a sense of place
Text by Blake Miller; Photography by Emily Followill
This article appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Home Design & Decor’s Charlotte edition.
Designer Ashley Gilbreath transforms a beloved High Hampton cottage into an effortlessly collected retreat.
Ashley and Barrett Gilbreath never imagined themselves owning a mountain retreat. Alabama-based and devoted beachgoers, the couple had long managed their family vacations by the rhythm of the coast. “For as long as I can remember, our family has vacationed at the beach,” says Ashley, an interior designer. “I’m from Louisiana, Barrett is from Alabama, so the beach was simply the easier destination. During Covid, we even moved into our beach house full-time.”
A weekend with friends in Cashiers changed everything. They were instantly charmed by the area. Not long after, close friend and designer James Farmer mentioned to the Gilbreaths that there was a home for sale in High Hampton. “He thought we’d love it,” says Gilbreath. “Within a few hours of seeing it, Barrett had it under contract. It happened that quickly.” The home, a quiet cottage tucked into the woods on High Hampton’s property, was slightly worn, but “emotionally, you could tell that it had been a wonderful loved-on property for a very long time.”
Surrounded by misty tree lines, blue skies, and a slower pace of life, the Gilbreaths found themselves unexpectedly captivated. What began as a short escape quickly became the spark for an entirely new chapter.
The home, though dated, boasted strong architectural bones, and with the help of architect David Baker of TSB Architecture, Gilbreath knew she could transform it. The most significant transformation would occur on the lower level, where previously underutilized structural space was enclosed to create a bunk room and cozy den that opens onto a porch lined with swings.
Upstairs, the team enclosed a portion of the expansive wraparound porch—much of which had gone unused—to expand the kitchen and rework the roofline. The original kitchen was then repurposed as a functional rear entry, laundry room, and powder bath, making better use of the existing layout.
Gilbreath then focused on the interior design, which remained fully furnished by the previous owner. “A precious older woman owned the home, and she left behind tons of collections that made it so unique,” she says. “There was a sense of a life that happened before. The accessories had been collected for years and years, and that’s something you can’t go to the store and purchase.” Much of the rest of the interiors were sourced by Gilbreath at antique markets.
“The best vacation homes feel completely different from your everyday life,” she says. “You should walk through the door and immediately know you’re somewhere else. What I loved most about this house was its incredible sense of place—you knew you were in the mountains. There’s something deeply nostalgic about mountain living. The pace is slower, the air is quieter, and somehow it always feels like there should be a fire crackling, even in the middle of summer. It reminds me of my grandparents’ home, where every room held stories. The old books, candlesticks, beautifully worn boxes—they all create a feeling that life has unfolded there long before you arrived. That’s what made this house so special.”
Rather than start from scratch, Gilbreath embraced many of the home’s inherited treasures, preserving wicker baskets, an antique grandfather clock, and vintage Hull pottery—pieces, she says, “you simply can’t find anymore.” Layered thoughtfully throughout the interiors, heirloom objects lend the home an effortless sense of warmth and authenticity, reinforcing the feeling that it has evolved gracefully over generations rather than been decorated all at once.
Today, the cottage feels less like a second home and more like a return to something quietly familiar. While the Gilbreaths never expected to trade the shoreline for the Blue Ridge Mountains, they discovered that the most memorable retreats aren’t defined by geography, but by the way they make you feel. In preserving the home’s layered history while gently shaping it for their own family, they’ve created a timeless escape that feels as though it has always belonged to them.