Spacious French Country Farm Escape, Voted as #9
Farm stay in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- 16+ guests
- 7 bedrooms
- 9 beds
- 7 baths
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars.30 reviews
Hosted by Greg
- 11 years hosting
Listing highlights
Self check-in
Check yourself in with the lockbox.
Vineyard and lake views
Soak up the views during your stay.
Fast wifi
At 85 Mbps, you can take video calls and stream videos.
Where you’ll sleep
1 of 4 pages
What this place offers
Lake view
Vineyard view
Private beach access – Beachfront
Kitchen
Fast wifi – 85 Mbps
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4.9 out of 5 stars from 30 reviews
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Overall rating
- 5 stars, 90% of reviews
- 4 stars, 10% of reviews
- 3 stars, 0% of reviews
- 2 stars, 0% of reviews
- 1 stars, 0% of reviews
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars for cleanliness
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for accuracy
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for check-in
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars for communication
Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars for location
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for value
Where you’ll be
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
This listing's location is verified and the exact location will be provided after booking.
Neighborhood highlights
Meet your host
Lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Growing up on a farm in Central Illinois, I learned the value of hard physical work. It was a skill I wanted to impart to my kids so when the time came to build or buy, we chose to build our farm.
We started on spring break week of 2001 by starting to clear for the shop site and driveway. We had budgeted a week but a month later we had accomplished the goal and the driveway and home site were ready to build on. The shop was started the week of September 11, 2001 and completed in December when the walls and ceilings were finished and painted over Christmas break.
During that time, I couldn’t help but remember the stories I had been told about the building of the school I had attended in Moweaqua, Illinois and decided I would write the story of that project as my next book once the home was completed.
The home was next, and as soon as the weather cleared in 2002, we started building the home, digging the footings in April. The main structure started to take shape in May, and by the end of July the home was dried in and ready to start the interior work as well as finishing the outside.
By December we were painting the walls and finishing the floors…again almost all a family effort. A gigantic ice storm in late January of 2003 slowed the move date by a month, but in med February the family moved in and worked on completing the rest of the home.
That summer, the front wall was built along with the large pond to the side of the home. Again you can find pictures of the “crew” that built the pond lined up with one son on each piece of equipment.
The pond was lined with stone in 2005, a story you can find on our blog, and the pond drained and the walls restarted in 2006. In addition, the first of the raised mounds were built and the first front pond and bridge were built as well.
The patio was also constructed during this time and the hot tub and patio were completed in 2007. Two more mounds and an irrigation system were installed in 2008 and 2009 saw the addition of the two acres which housed my office for a number of years and now serves as an overflow guest home.
The secret garden was started in 2009, and completed in 2011. The wisteria gazeebo overlooking the pond was completed in 2011 and made form scrap steel welded together, over 21,000 welds in all. Several walkways were installed and the driveway built using recycled bricks.
The barn and metal shop were completed in 2012, and the solar panels were added in 2013. The first large planting of grapes occurred in 2014, and this past winter saw the clearing of an additional two acres for grape planting along with the clearing in front of the house for the new formal gardens and drive way. You can see son Peter demonstrating our technique for tree removal here.
There are a large number of planned improvements to take place over the next decade. We hope you will enjoy the “fruits” of our labor as you relax Carolina style on the patio with a glass of wine in hand and let the sounds of the waterfalls pour over you as your troubles slip away.
Host details
Response rate: 100%
Responds within an hour
To help protect your payment, always use Airbnb to send money and communicate with hosts.
Things to know
Cancellation policy
House rules
Check-in: 1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Checkout before 12:00 PM
Pets allowed
Safety & property
Exterior security cameras on property
Pool/hot tub without a gate or lock
Nearby lake, river, other body of water