Equestrian estate’s amenities include a curated creek
The Watson equestrian estate will include a 21,000-square-foot main home, rendered here, as well as a caretaker cottage, a guest cottage, and a 1,100-square-foot fishing cabin (not to mention a 21-stall barn).
Mountain architect Tab Bonidy is no stranger to large-scale projects, from 9,000-square-foot homes to recreation centers and commercial complexes. But the multi-faceted project just coming off the boards and rising from the ground in the Derbyshire section of Columbus takes its place as one of the more complex undertakings for his TAB Associates, with five separate structures and a planned equestrian center. “The Watson estate is one of the larger estates we’ve designed,” Bonidy says, “but the individual pieces fall into the scale of our other projects.”
Originally planned for 43 lakeside acres near the Tryon International Equestrian Center, the Watson estate’s owners added another 15 acres to the site, for a total of 58 acres. The site plan’s components include an impressive 21,000-square-foot main house, a 5,000-square-foot caretaker cottage and garage, a nearly 3,000-square-foot pool and outdoor entertainment complex, a 3,700-square-foot guest cottage and an 1,100-square-foot fishing cabin on the shore of the private lake. The additional 15 acres will eventually be dedicated to equestrian pursuits, with a planned 12-stall barn and apartment for a stable manager, paddocks, and two riding arenas, one of which will be roofed. This part of the site will have its own driveway, while the main house will be accessed via a gated entry.
“The clients were looking at homes in Aspen and Telluride and saw we had a Colorado office and had done many mountain homes,” explains Bonidy, who came east seven years ago from Vail, Colorado, to be closer to family in North and South Carolina. He designed and built a house for himself and his wife on 18 acres near Hendersonville, where he opened the satellite office that’s now overseeing the Derbyshire project under the guidance of project manager Norm Angel.
Tab Bonidy leads firms in the Blue Ridge and the Rockies.
Portrait by Colby Rabon
“This is actually one of our largest residential projects in North Carolina,” says Angel. “The entire site is sloping relatively steeply in some locations, but it does even out to a very gentle slope as it reaches the lake. The scale and unique characteristics do stand out, but we’ve been able to create diverse buildings and spaces each with its own personality, while maintaining a cohesive aesthetic that ties them to the site and with one another.”
With the guest house nearly complete, the project’s focus is now on the two-story wood, stone, and glass-clad main house built into the slope of the site, with its seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, vaulted great room looking out toward the lake and an attached three-car garage with a mudroom that, thoughtfully, even includes a dog-washing station. The main structure’s foundation and steel skeleton were finished during the spring, and work on the exterior cladding and interior layout is underway.
In a house already overflowing with signature amenities, a dramatic water feature will be a “crown jewel” of the site, says Bonidy. Inspired by mountain creeks, it will travel along the north face of the house under its formal bridged entryway and continue around the house’s western façade to the rear, “flow[ing] from pond to pond to pond across many small waterfalls for added site noise.”
When finished, the house’s upper level will contain the primary-bedroom suite on one end leading to an open-plan central section with living and dining areas. The kitchen, butler’s pantry, hearth room, laundry, artist’s studio, and storage are at the opposite end of the main level from the primary-bedroom suite, as well as the elevator and entry bridge from the garage. Exterior curving stairways at each end of the main floor lead down to the lower-level exterior; inside are a game room, additional bedrooms, a home theater, and a two-lane bowling alley. A walkout on the lower level leads to patios and a pathway to the pool complex with its 40’by 20’ infinity pool and cabanas, a gym, and an outdoor kitchen/dining area with a fireplace and a firepit.
Still to come are the detached garage and caretaker apartment, with its two bedrooms and bathrooms, great room, laundry and estate office; and the lakeside fishing cabin with boat storage, a small living room and kitchen, and half-bath. Construction of the equestrian facility will soon follow.
“We’re probably a year to a year-and-a-half away from completion,” Bonidy estimates. A striking figure with his flowing white beard and mountain-bred demeanor, Bonidy says he designed his first house when he was ten years old while taking private drawing lessons his parents had arranged for him. “Ever since then,” he says, “that is all I ever wanted to do.”
TAB Associates, 213 South Church St., Hendersonville, tabassociates.com