Dickerson Hill (Modern Retreat)

Dickerson Hill got its name from being, well…. our land, and you have to go down a big hill to get to the house. Creative right? ???? This place…I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it is and how freeing it is to be here. I plan to make many wonderful memories here. If you’re on instagram you can follow along @DickersonHill too.

 Where do I even start? 2 years ago we were looking at beach houses. Then we transitioned to lake houses. Neither of them felt right. One thing or another happened and my Dad mentioned the idea of getting some land. So we started looking at splitting a big track of land. Well, we found some land but it had just been partially logged so we didn’t love it. On the way back to town, I came across another property for sale. It was more land than we were originally looking at, with two creeks cutting through the land and two dilapidated farmhouses. My Dad decided he didn’t want that much land, but we decided to go for it anyways. After some negotiations, we had a contract!

There was an adjoining property with roadside frontage, which I thought would nicely complete the land we had a contract on. The only problem was the owners didn’t want to sell. I called twice and they weren’t interested. I then sent a hand written note expressing our desire for the land and included a family picture. At times people are hesitant to give something up that they hold precious to them, but if they know it’s going to a good home or loving family, then they are more inclined to give it up. The next day, I got a phone call. We closed on the additional acreage two weeks later. Hey, if you want something you go for it…right?

Our track of land, our little oasis, is now 54 acres and it is nestled up in the hills of North Georgia. My husband and I both wanted a modern cabin, but cozy–if that makes sense. If you know me, you probably know two things: (1) I am VERY detailed almost to a fault and (2) I am also a control freak #owningit. When you build a custom home, you are not given a blue print on anything. When you pick out the roof you are given 48 different colors, along with 8 different styles. Once you’ve selected your style and color you are given another decision to make with 4 more options… the decisions are never ending! I hand picked every single detail in this house. I am really good at getting at narrowing down my choices to the last two, but then I agonize over exactly which ONE to go for.

We worked with a local architect, Lew Oliver, who helped us realize our vision and turned it into a set of blue prints to get the process started.

Here is the original sketch we started off with.

Building a home has its fair share of obstacles and hurdles to jump through, but 15 months later and we are finally DONE! (the longest 15 months of my life) It still needs a few finishing touches but I’m waiting to find the perfect pieces to complete the modern/cozy look. I know that might take some time to find and I am okay with that, it’s worth the wait.

We plan to launch business workshops and retreats at the property, which I am SO excited about! At this time it will not be available for rent outside of these experiences. Right now we are just spending intentional time there with our boys, family, and friends. Take a look at Dickerson Hill’s website and if you don’t already, follow along on Instagram!

Here is the entrance to the property.

Here is the home!!!! I know this style is not for everyone but I just LOVE it!!!! These images are by Brooke of Paperlily Photography.

And here is the living room and kitchen. Open entertaining style.

And my favorite place in the entire home is our outside living room! The porch is just my favorite. It is grand, open, and cozy all at the same time!

I will be creating a series of posts showing you how we decorated, our decision process, and a few DIY projects too! If you have any questions on what is what and why then ask on the blog!

Thank you guys for sharing my passion and my life with me! I look forward to this being a place to create memories with my family, and others further investing in each other and taking a break!