 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
 Printable PDF
Neighborhood Spotlight
Leaving Atlanta
10/1/07
Leaving Atlanta
Spectacular Mountain Views Are Waiting
By Barbara Smallwood • Photography courtesy of Big Canoe
Look out the window, over your shoulder or up toward the autumn sky. Your world suddenly has turned bronze and gold and ruby red, and you don’t want to miss it! Now is the ideal time to head out to the North Georgia Mountains, where striking autumn colors, scenic vistas and a more leisurely pace of life are waiting.
Best of all, when you feel the need to leave the hustle and bustle of Atlanta behind, the natural beauty of the mountains is a much shorter drive that you might expect.
An ideal destination is Big Canoe. Just an hour’s drive north of Atlanta, Big Canoe’s 8,000 heavily wooded acres wrap around not just one, but seven mountains, each of which is wild with color and not a bit shy about showing off. To make it easy to access and fully enjoy all that nature has to offer, the roads in this master-planned community are paved, and there are more than 22 miles of walking and bike trails.
Whether they are a primary residence, a second home or a weekend retreat, homes in Big Canoe have two things in common. Their architecture is mountain-rustic—the character and romance of natural building materials ensure that new homes blend into their surroundings—and all have significant view rooms featuring windows through which residents can chronicle the ever-changing wonders of nature.
Choctaw Village
Big Canoe’s newest neighborhood, Choctaw Village, looks as if the forest grew up around its cottages and mountain homes. An old-fashioned sense of community is fostered by neighborly porches, meandering sidewalks and pocket parks with gathering spaces—a roomy gazebo, handcrafted family swing and working fire pit, for example.
Here, the view windows of furnished models look into and over undisturbed woodlands, allowing visitors the opportunity to imagine what it would be like to watch nature’s crowning glory peak from their living rooms. Not surprisingly, in this green mountain development, all Choctaw homes are environmentally friendly and EarthCraft Home certified.
Wildcat
With nearly half of the 700-acre tract allocated for accessible green space, living in Wildcat is like living in a huge park. The view across the meadows is akin to that of a rolling golf course, only instead of seeing golfers putting on the greens, homeowners watch the colors of native flowers change with the seasons. Massive view windows also catch sight of neighboring mountains—some as far as 40 miles away—natural forests of hardwood and pine, and Wildcat’s wildlife, which range from white-tailed deer to red fox and an occasional black bear.
At completion, there will be 287 upscale homes in Wildcat. Typically, a state-of-the-art kitchen, breakfast room, comfortable living room, formal dining room, master suite and keeping room are featured on the main level. Often a home theater, game room and guest suite are located on the terrace level. Additional bedrooms and hideaways are on the second floor. Features like loggias with beautiful stone fireplaces, screened porches and open decks expand living space into the natural environment.
Bluffs at Ridgeview
Whoever said that all the great mountain-top homesites were long gone was happily mistaken. With an elevation of 2,200+ feet and many of the best long views in Big Canoe, an estate in The Bluffs literally puts you on top of the world.
The distinctive look here incorporates the rustic natural elements of mountain homes of Adirondack, Craftsman, Appalachian and Western Log and Timber origins. Heavy timbers and lots of stone, hand-split cedar shakes and hand-hewn beams, decorative rafter tails and copper trim, plus a design that incorporates outdoor living are hallmarks of The Bluffs’ Natural Element Home© designs. It falls to the view windows to bring the long, lush views inside.
Fortunately for Atlanta residents seeking a respite from urban living – for a weekend or for all time – those views are just a short drive away.
New homes in Big Canoe range in price from the $400’s to two million plus; homesites are priced from the $80’s to the $350’s plus. For more information on Choctaw Village, Wildcat and The Bluffs, and for availability of homes throughout the community, visit www.bigcanoe.com or call 770-893-2733, toll free at 866-BIGCANOE.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|