Text by Katie Wood
Tennessee-based interior designer Eric Ross and his wife, Ruthann, spent years traveling to the western mountains of North Carolina where their daughter attended camp. “We loved the luxury mountain resorts in the area,” Ruthann says, “but it was breaking the bank.” That’s when the couple decided to start looking for a place of their own that they could share with friends and other mountain travelers.
What they found was a cozy mountain retreat nestled in Highlands, North Carolina, equipped with good bones—especially when it came to the bathrooms and an updated kitchen that didn’t need much work—leaving the renovations affordable. One year later, with a handful of cosmetic updates under their belts, the Rosses’ dreamy mountain cottage is open for business.
