and you'll have fresh eggs from our hens, yogurt, and our delicious homemade granola (back by popular demand!) and locally roasted coffee waiting for you. The 1950s stove is a workhorse and a pleasure to cook on. The covered porch and large deck open to beautiful views of mountains and a majestic 200+ year old White Oak tree. The comfortable living room has a tiny wood-burning stove (we provide wood to get started), sofa, record player & LPs, and is stocked with board games, puzzles, and books for both children and adults, including an extensive collection of nature guides.
The lovely bathroom hosts a generous antique claw-foot tub with handheld-shower, surrounded by 2 antique stained glass windows. A small laundry room is off its side.
The vaulted covered porch houses a table for outdoor dining and a Komodo-style grill/smoker. Also off the porch is a hand-built cedar hot tub.
We’ve also planted a small vegetable and herb garden just for guests, where you can help yourselves to tomatoes and herbs in season. Beyond that is one of our rose gardens and its memorable hen house with an assortment of beautiful chickens.
We use OEKO-tex certified European linen and organic cotton sheets in the beds, provide environmentally-conscious cleaning and bath products (including our homemade soaps), and use sustainable WGAC paper products. (If you prefer to travel with your own bed-linens, please let us know and we will leave the beds unmade). Our well water is pure and delicious, so you can leave the bottled water at home.
Fiber internet lets you taste the work-from-farm dream! You’ll enjoy fast wireless internet at the cottage. A Roku TV is provided, so you can log into your account to stream your subscriptions or have us log you in to ours. A curated collection of farm products, art, pottery, and textiles are also available to purchase in our micro-store. Lots of our guests buy Elise’s paintings off the walls, too, and she's happy to give you a tour of her adjacent studio.
We think this is an ideal place to work remotely, (which is why we moved our family here 12 years ago). Guests working remotely have repeated reported this is a great location for it (our internet is super fast!). We designed the space to be easy to clean— and we clean and disinfect it carefully between bookings. The cottage is quite private, away from the roads (unlike many local Airbnb options), you have land to roam, and trails are within walking distance. Our water is pure and delicious, and the fiber internet is fast.
It's a quick walk or drive to our county's many wineries, cideries, and breweries, so you can easily tour and sip, or bring a growler or bottle home to enjoy on the porch (our favorite way to enjoy the fruits of Nelson County!) Our Saturday morning farmer's market is wonderful. Our local grocery is small but complete, and our local wine shop will bend over backwards to package gourmet meals with just the right bottle for you to pick up. Shenandoah National Park is 25 minutes away, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, with excellent trails, is only 8 minutes from our door. (And we will provide extensive local information about All The Best Things before you check in— our locally curated guide is top shelf, and includes little-known hikes and some nearly-unknown treasures).
A guest recently told me that it was the best Google Doc she’d ever read. 😌
NEIGHBORHOOD (by car)
2 minutes to Devils Backbone Brewery
3 minutes to Blue Toad Cidery
4 minutes to Bold Rock Cidery
5 minutes to Caihailian Vineyard
6 minutes to Three Notch’d Brewery and Distillery
7 minutes to Nellysford
9 min drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway & Appalachian Trail
10 minutes to Hilltop Berry Winery & Vineyard
10 Minutes to Wintergreen Ski Resort entrance
13 min to Silverback Distillery
15 minutes to Blue Mountain Brewery
15 minutes to Wild Man Dan Microbrewery
20 minutes drive to Veritas Vineyard
22 minutes to Afton Mountain Vineyard
22 minutes to Hazy Mountain Vineyard
23 minutes to Flying Fox Winery
30 min drive to Skyline Drive/Shenandoah National Park
Guest access
The cottage is on a 19th C. organically farmed homestead, about 900 feet above the valley. Watch wild turkeys, red foxes, and songbirds off the porch in the early morning. You’ll enjoy easy access to our hens (no roosters-- we like sleeping in too!). We're always happy to let children help feed the hens. We also have plenty of space to store your gear--skis, snowboards, canoes, backpacks, kayaks, hang-gliders, etc.
There is also a NEMA 14-50 plug and a J1772 EV charger available for guest use. (Please give us a heads up if you’ll need it so we can time our own charging!)
You'll enjoy your own private, hand-built cedar hot-tub. We keep it running year-round, because it's usually cool enough in the evenings, even in the summer, to take a dip.
You are also welcome to walk up the hill to see our gardens. In addition to mature perennial gardens, we grow a variety of antique heirloom & English roses, hundreds of dahlias, fruit, and too many tomatoes. There are also a few short trails to walk through our woods, though the best walking trails are accessible by foot, down the hill.
The hen-house is right behind the cottage for easy peeking, and our 2 goats live in paddocks near the cottage (but not too close!)
Elise's art studio is adjacent to the cottage, and includes a small store with her current ceramics and paintings, open by request.
Other things to note
The cottage is air-conditioned by a small unit in the master bedroom, but generally it doesn't need it-- it stays very cool due to its position by a hill and its state-of-the-art insulated roof panels. Big windows, ceiling fans, and area fans mean you can let the fresh air in. The loft bedroom will get warmer than the rest of the house on very hot summer days.
We cannot promise that your cell carrier will cover you here. Most do, though. Please be aware of your plan’s coverage. The cottage does have VERY high speed fiber internet.
The bathroom has a generous antique claw foot tub with a handheld shower attachment-- not a stand-up shower.
This property is not appropriate for ATVs, and their use in our neighborhood trails is not allowed.
Devil’s Backbone Brewery, which is an easy half-mile walk away, occasionally hosts live music events. Weekend guests may hear live music from the brewery while in our property (often from well known bands). Most guests love this, but if you want silence, you might check their event schedule online.
If you're booking last minute, know that we do keep the calendar up-to-date, so you can trust the availability you see here.
We regret we can only host one pet at a time. We want to make the listing available to all sorts of families, so please brush your pet thoroughly before staying and please be considerate of the furniture, which is intended for humans. Dogs must be leashed outside and crated if left alone in the cottage.
Our most satisfied guests seem to be couples or families with small children-- please be aware the cottage is just that-- a cottage. Those seeking suburban accommodations will perhaps be happier at the ski resort. But those seeking stylish simplicity & quiet will be very happy here— this is a reader’s cottage. It's truly a uniquely lovely space on a beloved piece of property.
We have elected not to use carcinogenic chemicals for insect mitigation because we care deeply about our water quality and your health and safety— these mean so much more to us than the inconvenience of some ladybugs in the windows. We live in the mountains, and humans are the minority species here! Urban dwellers may be surprised to see some insects inside, depending on the season. We vacuum these bugs away, and a lightweight vacuum is provided for guests to do the same. We do set traps and use targeted sprays, but at certain times, especially in the spring and fall, lady bugs and stink bugs are impossible to fully eliminate, despite our best efforts.
Keeping outdoor lights off at night and when you leave the house will help with insect incursion.
We also use only organic farming practices outside. Because of this, the property should be comfortable for people with chemical sensitivities. We use eco-friendly soap for laundry, and we make or buy bulk natural soaps and cleaning products.
We follow CDC cleaning recommendations. (Our family is fully vaccinated, and we clean the property ourselves.)
We provide some firewood when the nights get below freezing, but if you want more wood, it is readily available at the small grocery in town.
