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Bob Blass Makes a Plahaus B
~story and photos by Bob Gustin
ob Blass set out to create a different sort of tourist home when he built Plāhaus north of Nashville. After surveying the market, he decided many facilities offered in the county were log cabins, so he used his background as a graphic designer and branding expert to attract those who wanted a more modern aesthetic with a clean, contemporary style. He found about 12 acres featuring a stream, hills, trees, and a spot to build his barn house with living quarters on the upper level. In 2016, he moved in. But the land had another building site Blass was drawn to, and it eventually became the tourist home which opened in August 2020. “This feels right to me,” he said, from the living room of the 820-square-foot, two bedroom Plāhaus (pronounced playhouse) located on Helmsburg Road. “I remember standing here and looking around and thinking I would like to share it and see the joy in other people.” So he hired an architect and general contractor, found a woodworker and went to work with some
50 Our Brown County May/June 2021
“big picture” ideas of his own. What evolved was a bold geometric design on the outside, and an uncluttered interior with hardwood and slate tile floors, a concrete block wall anchoring the middle of the house, with plywood wall coverings on some of the outer walls and modern lighting. Splashes of color include his favorite shade of orange. He said friends told him to be careful not to furnish the home with expensive items, but check out garage sales and thrift shops for furnishings. Instead, he looked for high-quality new furniture and kitchen items that matched his vision, saying he likes to surround himself with nice things, and he wanted to provide them for his guests. One side of the concrete wall has a metal sign for Diamond Tool and Die Co. That’s the sign from over the front door of a business his grandfather opened in 1947 after emigrating from Germany. After the tool and die company closed, Blass got the sign and “dragged it around with me for 15 years” before it found a second home.
