This project was a distressed fixer-upper when the couple who made the improvements bought it almost a decade ago. It was a mess of a house, but it was built in an incredibly beautiful setting. It is set in a historic rustic resort built in the first two decades after the start of the twentieth century. A year-round creek runs under the original bridge that was built when the 1920s cabin was originally on the site but burned down in the late 1980s. The house is private, with no adjacent neighbors, and is nested in an array of huge, scenic granite monoliths that rise above it in all directions. The large creek disappears into a huge boulder field just past the house and falls into a wonderland variously called the “Holy Waters” or the “Redneck Water Park.” Visitors have come to see if for generations, to shower in the serial waterfalls, and to explore the depth of that spectacular natural feature. The grandfathered cabin and its water rights were the circumstances that allowed the previous owner to install two modular structures where the old cabin had been in 1988. She then hired a commercial contractor to build the first-floor apartment that now exists. (It can be used as a rental, as a guest suite, or as part of a single-family home.)

When the current owners purchased the home, it was in considerable disrepair. The design called for all new windows and a new roof. A new parking bridge was added, as were numerous decks and balconies. A new sunroom completed the suite, with a kitchen on the first floor. A large deck was scribed into the granite boulders at the rear of the house, and a hot tub was added because the owner uses it as a health aid. The second floor also boasts a large balcony off the dining room, and two other decks were built down by the creek, one of which also has a fire pit. Summers are a festival of water fun!

A new kitchen was added on the first floor and the kitchen was remodeled on the main floor above. A new decorative gable was added in the dining area, and the stairs, which had previously been on the exterior. were brought into the house. The owners now use the first floor for their business and sometimes rent both spaces to offset their mortgage. The Ice House is a one-of-a-kind and its surroundings are dramatic. The house of two bridges slows down traffic every weekend. It’s a rubbernecker’s Truehome paradise unlike any other home in its county, and it gets a lot of attention!