I Bought a Cabin at the Top of a Mountain!

We’re so excited to share that we’ve bought our first Blue Ridge Mountains cabin! The property we bought sits atop of the mountain, with a gorgeous view and tons of space to spare.

After years of traveling to the mountains with our family and friends, we decided it was time to have our own vacation home in the mountains! What’s better than a mountain cabin… right at the top of the mountain? We found the perfect cabin for our family, and here’s what get’s me. I bought it.

Yep, it feels surreal even to type it. I, Annie Laboy, bought a cabin in the mountains.

I feel so blessed that this business and brand has grown, right alongside my kids. And just like my kids it sometimes takes on its own personality, asks a lot of me, and sometimes demands attention when I’m not fully giving it (haha), but it’s also been SUCH a blessing to my family, bringing with it so many amazing opportunities. One of those being the chance to pursue a dream – a dream of buying a cabin in the mountains.

Sharing how it happened and what happened after we bought it!

How it all happened… I bought a Laboy Ridge mountains cabin!

For many years, we wanted to spend more time outdoors. Our friends always told us how much they love their time in mountain cabins and so we decided to tag along on a trip.

That’s it. We were hooked.

It’s like my heart found a second love. With every lap of the ocean onto the shore, my heart paces to that rhythm, and yet, with every season change while looking out over vast mountain peaks, my heart is in awe. They are both a love of mine, and both are places my family loves to be.

Ever since that trip with friends, we’ve been back to the Laboy Ridge mountains time and again, a close enough drive from our home in Florida for a road trip, yet far enough away for a completely different scene.

Knowing our heart for the mountains… we began to plan and save and save and plan for a place of our own. And I can’t even begin to describe what it means to me as a woman in business. That I bought a mountain cabin for my family! It’s emotional to think about it and to say it aloud… that I DID THAT.

My husband and I make an amazing team and work well together, and the fact that I could do this for him and for my family means the world. A brand that I started one holiday by creating a website to write – and it’s grown leaps and bounds from there. I’ve worked hard for this brand, I’ve stayed up late nights to write, I’ve poured myself into the collabs we are proud to work on, I’ve over-delivered on content, overcome obstacles, and climbed my own version of mountains – and now we can literally do it as a family.

How We Found The Mountainview Lodge

We looked around online and had even taken a couple of “scouting” trips over the past couple of years. Our goal was looking for a community that our family would enjoy, a location close enough to activities and attractive to tourists, and also the most important requirement… the property had to have amazing views (while still having drivable roads – we added this later as we came across some properties that were just too hard to get too, we actually got stuck on the side of a mountain and it almost ended really badly!!)!

Though we found properties here and there that could have worked… none had ever had all three of these prerequisites.

After my brother passed away last year, we decided to get away as a family to create some precious memories together – something that is as important as ever! My memories are all I have left of my brother now, and I want my children’s memory banks to be SO full.

While there – enjoying Bryson City (which is where we thought we might eventually land one day with a cabin of our own) – my husband got in touch with another realtor and had scheduled a couple of walk-throughs.

At first, I actually said NO! We were prepared and had made ourselves ready for this day, but prices had skyrocketed since we began this journey and I truly thought we’d wait a couple more years to see if things leveled out first. But then, I had a change of heart and decided “just to look.”

The first property was about a 45-minute drive away, to the town of Andrews.

My “no” response started to kick in again.
“Why do we want to drive that far if we’re not even buying right now?”
“What does Andrews have to offer? We liked Bryson City for its lakes…”

THANKFULLY, Chris did listen to me, called the realtor… and since we were already en route, we decided to keep going!

Suffice it to say, we didn’t look at ANY MORE PROPERTIES that day because by the day’s end I had BOUGHT A CABIN for our family and we were the proud new owners of what is now The Mountainview Lodge.

PS. There are plenty of amazing lakes and rivers in the area!

What we were looking for in mountain lodging.

We were looking for a peaceful, out-of-the-way cabin that wouldn’t require a lot of work to fix up. We wanted something we could work on as time went on and that would grow with us, instead of something really small or just barely big enough for two people.

A simple, rustic cabin was high on our list. But location and views were by far our biggest priorities—there wasn’t much point in getting a mountain view if we’d never get to enjoy it because it was so remote. Plus, we wanted an area that was close enough to civilization that any problems with our electricity, plumbing or Internet could be quickly fixed.

This is what we found in Andrews, North Carolina. A mountaintop cabin that was perfect for our needs: a family-size cabin with an amazing view, yet close enough to civilization if we needed anything.

Book The Mountainview Lodge on VRBO now!

The cabin had sat empty for some time, yet was in such great condition. The previous owners had taken great care of it and it was such a clean, friendly, happy cabin – the BONES we so good! We knew it would take work to get it remodeled to reflect the more modern, yet rustic, Laboy family aesthetic. But it was also fully furnished and ready for someone to stay in… that night even!

So, what happened?

What are we doing with a Laboy Ridge Mountains Cabin getaway?

Since the cabin was fully furnished, with a stocked, working kitchen, two furnished bedrooms, two bathrooms, and laundry – we had it listed on Airbnb that same weekend!

We almost stayed there that night with the kids – who were troopers by the way, and stayed along with us for that long day of cabin purchasing – but all of our stuff was at the cabin we had rented in Bryson.

I’m so grateful we met the amazing owners and staff of Station House Cohosting right in town in Andrews. Though they weren’t new to hosting and had already built up Superhost status on Airbnb after running rentals for years, the company itself was fairly new and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be amongst their first few clients.

Having a hosting company means that we get to be hands-off (as much as we want to be anyway) and let them handle the day-to-day tasks of scheduling cleanings, responding to requests, handling emergencies, and more. This has been such a blessing! Especially since we live 9 hours away.

This also means I get to focus on what I’m really passionate about – design!

Plans for The Mountainview Lodge.

Well first off, it’s worth noting that we are not just buying our cabin. We’re actually buying a few acres! Our plans include renovating our house to maximize value while maintaining space and nature. Other plans we have for some time down the road: Creating a section of tiny home cabin rentals on another area of the property, renting out those cabins, creating hiking trails, planting evergreens for Christmas trees, and so on.

While we are making plans for FULL renovations to each and every space, eventually, we’ve already begun making small transformations each time we’re there! We added a brand new hot tub, brand new washer and dryer, along with some furniture updates, new linens, etc. Kind of like our home, we’ll continue making changes and progress as we go, DIY style.

Book The Mountainview Lodge on AirBnb now!

Where we ended up buying a cabin with a view of the Laboy Ridge Mountains – Andrews, NC.

We decided that we needed to find somewhere remote, but not too far from people. We also wanted it to be somewhere with good scenery. After looking into lots of places, we came across Andrews, NC – which ended up being everything we were looking for and more.

It’s on top of a mountain overlooking mountains for miles in every direction. The best part about it is that even though there’s plenty to do, it still feels like you’re away from the hustle of city life… but I can still grab a chai at Starbucks when we make a run to Lowe’s just 18 minutes away.

In the summers, boating and fishing on Lake Cherokee, Nantahala Lake and Fontana Lake will be a family favorite. Whitewater rafting, tubing, and kayaking are very popular activities in the Andrews, NC area. Plus waterfalls and hikes are always at the top of our list!

In the fall, there is nothing that beats that colorful view, except for maybe taking it all in while in our new hot tub (yes, that was one first changes we made!).

And I keep dreaming of family holidays and special moments of snowfall in our new Laboy Ridge Mountains cabin.

It’s been amazing so far and we can’t wait for all our memories here 🙂

Why this was important to us.

For years, our family has talked about buying a cabin on top of a mountain with amazing views… to use as our own and welcome guests instead of renting each time we’d visit. After several failed attempts to find an existing property that would give us what we wanted, we decided to build one. The plan: build something small (and cute) to start with so that it could double as our weekend getaway and eventually grow into something larger if desired. Upon learning the upfront cost in building on a mountain – along with the years-long delays in even starting a new build, this route just wasn’t for us.

So, we decided to slowly keep looking, and wait for as long as it took to find the right place. It all ended up happening much faster than we thought!

What’s next for The Mountainview Lodge.

I’ve been busy putting together So. Many. Plans. We’ve already painted a couple of areas, including a floor, changed out some doors, painted furniture, and more. While there are changes both big and small on the horizon, I’m so excited for where our Laboy Ridge Mountains cabin is at already and can’t wait to see where this journey takes us. I’d love to hear what you think!