For Barbara Massey, who owns the Apeldoorn House vacation rental in Black Mountain with her husband Charles, the creation of the unique hemp-lime cottage was both a tribute to her heritage and a statement of sustainability. “Our family has lived in the North Fork Valley of Black Mountain for 45 years,” she says. “I wanted to build an Irish cottage in honor of my Irish grandparents who immigrated to America through Ellis Island in the early 1900s.”
Charles and Barbara Massey
After two trips to France, “the house plans morphed into a home built with industrial hemp (green build) with soft curved corners that mimic the old houses in Ireland and France.” The panels used throughout the house, the kitchen cabinetry, the windowsills and the sitting area by the bay window and mud area are antique and from France. The ceiling beams are from Western NC and the interior doors are 100-year-old reclaimed and refinished doors.
Massey credits the project’s success to building designer Tim Callahan. Apeldoorn House takes its name from the Dutch town of Massey’s ancestors, honoring both her Irish and Dutch roots. “The inside ambiance of the home is unprecedented,” Massey says. “It was created for guests to experience a stay in a bed-and-breakfast that is like no other; a place of peace, quiet, relaxation, where there are no distractions from the craziness of the outside world.”
Apeldoorn House is located at 71 Penland Cove Road, Black Mountain. Learn more at ApeldoornHouse.com.
