Past Tense, Present Perfect – Carolina Home + Garden magazine

Balancing history and modernity in Little Switzerland remodel

Charlotte attorney Heriot Clarkson was searching for peace. That’s how he found himself standing atop Grassy Mountain, a 3,800-foot peak in McDowell and Mitchell counties, in June of 1909. As he surveyed the rich tapestry of ridges and valleys before him, a quiet certainty settled deep in his bones: This was the place.

After returning home to Charlotte, Clarkson recruited a group of investors and procured 1,100 acres in the High Country to develop a summer colony for affluent families. In 1910, Little Switzerland — named for its perceived resemblance to the Swiss Alps — was born. Today, more than 100 years later, the mountain town is a popular destination for travelers motoring along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Denver, Colorado, Air Force professional Kellie Adolf knew nothing of this history when she traveled to the Blue Ridge Mountains for work several years ago. But Adolf did know there was something special about this lush landscape.

“I drove through the mountains, hiking, checking out waterfalls, and just imagining myself living here,” she says. “I fell in love.”

Adolf’s husband and fellow Air Force veteran, Mike Hazzard, also fell in love with the region, so much so that when the couple retired after more than 30 years of service, they began looking for what Adolf describes as their “forever home.”

“We were both enamored with Asheville,” she says. “But we wanted to be a little further away from the city, so our search expanded.”

This led the pair to a Craftsman-inspired farmhouse on five-and-a-half acres in Little Switzerland. Adolf was instantly smitten with the home’s architectural flourishes, including the generous wraparound porch, the intricate chestnut woodwork, and the classic clawfoot bathtub in the primary bathroom. But its history is what sealed the deal.

“It’s one of the oldest remaining homes here in Little Switzerland,” she reveals.

According to Adolf, the residence was built in 1913 by Charlotte businessman T.J. Davis. Davis owned the high-elevation retreat until his passing in 1925. The home was subsequently purchased by Pete Deal, Little Switzerland’s second postmaster, and kept in the family until the 1990s, when it changed hands for a third time.

In the spring of 2022, Adolf and Hazzard became the fourth owners of the century-old edifice. Determined to honor its past, they recruited Buchanan Construction in Asheville to guide the renovation.

Jason Norton, Buchanan’s vice president of residential construction, says the company’s “vast custom-home-building experience” meant that “rehabilitating such an historic property with today’s modern conveniences … was a natural fit for our team.” Lindsey Kehres, an interior designer with Buchanan, concurs that the goal was to “bring the home back to its original glory” before implementing modern updates. This meant salvaging everything that could be salvaged, from 100-year-old white-oak doors to an oil-burning chandelier.

“We kept as much of the charm as possible,” says Kehres, noting that under the direction of Joe Ribeiro, the company’s renovations construction manager, the team restored the original red-oak floors in the living and dining rooms, as well as the original heart-pine floors in the rest of the space. Buchanan also stripped and re-stained a china cabinet in the dining room.

But not all could be saved. The original porch columns were past the point of restoration, for example. The living-room fireplace mantel also needed to be replaced.

“Our in-house carpenter, Jeff Hendrix, happened to be at a salvage yard and found a new fireplace surround,” says Kehres. “He cut it down and properly installed it to last for decades to come.”

At the heart of it all, that’s the hope: that the home will stand the test of time.

“This home is an important part of Little Switzerland’s history, so whatever we did to the house, we wanted it done right,” says Adolf. “We hit the lottery with Buchanan Construction. They didn’t destroy any of its character. They salvaged and reused, making the home feel as original as possible.”

Parlor Perfection

When Kellie Adolf and Mark Hazzard assumed ownership of this high-elevation haven, the parlor was pleading for help. At some point in the home’s history, a fire had ripped through this space, scorching the original mantel. The plaster was also falling off the walls. Fortunately, the renovation team worked their magic, salvaging an antique fireplace surround, stripping the original red oak floors and restoring the six-panel pocket doors. A frame TV hangs over the fireplace. The ottoman was designed by Good’s Home Furnishings in Hickory. For extra seating, Buchanan converted the home’s original woodboxes into benches.

Lighting the Way

Assumed to date back to the early 1900s, this oil-burning crystal chandelier once hung in the home’s dining room but was “entirely too small for the space,” says interior designer Lindsey Kehres. Not one to part with relics from centuries past, homeowner Kellie Adolf restored the fixture. Her husband then rewired it for modern use. Now, the chandelier hangs in the pantry hallway, seamlessly connecting the home’s history with its present.

The renovation team also restored the original fireplace surround and a corner china cabinet made of white oak. The hutch was sanded and re-stained to match the original surround. The walls are “Agreeable Gray” by Sherwin-Williams.
Photo by Ryan Theede

From Past to Plate

“Bright, clean, and airy” is how interior designer Lindsey Kehres describes the freshly renovated kitchen in this alpine abode. The countertops are Caesarstone “Cosmopolitan White,” a cream-colored mineral quartz from Mountain Marble that plays well with transitional-style cabinets from Black Mountain Cabinetry and Design. The beachy blue-green ceramic backsplash (Crossville Studios) adds visual interest, while pendants from Christie’s Lighting Gallery brighten the space.

Mirror to the Past

The centerpiece of the primary bedroom is the original fireplace mantel. According to interior designer Lindsey Kehres, this showstopper required “a bit of scraping and sanding” to truly shine. The mirror in the surround is original, as are the heart-pine floors. Most of the furniture and artwork are vintage pieces, some that the homeowner has had for almost 40 years. A black-iron bed picks up the fireplace surround, and the restrained floral print on the bedding suggests springtime in the surrounding Blue Ridge mountains.

In the primary bath, the sconces create the illusion of an illuminated mirror. The cabinets (Black Mountain Cabinetry and Design) are painted “Maho Gray,” a sophisticated shade of blue. The flooring is a mixture of marble and porcelain tile (Crossville Studios), and the clawfoot tub is original to the home.
Photo by Ryan Theede

Front Porch Revival

To preserve the charm of this 112-year-old Craftsman-inspired farmhouse in Little Switzerland, Buchanan Construction expertly replaced the decaying porch columns with modern lookalikes, sanded and stained the original decking, and addressed the ailing ceiling, which was patched and painted “haint blue” per colloquial Southern tradition (the hue is said to ward off haunted spirits).