Vacation home: Big Canoe
Ben and Sheri Underwood, who work in health care, turned to the mountains when thinking about buying a vacation home that could serve as a future retirement residence. Sheri, 53, chatted about their place in Big Canoe.
Why Big Canoe: The couple, who also have a home on Lake Hartwell, decided to buy a home in the community after visiting show homes and friends in Big Canoe for years. "The egos are left at the gate. You have no idea who somebody is and what they've done," Sheri said. "That's really nice. Nobody's out there to impress anyone." When Big Canoe developed Choctaw Village a few years ago, Sheri visited the model homes with some of her girlfriends and loved what she describes as a "quaint little village." The small size of the Choctaw neighborhood within the 8,000-acre Big Canoe was appealing because their Vinings community also is a small neighborhood. She showed Ben, and more than a year later, he mentioned that he had seen a couple of Choctaw Village homes online that they might want to consider. On a Sunday, two days before the couple planned to take a trip to Italy, they went through four homes in Big Canoe, including two in Choctaw Village. They immediately put a contract on the first home they saw. "It's a lovely Craftsman-style home," Sheri said. "It was meant to be."
Their home: A three-bedroom, 31/2-bath home with an unfinished terrace level. They wanted a home with low maintenance, so the Hardiplank siding appealed to them, and the shingles and stone on the front created curbside character. Two decks that run the length of the house and a screened porch with a fireplace provide room to relax and entertain outdoors. The main level has a master bedroom, which was important to them, along with hardwood floors and granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms. Wood trim and cabinets and a stone fireplace add to the rustic appearance.
How far from their home: One hour from Vinings.
How often they're there: "If we do not have something planned in Atlanta on the weekends, we are up there," she said. Their longest stretch was 13 weekends in a row.
What they do when they're there: Play golf, hike and attend area festivals. Their grandchildren often visit, and they love playing in the lake and on its popular rockslide. "We enjoy having company up there and cooking out on our huge decks and just chilling out," she said. "We like to just go up there and relax. It's all the tension, all the pressure of Atlanta living, is gone."
What they learned about having a mountain home: "I'm a city girl. I think it has surprised me that I'm quite happy up there in the serene quietness," she said. "I love the wildlife. It's just [getting] back to nature."
At a glance
Ben and Sheri Underwood’s home at Big Canoe has three bedrooms, 3½ baths and an unfinished terrace level. They bought it in May 2009.
Community overview
Choctaw Village is one of the four neighborhoods in Big Canoe, and it’s located near the main gate, the Big Canoe golf club and other amenities, such as a 16,000-square-foot fitness center, swim club, indoor and outdoor tennis facility, chapel, and restaurants. Choctaw Village, which is surrounded by a walking/jogging trail, will have 103 two- and three-story cottages (from the low $400,000s) and homes (from the mid-$500,000s) when complete. The architecture was inspired by homes from the early 1900s, with features such as front porches, gables and stonework. The homes are EarthCraft-certified, which requires the use of environmentally friendly building materials and energy-efficient heating/cooling systems. Big Canoe, which has more than 2,400 homes owned by primary residents and second-home owners, boasts three lakes, a 27-hole golf course and 22 miles of trails.
Info
Big Canoe
www.bigcanoe.com
Pickens County
www.pickenscountyga.gov
Dawson County
www.dawsoncounty.org
Recent sales
$350,000: 900 Choctaw Village, Big Canoe 30143. A five-bedroom, four-bath home with three fireplaces, granite countertops and hardwood floors.
$519,000: 889 Chula Drive, Big Canoe 30143. A three-bedroom, 3½-bath home with a master on the main, two fireplaces and a screened porch.
For sale
$599,000: 883 Chula Drive, Big Canoe 30143. A three-bedroom, 3½-bath home with four fireplaces and a vaulted tongue-and-groove ceiling in the master bedroom.
$569,000: 893 Choctaw Ridge, Big Canoe 30143. A four-bedroom, 4½-bath home with three fireplaces, custom window shutters and a granite breakfast bar.
Getting there
From downtown Atlanta, take I-75 north to I-575 north. Travel about 30 miles to Ga. 108 (the first traffic light on I-575) and turn right. Continue on Ga. 108 about 2 miles to a four-way stop, and continue straight. The road becomes Ga. 53 East. You will travel through the town of Tate (be sure to look at the pink marble Tate House). Continue on Ga. 53 for about 9 miles. Turn left on Steve Tate Highway. The entrance to Big Canoe will be about 1.5 miles on the left.
