randsoellner@earthlink.net Single Family Homes Single Family (part 2) Eagle Mountain Aerie Arts & Crafts Masterpiece Falcon Cliff Lodge MultiFamily Residential HEARTH ROOM WARMS HEART AND SOUL IN RUSTIC MOUNTAIN ELEGANCE Most Soellner-designed homes feature a cozy great room with magnificent stone fireplace. Large logs were bolted to the sides of the fireplace and pegged, they support a 12" thick willow mantel, rough cut on the ends and polyurethaned. The hearth is one piece of solid rock at 18", which serves as a seat on cool evenings or when pressed into service while entertaining large groups. Merry Soellner selected a distressed brown leather sofa and loveseat with arched backs and a pair of nearly-matching distressed leather side chairs, all grouped around an authentic Pakistani wool Oriental pattern rug with crimson accents, which Merry highlighted with the red chenille throw, suavely arranged over the sofa, with tasseled accent pillows. The Post Arts & Crafts coffee table has inlaid decorative copper accent panels, distressed satin wood finish and unique details. The fern prints on the wall to the left of the side chairs is further reinforced by the real fern on the accent table below. A Frank-Lloyd Wright-inspired early 1900's mission-style stained glass lamp adds warmth to the space. While architect Rand Soellner typically designs gas-fired wood-burning fireplaces in his Hearth Rooms, he used Travis Industries Fireplace Xtrordinair 44 DVXXL here, as it won a place in Popular Science magazine's top 100 scientific achievements of the year for its gas flame and log kits, which are virtually indistinguishable from a real log fire, plus there is the convenience of pushing a button on or off to have a fire or not. Merry and Rand chose Liberty Wood Products "chimney" prefinished stained and varnished 5" wide t&g oak distressed flooring throughout most of the home, except for bathrooms, which received authentic slate tile. Rand used large window groupings to the north along with clad wooden insulated doors, facing the breathtaking views of Cashiers Valley. 1x6 t&g spruce-pine-fir ceilings adorn most of the spaces, with Golden Oak minwax stain and clear polyurethane satin finish. Recessed lights illuminate most of the rooms, with custom-painted black trims to yield more of an Arts &Crafts character. Black wall switches with oak switchplates blend into the overall style, with black electrical and technology outlets with wood cover plates horizontally centered in the tall wall bases. MASTER BATHROOM Rand & Merry Soellner Master Bath interiors typically feature a luxurious whirlpool tub with large windows.  We know about your secret fantasy of Mozart, candles, bubble bath, mountain views and champagne. . . enjoy this and many more indulgences in one of our homes!  Note the reflected view of the fireplace in the mirror to the left.  All of our master bathrooms also feature radiant heated slate floors on programmable thermostats, spacious His and Her vanities, mountain-themed mirrors, separate toilet rooms (with optional bidet), 2-person showers with optional steam generator for sauna.  You never had it so good!  KITCHENS ARE THE HEART OF OUR HOMES The kitchen is the main gathering place in our mountain homes.  They are hubs of activities and good cheer.  Rand’s minor at the University of Florida was Environmental Psychology (how people react to space and the sociology of architecture).  Merry and Rand arrange appliances & fixtures in such a way as to allow you, the chef, to have enjoyable conversations with your family and friends as you prepare a hearty meal, and you can see nearby fireplaces and especially the Mountain Views!  This is a huge breakthrough in kitchen planning! Rand Soellner Architect interiors reflect the good taste of Merry Soellner’s choices for mountain-themed light fixtures, custom cabinetry, wall ovens, warming drawers, upscale refrigerators, dishwashers, gas cooktops, multiple ovens, built-in cappuccino makers, multiple sinks, disposals, bars, wine coolers, and more.  Merry custom-matches your granite counters to your cabinetry (see interiors page on our website).  Merry and Rand also select optional appliance packages for developers and homeowners, wanting choices. Some of our clients come to us seeking renovations to their homes, mainly to improve their kitchens.  Come to us and let us help you with yours.  OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM IS WHERE YOU LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS All of Rand Soellner Architect's designs feature an Outdoor Living Room, as he considers this essential to enjoyable mountain living. He often locates a 2-way outdoor fireplace at one end of this interesting space, the other side serving an Outdoor Dining Deck. Merry Soellner selected a specially treated outdoor sofa inspired by the world-famous Grove Park Inn (Asheville, NC), along with Eucalyptus Adirondack loveseats and chairs, conversationally centered on a thick wooden slab coffee table facing the outdoor fireplace. She found a lovely distressed leaf-print synthetic rug to pull together other botanical themes in the space. Behind the mantel, a flat-screen tv provides entertainment. Merry grouped teak chairs around the wooden slab table to the left, which is supported on debarked large logs which are remnants of the main house construction. The hearth is raised to serve as a seat. EVOLVED ARTS & CRAFTS STAIR MAKES GOING UP AND DOWN FUN Distressed resawn oak planks with two stain colors add character to this muscular stairway. Architect Rand Soellner carefully studied 1910 Arts & Crafts homes by early 20th century California architects Greene & Greene while detailing this special stair. Learning from their level of detail, he evolved that craft into the present day, enlivening the guard rails with blacksmith-hammered iron bars in wave patterns. The newel post at the bottom of the stair is perhaps the world's largest, as Don Brown of Liberty Wood Products had to turn it on his personal lathe, larger than those at this football field-sized factory in Franklin, NC. The balustrade post half-way up the stair had its form evolve from its function, to support the oversize distressed top handrail and the intermediate wave-bars. Arts & Crafts era pyramid details adorn key locations and reveals accept each wrap-around nosing trim. Timberframe pegs add interest to the side nosing trims and connections. EUROPEAN LIBRARY EVOKES IMAGES OF CASTLE-LIKE ELEGANCE Interior Decorator Merry Soellner turned a walk-though transitional loft space at the top of the main stairs into a warm, inviting library with old-world charm and rustic elegance. A tan chenille throw adds pizzazz to the leather sofa, along with some pillows that mimic the colors and patterns in the unique scalloped edge round Oriental rug. In a museum-quality space-planning move, Merry placed the world-globe on its Arts & Crafts metal stand directly in the center of the rug, which is centered in the Library, under the Tiffany glass light-fan above. Two Gothic wooden hand-carved throne chairs worthy of the world's most substantial mansions flank either side of an antique dining table. An antique gate-leg table to the left supports a silver tea service, with an authentic antique Bavarian inlay-wood "painting." MASTER BEDROOM IS TIMBERFRAME MASTERPIECE Relaxing, cozy, inviting and interesting all describe this classic, yet timeless master retreat. Merry Soellner selected a mansion bed evocative of gothic European castles, complete with arcades of carved wood and spiral corner posts. When she originally suggested a canopy bed to her husband, architect Rand Soellner, he suggested: "Why don't we make the whole room a timberframe canopy for the bed?" Which is what they did. Rand centered the timber posts, arch, beams and braces around a distressed painted board rear wall and Merry located the bed there, along with a mission-era footlocker-seat and the foot of the bed, which serves as a convenient storage bin for blankets and decorative pillows. Authentic Persian Oriental wool and silk rugs adorn the side and foot around the bed. Rare Arts & Crafts stained glass-Mission mica table lamps adorn the rustic nightstands. Rand personally took a palm-sander to the boards behind the bed until Merry approved the amount of distressing, which revealed the wood grain. Mission brown stain on the timbers accents their warmth, along with oak peg details. To the right, a gas fireplace of arched copper and stone has a tall hearth level, allowing the fire to be visible from the bed. An outdoor sleeping porch typically awaits outside the master bedroom in most Soellner designs, to the right; in this particular concept a sun deck was used. Off camera to the left, Merry found an elegant antique vanity-dressing table with beveled mirror and spiral posts to match the bed. Distressed oak flooring and golden oak stained t&g board ceilings complete the space. 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