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Everythingthey wanted

it to be

Hilltop home is a gem in The Reserve at Lake KeoweeBoth Gary and Diane enjoy creating dishes in

a large kitchen, the centerpiece of which is a double island, covered with quartzite and offering bar seating on one side and very ample preparation area on the other.

story by Brett McLaughlin

photos by Rex Brown

68 ‹ UPSTATE LAKE LIVING SPRING 2016 › 69

Getting from the flatlands of Houston, Texas, where they both worked, to their current perch atop one of the highest hills in The Reserve at Lake Keowee required a few plan modifications.

Some were more “major” than others.“We had long thought of Asheville as a potential retirement place,”

Gary said. “Then we found out they have real winters. There’s a lot of difference between their 3,500 feet (above sea level) and our 1,000 feet.”

In 2003 they decided to investigate the foothills, and there they found The Reserve and a culture and people they knew immediately would make their retirement house at home.

“We looked at a lot of waterfront lots,” Gary said.“I wanted a waterfront home,” Diane added. “I’m from Long Island.

I wanted to be able to sit on the dock and dangle my feet in the water. I wanted to have a boat right there that we could jump in and take off.”

Then a Reserve representative took them a little further up the hill. When they saw the views from Fort George Way, they knew this was where they were meant to be.

“We saw the views, and they were spectacular,” Diane said. “We’ve been coming back ever since. We love the activities here, and we’ve made some great friends.”

“We’ve got a boat in the marina,” Gary noted.

“But this is what we see all the time,” Diane added, sweeping her arm across a panorama that includes views of several tiny islands, views of Lake Keowee for literally miles into the distance and, at its edges, glimpses of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

With those images seared into their memory, the couple set about designing their home.

“I wanted a waterfall. Gary wanted a theater,” Diane said.

The couple compromised and included both in the plan. They presented an architect with a lot of ideas and a short list of “must haves” that included as many rooms as possible with lake views, a “Carolina lake-style” that was not too rustic or too “lakey,” and a big kitchen. They liked stone and wanted to include wooden beams and barrel vaulted ceilings where possible.

They worked with an architect and, eventually, builder Ridgeline Construction of Greenville, while continuing to live and work in Houston. “We had a lot of phone calls and photo Fridays,” Gary said.

“We couldn’t wait for Fridays,” Diane added, “and to see all the pictures of how the house was coming.”

Unlike most lake homes, one approaches the Mohr residence going up a hill. The drive is lined with lampposts and opens into a large bricked area in front of the stone and slate-roofed home. A three-car garage extends out on the right, while the main

entrance and a covered porch complete with rocking chairs, are to the left.

Inside, across the great room, a wall of windows immediately draws the eye to one of the most expansive views of Lake Keowee to be found on the north end of the lake. The ceiling of the room rises to the top of the two-story home, adding to the view. A large radius window lends even more to the panorama.

“Because we are on a point and up this high, we really have a 270 degree view,” Diane said. “From the (screened) porch you can actually see the cove that comes in behind (actually, across from the front entrance) the house. We just love to sit out there. We can see the sun come up in the morning and go down at night.”

The “porch” is really an extension of the home’s living area. The screens can be raised automatically to provide an unfiltered view of the lake. There is a complete kitchen, with a large grill, a separate Kamato Joe grill, a sink, a television, comfortable seating, heaters and a small refrigerator that Diane calls “a beer keeper.”

And, while they may not be “lakefront,” the Mohrs can access their outdoor living and entertaining area by simply stepping off the porch.

A path leads to a natural gas fire pit and on to the waterfall. The headwaters are outside the master suite and are a gathering place for all kinds of birds that come to bathe early in the morning. The water then spills over several falls en route to a small pond.

ary and Diane Mohr knew exactly what they wanted in a retirement home. They just never dreamed how much they would love it. G

{above} Screens can be raised automatically to provide an unfiltered view of the lake from the outside living area where there is a complete kitchen, with a large grill, separate Kamato Joe grill, sink and refrigerator. A television, comfortable seating and access to a firepit overlooking the lake just steps off the porch make this a perfect gathering place. • {below} Water cascades over five falls as it makes its way from just outside the master suite to a small pond near the lakeside edge of the property. The Mohrs awaken to the sounds of the falls every day, sounds that can be heard throughout much of the home.

This is the view the Mohrs awaken to each day. The master suite offers another breathtaking view of the lake and features one of four gas fireplaces in the home. This one, however, is unique in that it is raised so that it can

be seen from the bed.

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“We wanted to be able to hear the water from our master suite, and we really can,” she said.

“You can really hear it pretty much throughout the house,” Gary added.

When meals are not being cooked outside, both Gary and Diane enjoy creating dishes in a large kitchen, the centerpiece of which is a double island, covered with quartzite and offering bar seating on one side and very ample preparation area on the other.

Shades of brown and white quartz also cover countertops on either side of a 6-burner range. The kitchen also features a steam oven and a 72-inch, side-by-side refrigerator/freezer neatly hidden behind wood-paneled doors.

Other than in the great room, the ceilings on the first floor are 12 feet. The couple designed additional storage and lighted display space above the kitchen cabinetry. That added space is accessed with a ladder rail in the hall area leading to a walk-in pantry, half-bath, large laundry room and the garage. (The ladder can also be moved to access older vintage wines in a nearby wine room.)

Movie buff or not, the theater is impressive. If the 157-inch screen wasn’t enough, the room features added sheetrock and insulation to accommodate one of the first Dolby Atmos surround sound audio systems in the country. The Mohrs and their guests can enjoy screenings from two tiers of leather recliners with heated cup holders and catchy floor lighting.

One of the home’s three barrel ceilings highlights a passageway from the formal dining room to the kitchen.

» CONTINUED ON PG. 72

{above} Beneath an archway between the formal dining room and the kitchen one can access a refrigerated wine room through French glass doors. The room features a cork floor and individual compartments for up to 600 bottles of wine. • {below} This lakeside exterior view of the Mohr home provides a good perspective of the home’s screened living area (left), a large radius window in the great room and second-floor balcony accessed from the guest suite and Diane’s office (center), and chairs near the headwater of a falls that babbles outside the couple’s master suite. 301 N LYNHURST COURT

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72 ‹ UPSTATE LAKE LIVING SPRING 2016 › 73

Beneath the arch one can access a refrigerated wine room through French glass doors. The room features a cork floor and individual compartments for up to 600 bottles of wine.

“We like wine,” Diane said with a smile. The master suite completes the first level. The room offers another breathtaking

view of the lake and features one of four gas fireplaces in the home. This one, however, is unique in that it is raised so that it can be seen from the bed. A large walk-in closet and the master bath complete the suite. The bath features a massive tile shower with multiple heads, double vanity and a beautiful copper/nickel stand-alone tub.

Up a cantilevered stairway, inspired by the Biltmore house, and beneath large decorative beams that create a vault-like atmosphere that dissects the entire house, one finds the guest quarters. There is a small kitchen and a living area that can overlook the great room or be closed off for privacy using “barn doors” on rails.

The guest master features views of the lake and a walkout stone patio that extends the length of the second floor to Diane’s office. The hickory flooring used throughout the home is also present here. The bath features a tile shower and stand-alone tub.

The second guest room also has its own bath and a notch window in the stone façade that affords guests a view of the cove.

Gary’s “man cave” is also on the upper level. The room serves as his office and offers a magnificent view of the cove and distant mountains. A full bath, one of five in the house, adjoins the room, which also offers adequate wall space for Gary to display the 80 patents he obtained while working as a research engineer for Exxon.

The second floor also features a fitness room with a view of the mountains. Diane’s adjacent office, which she refers to as “my cave,” shares a bath with the fitness room.

Technologically, the home is unmatched. Lights, heat and security can all be managed from a mobile phone, including the built-in exterior lighting that illuminates the front of the house at night.

“It’s everything we ever wanted it to be,” Diane summed up. n

» CONTINUED FROM PG. 70 {above} Gary’s “man cave” serves as his office and offers a magnificent view of the

lake. • {below} From 1,000 feet above sea level the sunsets are unparalleled.

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