When most people envision their dream home, they describe large kitchens, beautiful hardwood floors and clawfoot tubs. But not John Hay.
In the mid-1980s, Hay – founder of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Company and great-great grandson of U.S. Secretary of State John Milton Hay – purchased the Beckham Creek Cave in Parthenon, Arkansas. He had plans to transform it into a 10,000-square-foot bomb shelter, consisting of cinder-block walls, plywood flooring, 11 coats of clear epoxy on the natural formations of the cave, and an internal freshwater spring.
He stocked it with enough freeze-dried food to keep 50 people fed for up to two years, and he twice had his religious group sit out bomb scares in the cave. By 1987, Hay realized the end of the world wasn’t coming quite so soon. Various records indicate the property was sold to a man known simply as “Mr. Richardson,” who had a different dream in mind when he came into possession of the property.
Soon after turning the space into a $6 million clubbing venue, Mr. Richardson held a grand unveiling that welcomed over 250 esteemed guests, including Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross and many other Hollywood elite.
It’s no wonder that in 1994, John Hay repurchased his now illustrious cave.
In the decades following, several new owners have taken hold of the 257-acre property, each one undoubtedly in awe of the great room’s 40-foot rock ceilings and 2,300 square feet. Stalactites descend from overhead throughout the 5,572-square-foot home, and raw rock has been used wherever possible to maintain the unique character of the space.
Though it’s been renovated several times, the sprawling cave has kept its surprisingly cozy charm intact. Part of the reason the cave’s natural features have been preserved is surely thanks to Hay, who reverently told People magazine in 1988 that the home’s “original architect was God.”
The bad news – every dream home comes with its own downfalls, after all – is that a few of the stalactites drip. However, the whole property is climate-controlled thanks to geothermal units throughout.
The 4-bed, 4-bath cave home will run its next owners somewhere around $2.75 million. And while it doesn’t have those coveted hardwood floors or the clawfoot tub that fantasies are made of, we still consider this incredibly cool residence to be a real gem.
Like many married couples, the Clarks have a lot in common: a last name, a first name (they’re both Kelly) and an affinity for wide-open spaces – which inspired them to build a 10,000-square-foot barn-style home on 30 acres of land in West Monroe, Louisiana.
But let’s back up. Kelly Clark (that’s him) and Kelly Moore-Clark (that’s her) wanted a change of scenery for their family. So when a friend put some land up for sale, they decided to make a move.
“We pretty much bought the property sight unseen because you couldn’t walk through it,” Moore-Clark says, referring to the thicket of overgrown trees and plants that carpeted the ground. “We bought the land and then crossed our fingers that, when we cleared it, we would find a spot to build the home.”
Spoiler alert: They found that spot. The perfect location sat at the back of the property on a hilltop, far from the main road.
They immediately began working with a team of designers to create a plan for their space. The blueprints were beautiful, but something didn’t feel quite right.
“We just couldn’t pull the trigger on it. … It was just a gut feeling,” Moore-Clark says. “I [felt] like whatever [was] supposed to be out here [was] supposed to be special.”
Then, Moore-Clark’s mother had an idea: Why not build a home that looked like a barn?
“I remember [my mom] specifically saying, ‘You could roll the doors up and drive through the house,'” Moore-Clark says.
And that’s when it all clicked. With the help of Moore-Clark’s father, a former army draftsman, they made a new plan, hired a team of subcontractors and watched their home begin to take shape.
“It was a very organic [building] process,” Moore-Clark says. “As the framers started framing it up, we would come into the room, and I would try to envision what our life [would look] like.”
Moore-Clark doesn’t have to use her imagination anymore. Today the couple, their three daughters, a dog, an old pony and 80 free-range chickens roam about the 10,000-square-foot home. And although they spend most of their time in a small fraction of the space, there’s plenty of room to grow. Three main areas, to be exact.
At approximately 2,250 square feet, the east side of the home is where you can usually find the family. This area includes the bedrooms, the living room/kitchen area and the bathroom.
Speaking of that bathroom: “I wanted it to be like a little greenhouse,” Moore-Clark says. Her vision for the bathroom predates the actual bathroom itself – she bought the tub before they started building.
Even though there’s room for dozens of bedrooms, the girls share one room, complete with custom-designed bunk beds.
And then there’s the breezeway. This is the second section of the home, and it’s around 2,000 square feet. The breezeway is an indoor porch area with roll-up doors and plenty of living space.
“Lots of playing happens in the breezeway,” Moore-Clark says. “[The girls] ride their bikes through it, put on musical events with their friends – ballets, plays, lots of things.”
Finally, there’s the west side, which contains an office space, a home gym, a shop, and a guest bedroom and bathroom.
“When people stay … they really have their own space,” Moore-Clark says. “You don’t even hear each other. It’s good for a little retreat.”
The home is good for a lot of activities that fall outside the ordinary – it’s hosted live music recordings, floral workshops and even a Christmas Eve church service.
So what compelled Clark and Moore-Clark to create a space so vast and so intimate at the same time? They’re not really sure. Yet.
“We feel like, one day, it’s going to be used for something interesting. … [It’s] a gut feeling.” Moore-Clark says. “We don’t know exactly why we built this place the way it is. But we knew it was right.”
Very few would have considered purchasing a crumbling and decrepit 1890 Victorian townhome. But Lindsey Branca and her partner (both in business and in life), Mike Grosshandler, saw what most didn’t: opportunity.
After a sweeping renovation that included collapsing plaster and a complete layout change, this townhome – located in trendy Park Slope, Brooklyn – went from a deteriorated state to downright stately.
“When we purchased the home, we were on the hunt for a ‘mess’ that would provide the most opportunity,” says Branca.
The opportunity they saw in this home was a “hidden” second floor not visible from the street – a very rare find in the New York City real estate scene. This hidden second floor brought a whole treasure trove of extra square footage, including an extra floor of bedrooms.
Although the renovation was a complete overhaul, which involved removing a bedroom downstairs, taking out a bathroom, and removing an extra kitchen from its days of multifamily use, the project only took Branca’s restoration company, Branca & Co., around nine months to complete.
Inside, they transformed damaged carpets and worn-out walls into a sleek and contemporary single-family home.
They kept as much original detail as they could, such as the painstakingly stripped marble mantles, and what they weren’t able to salvage (like the damaged plaster molding), they restored to fit the original design.
The modern details they added, like white oak plank flooring and an open-concept kitchen with a large island and open shelving, play nicely with traditional details, such as a clawfoot tub and trace ceilings.
“I’m very happy with the results. We stuck to a very strict budget (one my architect was skeptical we could hit), yet we were still able to produce a really beautiful, thoughtful product,” says Branca.
There’s just something special about a small town. Less traffic, no noise pollution and friendly neighbors can all make for an idyllic escape from the grit of the city.
Some of these small towns may be hours from the nearest Amazon Locker or Whole Foods, but what they lack in big-city amenities, they make up for in big-time charm.
Here are eight homes for sale in some of the best small towns in America.
Stately in South Carolina
For sale: $668,000
Nothing could be sweeter than this stately home in Beaufort, South Carolina, which has a prime location on South Carolina’s coastal Sea Islands. The home was built in 1997, but it looks like it was plucked straight from the 19th century, with notable features like a large front porch, whitewashed brick on the exterior, an updated and spacious living-dining area, and a covered back porch for those sweltering summer nights.
This quaint cottage in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, is the quintessential coastal retreat. Carmel-by-the-Sea is located just an hour outside the tech capital of the country – San Jose – but feels worlds away, thanks to its small population and relaxed lifestyle. The cottage itself is a seaside charmer, featuring blue cedar shake siding and a large deck for lounging, and it’s just a short walk from downtown Carmel.
If there were one home to define small-town Southern charm, it might be this cute Craftsman in Dahlonega, Georgia. Once considered a gold-mining destination, Dahlonega is now a quiet little mountain town with a downtown that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Craftsman home, located minutes from the downtown square, is elegant yet cozy, with hardwood floors throughout the main level, wainscoting in the dining room, and two levels of decks that have a beautiful tree-lined view.
This cabin in Ketchum, Idaho – population 2,689 – may have your typical rustic mountain cabin exterior, but pop inside and you’ll find an unexpected use of Scandinavian style. The interior of the cabin features Venetian plaster, low-voltage cable lighting, stainless spacers in maple-wrapped beams and a custom staircase.
Just a bit beyond the bright lights of Times Square, you’ll find this vibrant farmhouse in Rhinebeck, New York, which is a charming and historic town about two hours away from Manhattan. This home makes small-town life feel fabulous, with stunning details like beamed vaulted ceilings in the living space and master bedroom, a chef’s kitchen, and even an indoor lap pool with views of the 5-acre lot.
This quirky and colorful Queen Anne Victorian home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, and it’s currently being used as a bed-and-breakfast for the bustling tourist town in the Ozarks. A pastel facade and a large front porch greet you as you enter the 7-bed, 7.5-bath home – which is divided up into three floors full of guest suites with private entrances.
This Arts and Crafts-style home, located in the historic district of Marietta, Ohio (population 14,085), combines the gorgeous architecture of the early 20th century with the modern, convenient and open spaces of the 21st century. The rooms throughout the home have been carefully updated while still keeping the original charm intact, including the embellishments on the hardwood floors, the built-ins in the living area, and the cozy fireplaces in the dining and living spaces.
This pueblo-style home in Taos, New Mexico, is just a short walk to the small town’s famous art galleries in Taos Plaza. The pueblo itself is a work of art, with beautiful details like dark wood beams across the ceiling, a Spanish tile floor and a large fireplace in the living room.
