It’s hardly surprising that Clark and Lane Howard’s vacation home in Big Canoe is a fixed-up foreclosure filled with a blend of Costco furniture, family items and sample sale deals.
But it's no simple weekend cabin. The six-bedroom, six-and-a-half-bath home, which features mountain views and a peek of Stone Mountain on clear days, will be open to the public this weekend on the 2010 Big Canoe Tour of Homes.
“We never in our lives would have intended to own a (vacation) house this big, but it was such a deal,” Clark Howard said on recent Sunday in the north Georgia home.
The nationally syndicated radio host known for helping consumers “save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs” has had extensive work done on the house, which is 65 miles from the Howards' Atlanta home.
The couple had to finish a third of the estimated 8,200-square-foot home, which had mold, buckled floors, a drooping ceiling and broken pipes when they toured it in late 2007. There was even a moldy sandwich on the granite kitchen countertops. But in addition to gush-worthy views, they found built-ins, coffered and domed wood ceilings, stonework, and extras such as a multi-jet shower and clawfoot tub with a fireplace in the master bathroom.
“This is so ‘Cribs’ because you just pop the switch,” said Howard, turning on the fireplace.
Howard understands a curiosity factor may draw some people to the tour, which will raise money for charities in Dawson and Pickens counties.
“I think they’re going to expect to come in and see us sitting on milk crates,” he said. “People sometimes miss that I’m about value, not deprivation, and a lot of times people make the assumption that it’s all about depriving yourself. It’s not about that. It’s about deferring things and always looking for a deal.”
They got the tip about the foreclosure from a family member with a home in Big Canoe who remarked later that Clark had “shark eyes” when he learned about the home, he said. The home was in the bank’s hands, so the previous agent helped them view the house in December 2007.
“I think the agent was really surprised that we were so excited about a house that everybody had looked at and was like, ‘What a dog this is,’ ” he said. “You had to look past all the damage.”
Atlanta-based Sims Remodeling did the renovations. The Howards toured other high-end listings to compare views and features.
“There was nothing that had this view with this caliber of house that was anything close to the price range,” Clark Howard said. “This was a gold mine.”
The couple had been “saving up every penny” starting in 2004 to invest in real estate when the bubble burst, Howard said. They paid a little over $1 million, according to Dawson County tax records.
“Where that money was really designed to create rental income properties, we instead did something for ourselves,” he said. “It was very self indulgent, wasn’t it? Not very Clark-smart.”
The purchase price was 42 percent below the most recent asking price, he said. The deal closed in January 2008, coinciding with Costco’s semi-annual furniture sale. They filled their Atlanta garage with beds, nightstands, chairs, couches, bedding and accessories.
Lane Howard, assisted by interior designer Ann Carroll with Florida-based Design South, said the home reflects a comfortable and kid-friendly setting with western, rustic, French and English looks. She created a cork backsplash in the terrace level’s wine room, and artwork includes a Steve Penley portrait of Teddy Roosevelt.
“It’s so us to be so eclectic,” her husband said.
An antique desk in the soundproof office was originally $10,000 (according to Lane’s research) and purchased for $400 at a sample sale. Items such as a cushy red leather chair and French theater seats are among those Lane found during the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center’s May sample sale.
“I would skulk around there,” she said.
The couple has learned to compromise when furnishing homes such as the Big Canoe property.
“She didn’t know there was a word other than retail when we met,” Howard said. “And I didn’t know there was anything better than sitting on something tattered and used. So she learned from me and I loosened up for her.”
2010 Big Canoe Tour of Homes
When: April 30 (Big Canoe residents), May 1 (open to the public)
What: Four homes on tour, sponsored by the Big Canoe Chapel Women’s Guild to benefit local charities.
Cost: $20 (Organizers advise purchasing tickets in advance at www.bigcanoetour.org)
Information: www.bigcanoetour.org, 770-893-1299
