Creating a wildlife sanctuary in north Georgia

Liz Nicholas fell in love with Blue Ridge while visiting a friend with a vacation home in the area. She spent a year searching north Georgia and Tennessee to find her own home, a place she could keep horses and some day retire to. Planning to visit for Memorial Day weekend 2006, Nicholas ran across an online listing for a little house. She found Rachel Callihan, a Realtor who was working that holiday weekend, and they took a look at the property. Nicholas wrote an offer that night.

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Photos by Christopher Oquendo / AJC Special

Liz Nicholas has a serene view from her vacation home in Blue Ridge.

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Liz Nicholas has put much time and effort into the renovation of her Blue Ridge property, including the use of materials she’s been collecting for 20 years.

GETTING THERE

From downtown Atlanta: Take I-75 north to I-575 north to Ga. 515 north to Blue Ridge.

See more photos of the Liz Nicholas home in Blue Ridge

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Why it was the right spot: “The barn sold me,” said Nicholas, 48, who works in the telecom sector, and is also a licensed Small Mammal Wildlife Rehabber under the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The property came with an old pole barn, visible from the road. Immediately Nicholas could see where she would put her release cages, where she could keep a horse, even where she could set up an art studio. “A bunch of my friends were with me and when we saw the barn, the pond and the creek with its fairy crosses, they all said, ‘How many more signs do you need that this is where you need to be?’,” she said, laughing.

A perfect spot for wildlife and for history: The water on the property not only attracts wildlife but it also provided a perfect encampment for the Cherokee people who were believed to have lived and moved through the area prior to the Trail of Tears. “My neighbors and I share a waterfall that feeds our ponds. Rather than cutting down trees or changing the property’s terrain, we feel we are preserving the history of this land,” she said.

Months of renovation: Nicholas knew she’d want to update the house but the further she got into it, the more she realized she’d have to do. She says she wore out several contactors with her desire to incorporate as many recycled materials as possible into the house. Two pallets of leftover wood from many different flooring jobs became an incredibly intricate basketweave floor for the great room. Louisville Sluggers and old rolling pins joined salvaged wooden spindles to create the balusters for the staircase that winds to the upper floor. An enormous door from the old train station in McCaysville provided one wall to divide her office from the great room, and she collected cast iron pieces for a year to make the railings for the upper deck. Antique stained glass windows from old farms from the late 1800s adorn all four corners of the house.

A labor of love: The renovation provided Nicholas with a way to use materials she had been collecting for over 20 years to create a home that truly reflects her personality. Now she and her dogs, Dudley and Lillie, make the trip up to Blue Ridge almost every weekend from their home in Berkeley Lake.

At a glance: Nicholas purchased almost two acres of property which she has now completely fenced in for the safety of her dogs and the animals she rehabilitates. The original cabin was just under 800 square feet, but with all her renovations, the A-frame house doubled in size to 1,500 square feet. The lower level holds an office and full bath which could serve as a bedroom as well as a soaring great room/kitchen space. Two more bedrooms, a full bath and a breezeway with a sleeping area occupy the top floor.

Blue Ridge

Rachel Callihan, Realtor with Georgia Mountain & Lake Properties, says this part of North Georgia is one of the few places in the world you can find fairy crosses.”Fairy crosses are staurolite crystals that have joined to form the shape of a cross. They’re about an inch long and usually a dark brown color and are considered to be good luck pieces,” she said. Staurolite is the state mineral of Georgia.

Callihan also reports that Fannin County has recently passed an ordinance allowing the sale of beer and wine. The county had been dry since 1854. “The county commissioners’ office reports that there have been over 13 applications for alcohol sales and local business owners feel this will stimulate the economy here,” said Callihan. “Differences in opinion have been voiced weekly in the local newspaper and it has been quite entertaining.”

For sale:

Lot 3, Rocking Chair Road, Blue Ridge: four-bedroom three-bath, completely furnished with hot tub; over 2 acres of land, view of three states; $383,900

1291 Cashes Valley Road, Blue Ridge; two-bedroom three-bath home on over 3 acres with a pond and a creek, year-round mountain view; $299,000

Recent sale:

473 Emily Circle, Blue Ridge: four-bedroom four-and-a-half bath executive home on 3.99 acres, home theater, Gunite pool, garage, sun decks, all paved access road; sold in November 2008 for $371,000

For more information, visit Georgia Mountain and Lake Properties, phone: 706-632-9700.