Take your best memories of summer camp, the authenticity of an early Colonial village and the activity level of a resort, and you start to get a feel for Cloudland Station. Less than twenty minutes south of the city, it's a residential development unlike any new construction you've seen.
Adjoining the Lula Lake Land Trust, the 450-acre site is in itself beautiful, a long, winding valley bordered by wooded ridges at the base of Lookout Mountain in Chickamauga. Miles of walking trails connect the property's natural amenities: creeks, waterfalls, lakes, ponds, plus Georgia's sixth-longest cave.
In harmony with the natural wonder of the area, developer John Tatum, CEO and President of Firefly Communities, adds structures to the property.
"We really want to tread lightly on the land," says Tatum. Firefly Communities seeks to create an environment rich with beauty and amenities that gives residents an experience of authentic community and "continuous renewal."
Tatum brought on board Bill Bruce, who master planned Barnsley Gardens resort, to help translate Firefly Communities' vision into a working design. A team of talented craftsmen create new buildings for Cloudland Station that faithfully adhere to the architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries using old-fashioned, hand-crafted techniques like timber-frame construction and real materials like hand-selected slate shingles, stone and wood. Though more time-consuming and costly than modern construction, these techniques are well worth the payoff in authenticity and aesthetics.
Some buildings on the property date back to the time period that Cloudland Station's new construction mimics, whether original to the site, like an 1898 Cherokee chief's cabin, the oldest cabin in the county; or transplanted here, like the 1871 Amish barn from Pennsylvania.
Along with a recently finished Italianate farmhouse and antiquated carriage house, the painstakingly refurbished barn, named "The Homestead," serves as a breathtaking venue for events. The three buildings look as if they always have neighbored the formal green, which is bordered by patriot elms and a carriage path of antique bricks.
In the same way that real cities are built over decades from the city center outward, Cloudland Station's buildings and homes reflect a progression of architecture with four categories of home styles. The earliest architecture is centered at the Village Square, including cottages with folk Victorian influences, and the neighborhood gradually transitions to later styles, with Southern mountain homes higher up on the ridges.
Within the gates of Cloudland Station, residential life branches into smaller vignettes of activity. The hub of the development is the Village Square, a clearing with an Appalachian Opera House, dining patio with a stone fireplace and town green. A rustic, cedar footbridge crosses the creek to a fantastic tree house nestled into the edge of the woods. A historic dairy house still shelters a natural cold spring, and nearby, residents can propel themselves across a quiet pond with an authentic rope ferry.
"My philosophy is if people can enjoy nature, it renews them in a way," says Tatum. Activities at Cloudland Station strive to be cross-generational, to bring families together. "You need the wisdom of the older people around the young kids."
Like the rest of the community, Village Square is continually growing and improving. Soon, a town hall, general store and café will offer neighbors even more places to congregate. The school house with a cedar shake roof will be a lending library for residents. Just down the road, the restored Recreation Barn, original to the property, invites neighbors to join in a game of human foosball, volleyball in the sand or ping-pong. A puppet stage and movie projector in the loft extend the fun for all ages.
Cloudland Station hosts both permanent and part-time residents. Tatum's own cabin, a vacation home for his family of six, is a modestly sized, two-story cottage. Inside and out, the hand-crafted discipline of its construction adds to the aesthetic.
The first floor is a single room that elegantly houses living area, dining space and kitchen together.
"We have enjoyed so many memories around this table with neighbors and family," says Tatum.
He finds that the relaxed environment and communion with nature enhances the family's quality time. "Our kids will do things here that they don't usually do at home, like playing cards together."
The cottage has a second floor with three charming, period-relevant bedrooms and a loft under the pitched roof with excellent extra storage or sleeping capacity.
When the family isn't enjoying the cozy sanctuary of their cottage, they visit the beach and rope swing at the "swimmin' hole" at Lantern Cove. The rustic view of the surrounding hills here softens an amenity even as modern as the infinity-edge, saline swimming pool.
At The Orchards, a trestled mill run pours into a working water wheel at the picturesque grist mill. Attached to the mill house, the self-serve sweet shop-entirely run on an honor system-transports residents back in time with accoutrements like an antique cash register and old-fashioned candy.
On the courts outside, kids and adults mingle together in a game of bocce, loop tennis or croquet. The patio and firepit is the site of community gatherings and even an occasional, modern Super Bowl party.
In creating a habitat where his own family peacefully retreats, Tatum and his team have also distilled the essence of what home should be. Cloudland Station recovers the tranquility, beauty and simplicity of community that is nearly forgotten in the stir of modern life.