Monday Morning Millionaire I: Mega Mountain Home With Meditation Room Overlooks the Alleghenys

I happen to be checking out the luxury real estate offerings at The Greenbrier Sporting Club in White Sulphur Springs, West Virgina. Whole story coming up on SecondShelters.com. This place is exploding with growth and fun. Thought you might want a sneak peak to see what five and a half million buys you in the form of a rugged mountain home here at The Greenbrier. We toured this home Friday and I was so blown away by quality of construction and ideas I had not seen in some Dallas mansions. Like: a meditation room facing the mountain for the ultimate “ahhhh”. Redwood steam sauna. Separate his and her commodes with little vanities right in there next to the potties. Iroko wood Swedish butcher block island in a kitchen with more mountain views. Come on in this place, you just have to see!

The home was designed by Ole Sondresen, which means nothing to us, but I learned he is one of the top builders in the Greenbrier area.  This vacation or regular home dream castle offers 9991 square feet of heated living area, including a 1,117 square foot guest house. There are three levels of living space with amazing vistas from every room, even from some closets, all across the Allegheny Mountains. The construction includes large, vast expanses of glass, extensive woodwork, heavy-duty wood and stone floors, stonework, custom light fixtures and an open floor plan. Walk in to a 717 square foot great room, a 251 square foot conservatory, a lower level lounge of 417 square feet, a peaceful spa/yoga studio of 77 square feet –there is a redwood-lined sauna  bath adjacent to the meditation room on the lower level.

Three main levels: the first is the great room, conservatory, study and kitchen, second includes the master bedroom plus one guest room, with two more bedrooms on the lower level. All bedrooms have en suite baths, and of course there is a power room. The home also has several screened porches, including some off the bedrooms. Van Buren Ridge is a great example of the clean-lined rugged styles I am seeing more in mountain homes these days. People don’t want to look too “Colorado country”; there’s a definite move away from the piney wood look. But buyers do want extensive natural woods, especially on walls, and transitional touches in lighting, fixtures and furnishings.

This kitchen was so very different from what we see in Dallas: it was all designed around the fabulous mountain view. There are white marble counters, beamed ceilings, storage galore, a Swedish butcher block island made from Iroko wood. Of course all the appliances are top of the line Viking, Wolf and Sub Zero.

But my absolute new favorite master bedroom spa bath is in this West Virginia house. Really, I have never seen some of the firsts in here as pointed out to me by the veteran eyes of Kyle Crews, Juli Harrison and Doris Jacobs. First of all, we are talking a great- sized master bath: 360 square feet, bigger even than the master bedroom at 315 square feet. There is a large Kohler soaking whirlpool tub that must have been custom built, surrounded by an ocean of tiled ledge. I love Vessel tubs, but where do you put your stuff?  There are separate vanities, including one with a chair, then separate commodes. Each commode is in it’s own little room with a small hand washing lavoratory on a tiled counter. Add to the spa luxury here: room enough for a private massage table, a heated towel bar, a heated stone floor, and a huge walk in shower with multiple water jets and rainfall heads. The master has a direct vent gas fireplace. You will never be cold in this house, never. And it gets cold in this part of the world while Dallas sizzles, another reason why some Dallas folks might be shedding large homes in Dallas, buying places like these in the mountain wilderness. In fact, we met one Dallas couple who does just that. Your Mountain Mama here spotted a couple black bear; I’m told they occasionally swim in the clubhouse pool at the top of the Summit! There is certainly a lot to do here: super serious golf, horse backriding, skeet and sports clay pigeon shooting, off road driving in the mountains and mud, water activities, tennis, two spas, and the smoke-free casino at night.

Asking is $5,495,000. The views: priceless.