STORY OF A HOUSE

MODERN GETAWAY

Panoramic Blue Ridge views mingle with the eclectic art in this summer home

by JESSIE AMMONS photographs by NICK KING

Letitia McKibbon fancies herself a beach person. The Florida native would occasionally make her way to the mountains for vacation, “but I’d always choose the sea,” she says. Until about 15 years ago, when McKibbon and husband John McKibbon rented a vacation house in Asheville for the summer. Their month-long stay was the catalyst: “Long story short, we started looking for a house.”

The McKibbons found a mid-century ranch house they hoped would become a summer home. It was dark and out-ofdate, but the outdoor space and sweeping mountain views made up for the interior, at least for a while. In the meantime, John McKibbon’s hospitality group opened several hotels in the area, including the Aloft downtown and brand-new AC Hotel Asheville. (He has worked locally to open Homewood Suites by Crabtree Valley Mall and at RTP.) Asheville became more than a seasonal escape, Letitia McKibbon says. It became a place they are invested in, both in business and in charity. “This is our community.” To reflect the parts of Asheville they love most, in 2010 the couple completely gutted and renovated their house. There is spunky art, open space, and windows galore. The ridgeline, after all, is what won Letitia McKibbon over in the first place. “It still shocks me sometimes that I feel this way,” she says good-naturedly, “Looking at the mountains is as good as the ocean.”

CONTEMPORARY LODGE

The renovation took two full years to complete, and no part of the house was left untouched. Letitia McKibbon says they wanted a fresh, modern look rather than a rustic design. Dark wood kitchen accents (pictured above) and exposed ceiling beams throughout the home are the couple’s only nods to traditional mountain lodge styles.

EASYGOING ART

Letitia McKibbon doesn’t overthink the art she chooses, she says. This is not the couple’s primary residence (they spend June – November here), so they let Asheville’s unfussy spirit inform their decor approach. The dog sculpture, which McKibbon just calls “the big blue dog,” is her favorite. “I’m involved with the Asheville Humane Scoiety,” she says, “and I’m a huge animal rescuer.” The painting over the fireplace, “the grumpy old man,” McKibbon says, is by Greenville, South Carolina-based artist Teri Pena. “He always becomes the topic of conversation at dinner parties. ... When you’re sitting at the dining room table, he’s looking right at you. He’s always part of the party.”

THE MORE THE MERRIER

The McKibbons don’t use their Asheville house as an escape from reality. “We are not alone here,” Letitia McKibbon says, and the couple entertains frequently. The open kitchen layout suits houseguests.

CAREFUL BALANCE

In many rooms, including the bedroom (pictured above), Letitia McKibbon’s furniture and decor are intentionally spare. In those cases, the vista is the art, she says. “I don’t want the art to distract from the view.” Decorating hotels has perks for home renovation, McKibbon says. Choosing finishes for the Aloft in downtown Asheville inspired much of their personal residence, too (including the bathroom pictured at left).

MOUNTAINSCAPE

Clockwise from above: The dining room painting is by Asheville artist Daniel McClendon. Letitia and John McKibbon at the opening of AC Hotel Asheville. The home’s basement movie theater. “We had fun with this house,” Letitia McKibbon says. In the stairwell hangs a massive macramé owl by Andy Harman, who often does large-scale retail installations for stores like J. Crew. “It’s so cool and different,” McKibbon says. “I mean, who has a big owl in their house?”