Gage-Martin Interiors


PRESS December 2009 \| Florida Architecture
September 2008 \| Tampa Bay Illustrated	click any of the photos above to enlarge
2008 \| Florida Design Magazine Ad
2008 September \| Log Home Living	The Road Home Carolina Mountain Log Home After years of motorcycling through the Blue Ridge Mountains, a Florida couple decides to stay in these hills for good—and build one unforgettable home. Just as the West has its Route 66, the East Coast has its own mother road: The Blue Ridge Parkway. It was that 465-mile-long road and its vistas of the Great Smoky Mountains that convinced Floridians Debbie and Jimmy Keys—who've taken in the gorgeous scenery from the backs of their Harleys over the years—to build a house in North Carolina. It would have been tough to keep Jimmy away. He grew up visiting his grandparents' home in the Carolina mountains, and his parents live in nearby Waynesville. For Debbie, the allure is all about the autumn foliage and its vibrant transition. "They have four seasons, which we don't have at all in Florida," she says. And she has always wanted to live in a log home. So they bought one. Located an hour from Asheville in Maggie Valley, surrounded by, literally, a million acres of forest land, the 5,880-square-foot abode is one of more than 100 log homes in the Smoky Mountain Retreat community. The Keys came on in the middle of the construction process, teaming up with Gary Cochran of Appalachian Log Structures, a 30-year-old log home manufacturer based in Ripley, West Virginia. Gary designed the house by adapting one of Appalachians' popular floor plans, the Richmond. "We took some of the elements from that and went considerably further. It just blossomed," Gary says. With three decades of construction experience—the last exclusively in log-home building—Gary let the site dictate the design of the house. "It's basically built around the view," Gary says. "All the bedrooms face that side of the house. You wake up, and you're looking down at the view." Local artisans added unique touches throughout the house: the powder room's log-pedestal sink, the main staircase wrought-iron handrail with a twig motif, and a stained-glass window of a mountain scene in the master bath. For a personal touch, Debbie turned to long-time decorator Dee Marksbury, owner of Gage Martin Interiors in Tampa. "When they bought this house, she called me and said she wanted to do it in a way that was unique," Dee says. "I knew that side of Debbie's personality and how to express it." In just nine months, the Keys had the log home they'd always dreamed of just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, now their retirement playground. "We spend our days riding Harleys or whitewater kayaking—typical summer mountain things that we never had enough time to do before Jimmy retired," Debbie says. And the retreat is a big hit with the Keys' three grown children and their friends. "We call it our log cabin," Debbie says, "but all our friends who come here say, 'That's not a log cabin. That's a lodge.'" Home Plan Details: Square Footage: 5,800 General Contractor: Cochran Enterprises Log Company: Appalachian Log Structures
2007 February \| Tampa Bay Illustrated	Lip Service by TBI staff Sublime style, unstinting attention to detail and old-world craftsmanship are the essences of Anichini. Founded two decades ago with a meager $600 budget, the line has expanded to include bath linens, fashion accessories and upholstered furniture. But a truly loyal following adores Anichini bedding, known for bold colors and luxurious textures. We love the Luxe Truffle collection with Champagne-tinted sheets and wool crepe coverlet lined in dark Canadian mink. Gage-Martin, Tampa
2001 December \| St. Petersburg Times	Idea House decks its halls By JUDY STARK, Times Homes Editor © St. Petersburg Times, published December 22, 2001 WESLEY CHAPEL -- If you just can't stand one more shopping trip, or you're hungry for some holiday decorating ideas, or you're casting about for things to do with your out-of-town guests, a trip to the Southern Living Idea House may be the answer. WESLEY CHAPEL -- If you just can't stand one more shopping trip, or you're hungry for some holiday decorating ideas, or you're casting about for things to do with your out-of-town guests, a trip to the Southern Living Idea House may be the answer. Now it has been refurnished and decorated for the holidays and is open Fridays through Sundays through Jan. 6. There is a $5 charge to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The "Carriage Park" model is full of trees, wreaths and garlands. Designer Dee Marksberry has also added little touches in almost every room that show how to carry the holiday spirit all through the house: The kitchen table is set with holiday china. On the kitchen shelves, mason jars of candy are tied with bows. In the pantry, red goblets are filled with candy canes and a glittering ornament. The house, a 5,400-square-foot home built according to traditional Southern Living magazine patterns, opened last summer as one of the magazine's three annual idea houses. It is at Brookside, a 50-home gated development on State Road 54 in which all of the homes are built according to Southern Living plans. In the children's rooms, tiny trees on dressers add some holiday sparkle. In the bathrooms, the hand towels are trimmed with holiday motifs. Even the refrigerator in the garage apartment is topped with a gold star-shaped box and greenery. The house is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. From I-75 take Exit 58 and travel east 1.3 miles. Brookside is on the south side of the road, just east of the entrance to the Saddlebrook resort. The development's Web site is at www.homesatbrookside.com.


PRESS December 2009 \| Florida Architecture
September 2008 \| Tampa Bay Illustrated	click any of the photos above to enlarge
2008 \| Florida Design Magazine Ad
2008 September \| Log Home Living	The Road Home Carolina Mountain Log Home After years of motorcycling through the Blue Ridge Mountains, a Florida couple decides to stay in these hills for good—and build one unforgettable home. Just as the West has its Route 66, the East Coast has its own mother road: The Blue Ridge Parkway. It was that 465-mile-long road and its vistas of the Great Smoky Mountains that convinced Floridians Debbie and Jimmy Keys—who've taken in the gorgeous scenery from the backs of their Harleys over the years—to build a house in North Carolina. It would have been tough to keep Jimmy away. He grew up visiting his grandparents' home in the Carolina mountains, and his parents live in nearby Waynesville. For Debbie, the allure is all about the autumn foliage and its vibrant transition. "They have four seasons, which we don't have at all in Florida," she says. And she has always wanted to live in a log home. So they bought one. Located an hour from Asheville in Maggie Valley, surrounded by, literally, a million acres of forest land, the 5,880-square-foot abode is one of more than 100 log homes in the Smoky Mountain Retreat community. The Keys came on in the middle of the construction process, teaming up with Gary Cochran of Appalachian Log Structures, a 30-year-old log home manufacturer based in Ripley, West Virginia. Gary designed the house by adapting one of Appalachians' popular floor plans, the Richmond. "We took some of the elements from that and went considerably further. It just blossomed," Gary says. With three decades of construction experience—the last exclusively in log-home building—Gary let the site dictate the design of the house. "It's basically built around the view," Gary says. "All the bedrooms face that side of the house. You wake up, and you're looking down at the view." Local artisans added unique touches throughout the house: the powder room's log-pedestal sink, the main staircase wrought-iron handrail with a twig motif, and a stained-glass window of a mountain scene in the master bath. For a personal touch, Debbie turned to long-time decorator Dee Marksbury, owner of Gage Martin Interiors in Tampa. "When they bought this house, she called me and said she wanted to do it in a way that was unique," Dee says. "I knew that side of Debbie's personality and how to express it." In just nine months, the Keys had the log home they'd always dreamed of just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, now their retirement playground. "We spend our days riding Harleys or whitewater kayaking—typical summer mountain things that we never had enough time to do before Jimmy retired," Debbie says. And the retreat is a big hit with the Keys' three grown children and their friends. "We call it our log cabin," Debbie says, "but all our friends who come here say, 'That's not a log cabin. That's a lodge.'" Home Plan Details: Square Footage: 5,800 General Contractor: Cochran Enterprises Log Company: Appalachian Log Structures
2007 February \| Tampa Bay Illustrated	Lip Service by TBI staff Sublime style, unstinting attention to detail and old-world craftsmanship are the essences of Anichini. Founded two decades ago with a meager $600 budget, the line has expanded to include bath linens, fashion accessories and upholstered furniture. But a truly loyal following adores Anichini bedding, known for bold colors and luxurious textures. We love the Luxe Truffle collection with Champagne-tinted sheets and wool crepe coverlet lined in dark Canadian mink. Gage-Martin, Tampa
2001 December \| St. Petersburg Times	Idea House decks its halls By JUDY STARK, Times Homes Editor © St. Petersburg Times, published December 22, 2001 WESLEY CHAPEL -- If you just can't stand one more shopping trip, or you're hungry for some holiday decorating ideas, or you're casting about for things to do with your out-of-town guests, a trip to the Southern Living Idea House may be the answer. WESLEY CHAPEL -- If you just can't stand one more shopping trip, or you're hungry for some holiday decorating ideas, or you're casting about for things to do with your out-of-town guests, a trip to the Southern Living Idea House may be the answer. Now it has been refurnished and decorated for the holidays and is open Fridays through Sundays through Jan. 6. There is a $5 charge to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The "Carriage Park" model is full of trees, wreaths and garlands. Designer Dee Marksberry has also added little touches in almost every room that show how to carry the holiday spirit all through the house: The kitchen table is set with holiday china. On the kitchen shelves, mason jars of candy are tied with bows. In the pantry, red goblets are filled with candy canes and a glittering ornament. The house, a 5,400-square-foot home built according to traditional Southern Living magazine patterns, opened last summer as one of the magazine's three annual idea houses. It is at Brookside, a 50-home gated development on State Road 54 in which all of the homes are built according to Southern Living plans. In the children's rooms, tiny trees on dressers add some holiday sparkle. In the bathrooms, the hand towels are trimmed with holiday motifs. Even the refrigerator in the garage apartment is topped with a gold star-shaped box and greenery. The house is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays, 1 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. From I-75 take Exit 58 and travel east 1.3 miles. Brookside is on the south side of the road, just east of the entrance to the Saddlebrook resort. The development's Web site is at www.homesatbrookside.com.