3059 F.T. Valley

Description

The residence at Groundhog Hill was conceived as a country retreat modeled on the stately shingle style summer homes of the Northeast. The house takes advantage of the private setting and the distant mountain views. The grand home in a rustic setting is a stunning combination. While patterned after houses from the turn of the last century, Groundhog Hill provides a comfortable 21st century perch from which to explore the wild landscape of this private valley.

The residence at Groundhog Hill was designed as a gathering place for family and friends. In addition to the large living room, library/den, and dining room, there is also a downstairs media room and finished attic rooms for more informal gatherings. On three of the four floors are bedrooms or bedroom suites, that, depending on configuration, can provide overnight accommodations with anywhere from 7 to 9 bedrooms. Spanning the entire length of the house is a grand porch which offers plenty of places to sit, dine, or just watch the mountain views. A terrace below the porch offers the same space at ground level. More intimate outdoor areas include a balcony off of the master bedroom and a side garden next to the mud room/Kitchen entrance.

Despite its large size, the house offers intimate spaces throughout. Cozy reading nooks, side rooms off of bedroom suites, and built-in bookshelves and seating provide escapes from the larger entertaining spaces. The interior space very much takes its cue from the rambling summer homes of the Edwardian era and care has been taken to source door hardware and lighting fixtures that reflect that time period and the house architecture. Yet modern touches such as an elevator, sound system, bar fridge, and a gourmet kitchen are all seamlessly combined with period fittings.

Groundhog Hill is nestled in a hollow surrounded by the hills and mountains of the Blue Ridge. Indeed, the bulk of Utz Mountain forms the southwestern corner of the property. Most of the property is wooded with fairly mature hardwoods and a few pine and includes an abundance of native flowering trees and shrubs such as dogwood, redbud, and mountain laurel. There is considerable timber value in the larger trees, but the mature canopy provides a relatively open understory on the hillsides for hiking trails. There are several well draining an nicely sloped hillsides suitable for planting a vineyard. Two bold streams course through the property and eventually merge, creating an ideal location for a pond. One of these creates a boundary between the wooded upland and the open fields/meadows of the property entrance and main drive. Of the 192.6 acres, in four tax parcels, only approximately 60 are open land. These open fields are currently unfenced and kept in hay. But they can be easily expanded to include more acreage and fenced for any type of livestock. There is a woven wire property perimeter fence A farm track veers off the main drive and follows along a stream to a large metal framed barn that can be used for equipment or hay storage, or converted to livestock use. There are several outstanding building sites on the property for additional dwellings with private settings and mountain views.

Nearer the house are sloping lawns and planted retaining walls that frame the residence and provide overflow parking for bigger events. These areas are landscaped with a variety of smaller trees and shrubs.