Exciting News! Gatewood Hall Gracious Home is Opening a Second Store in Big Canoe!

We wanted our Blog and FaceBook friends to be the first to know...We are so excited to announce (drum roll please!!) GH is opening a second store! Our new store is located just inside the gate at Big Canoe and we are thrilled! Thank you to all who have supported us over the last five years, it is because of you that we are able to take this next big step at Gatewood Hall Gracious Home! This was not an easy decision, believe me we had to put a great deal of thought into it and we really appreciate the support of Ann at Big Canoe who really worked hard to help the details come together (We jokingly say we surrendered to her persuasion!).

We have some wonderful customers and friends from Big Canoe that kept teasing us and saying we needed to open a location closer to them but honestly this growth just wasn't a part of our business plan at this moment. However, as you have heard us say before we believe everything happens for a reason, so when Ann came to us we really had to take a look at this opportunity. While the space is not huge we plan on stocking it full of some wonderful things from our bigger main store, when asked what we sell I say everything for a gracious life...from soap to sofas!

Our goal is to have the store open Saturday June 25th! (fingers crossed). Wish us luck! We will keep you posted. Thank you again for all of your support, we feel so fortunate to be able to continue to pursue our little dream called Gatewood Hall Gracious Home!

A Busy Week...

Whew, it has been a busy week! We have been working on a sales, leasing, conference and amenity center down in South Georgia (and oh my was it HOT down there!). I have included a few photos for you to see (they are from my phone, I'll post some better photos later).

Don't you love this mirror? I think it looks great with my favorite BCL Jenny Lind Lamps!

As always thank you Becky and Brenda for keeping things together this weekend! We received a ton of new merchandise in this week so go in and visit them. (Our A/C works well and it will be nice and cool!) HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Sometimes I forget how much I love Blue Ridge! Years ago when we bought our place up here I told Shawn that I'd never take our beautiful long range mountain view for granted...Well I think I may have to some degree. Recently, we worked on a project in South Georgia, I have also been busy in Atlanta so I really haven't been up here for a few weeks. I have to tell you when I arrived this evening it just felt so good to be here and I took a look at our view and thought to myself, wow I have really missed my mountain home.

I'm also pretty patriotic, and with all of our concerns I still consider myself so fortunate to be be an American, living in this wonderful country of ours. I think Fourth of July in our north Georgia town is a really fun and special time. Americana at it's best.

Get up early Saturday and go downtown to our wonderful Blue Ridge Farmers Market in the park, oh the local goodies that you will find!! Then head over to L&L Beanery Cafe and have their delicious breakfast Casserole! By now it should be close to 10AM and time for the Annual Fourth of July Parade so head over to the park near East Main. This year the bands are awesome so ENJOY!! Go into Love Dogs & Cats Too and see Larry and Ricki and pick up some treats for that lucky cat or dog. Pop into the Little Shop and stock up on those wonderful Hallmark cards. If you haven't been in the new location of The Multitude Gallery just next door, you will be stunned at how beautiful and spacious it is. David has some beautiful new items! Now you need to make your way over to see us at Gatewood Hall. Come in and say hi and check out some of our new arrivals...Now you can go visit Just Judy, Kristina Lee's and the Gnarley Bear. I bet you will be getting hungry so now you can go visit Pat and Polina at the fabulous Blue Ridge Brewery (I am sooo craving their summer gazpacho and house burger!!) for some great lunch and a glass of wine or special beer. When you are finished you will be primed to head over to see Sarah at Out of the Blue...Oh the wonderful things to try and buy...(not just my favorite girl that Sarah, but one of my favorite shops!!) How about some delicious fudge from Three Sisters Fudge, just across the street from Sarah's. You still need to go see Bradley and Candel at Fezziwig's and make your way into ssShiney Baubles for that special piece of "bling". There is still just so much to do in our beautiful downtown Blue Ridge we've only scratched the surface.

Tonight don't miss the fireworks over Lake Blue Ridge! Have a great and safe Fourth of July!! See you downtown!

Below are some photos of our recent model project we completed in South Georgia!

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OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!

It's true the new and improved Gatewood Hall Gracious Home is finally open! While we still are missing some new products and we have a few kinks to work out we are ready for you to come by and see us! So far we are thrilled with our new place and hope that you will love it as much as the old location. Please come in and see us and our new digs this weekend! We'll post more photos later but in the meantime...We can't wait to see you!!

What's Happening With The New Space?

So many folks have been requesting an update on our new space...So let's start here...Have you ever had those times when you wake up so excited that you can't sleep, like it is Christmas morning or your Birthday (when your were a kid)? and then you jump up to get going and it seems like, things don't turn out exactly as you planned and in disappointment you ask yourself..."What was I thinking?" And then just when you are ready to throw your hands in the air and give up, something wonderful happens and you are back to being thrilled and excited again? Well...welcome to our world. As with any renovation or build-out it has been a series of ups and downs. Fortunately there have been no biggies, it's more of a situation of a lack of patience for both of us. Most of the time (at least 99%) we are that excited kid, we are ready to get in and start decorating and putting our new merchandise out so we can have you over. Then there is the other 1% when we are tired, overwhelmed and ready to kill each other, when it feels like one of those days when nothing happens and we ask ourselves "what were we thinking?".

Truthfully one of our biggest drives comes from you! We can't thank you enough for your enthusiasm. A day hasn't passed when one of you hasn't said something like "oh I am so excited to see what you do with that space" or "I think your new location is going to be great, it will be so convenient" or our favorite "When are you going to open in that new space?...I can't wait!".

I am happy to report that we are making progress! We feel that as of today we are on schedule (uh oh...I said it out loud so knock wood, say prayers, etc.) Most importantly we can't wait to be finished so we can have you over! As always thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. We have included some "before" interior shots for those of you who have never been in the old post office.

In the meantime we are making way for our new stuff. We are continuing our sale, we've been calling the sales by many different names but we really should just tell the truth it's the "We don't want to move it sale". This weekend we have savings from 15% to 50% so come in and grab some really good deals!

Blog Reader Special: Print this post and bring it in today (01/23/2010) and take 20% off any regular priced, in-stock item of your choice!!

GH Does Weddings!

Did you know that Gatewood Hall does weddings? We do! This is a project that Shawn completed last week. The beautiful non-traditional wedding held at The Southern Tree Plantation in Blairsville, Georgia (http://www.plantation-events.com/). The wedding for Ashley Strickland and Caleb Paquette was held on a beautiful summer evening in the North Georgia mountains. Shawn said that this was such a fun project because the of the wonderful natural and rustic mountain setting. The reception was in a beautiful barn and the tables were set with Ivory colored tone on tone linens with a burlap overlay. Shawn and Kelli used honeysuckle vine and various mosses to create a base for beautiful floral arrangements that included Hydrangeas, Queen Anne's Lace, Bells of Ireland and local Fern put together in galvanized containers with a beautiful green patina. Old fashion Bell jars were filled with birdseed and white candles to create a little sparkle.

The bride's bouquet was a simple and elegant hand-tied arrangement of mini green Calla Lilies with fresh Lavender stems. Oh., I loved this idea...because the bride didn't want a traditional wedding cake she opted for individual homemade mixed berry cobblers (her Grandmother's recipe) placed on tiered pedestals. How unique and special is that?!

Shawn put these beautiful arrangements on the barn entrance doors!

They look absloutely beautiful! Mother of the bride Fran Strickland and her daughter Ashley. Congratulations and thank you for letting us play a part in your very special day!

Recent Lake House Project

Many of you have heard about the lake house that we recently furnished for Draper Realty. This is a great house at Tilly Bend on Lake Blue Ridge. The setting is wonderful! There is National Forest beside and across from the house so the views are unbelievable. The seller and agent knew that a furnished and staged house would show better and sell more quickly in a competitive market (Smart people! Even smarter because they came to us!!) This project has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a sleeping loft, gathering / game-room area on the terrace level and it is being sold fully furnished!! The owner paid us to do it all...and we did! He wanted it turn key and his only request...no typical bear, moose or deer theme. We used Pine Cone Hill & Peacock Alley bedding, great linens, towels, dishes, even a stainless barbecue grill- really everything you need! Just bring your toothbrush to closing and you are set to stay in your new retreat that night. Many of you have asked to see photos so I included a couple but, the owner recently hired a local professional photographer, Tom Harper to shoot the property. If you need professional photography give Tom a call! Enjoy!!

Old Tilly Rd Lake Cabin - Tom Harper Photography, Inc http://tomharper.smugmug.com/Architecture/Old-Tilly-Rd-Lake-Cabin/12323087_8zRye#879938805_77xCn

The sleeping loft features Saranac Stripe by Pine Cone Hill and rug by Dash & Albert.